Wesley Dick
PG Music User Of The Week

To many members of the PG Music community, Wesley Dick is a familiar voice resounding across the Internet. If drop by the PG Music Forum, you'll be sure to find Wes giving helpful advice to new users, exchanging ideas and opinions, and placing his own special mark on the PG Music website. You'll also find him at his own website, busy compiling and making available hundreds of songs for avid musicians around the world. For someone who supposed to be retired, Wes is a pretty busy guy. Fortunately, Wes was able to take some time to talk with us via email this past week.

Can you tell us a little about your musical background? I understand that you've lived a somewhat colorful musical life.

I started playing clarinet in the band in my senior year in high school as I need 1/4 point to graduate. Borrowed a clarinet from a cousin a few weeks before school started and it just sorta came to me naturally and I was playing songs within a week or so along with some of Dad's old dixieland records. Kid Ory, Louis Armstrong, etc. First day of band practice the music teacher was pleased to have another clarinet player (he assumed I was experienced) since there were only two other clarinetists and 17 trumpets in the band (Harry James was popular at the time and I think all the guys wanted a wife like Betty Grable). Anyway, we started to play some march and I started wailing away as if I knew what I was doing. The prof. smiled as he walked towards me and suddenly his smile turned to dismay as he asked, "What the hell are you playing?" I explained that I couldn't read music so I was just playing along with the band by ear. He told me to stay after class. Fearfully I approached him at the front of the auditorium after class and as I got near he sat down at the piano and began to play Darktown Strutters Ball and grinned as he said, "Ya know this one?". Clarinet period became a jam session for the rest of the year, I never learned how to read music but made straight A's in music. Started playing in a local dixieland band until I joined the USMC in 1948.

After having shoes thrown at me repeatedly for practicing clarinet while sitting on my bunk in the barracks, I decided to switch to something quieter....guitar. Learned all the basic open string chords and could play most dixie tunes with no problem. One evening some cat asked me if I could play a certain chord which I never heard of before. He called out the notes and I was able to figure it out. Then another, and another. After several evenings he had me put them all together and he broke out his alto and I was playing How High the Moon and it flipped me out. Became an avid be-bopper. I organized a quartet for local off base gigs plus started playing in the 2nd MarDiv Big Band by request of the band director to my Company commander. Learned a lot (except how to read music) from lots of great musicians who were recalled to active duty during the Korean War. After I got out I headed for Bourbon Street where I played for about a year backing strippers on the street. We played straight jazz since nobody listened to us, customers just looked at the girls. Played with some great cats here also, some only local and some with fairly big names at the time.

As a longtime musician with a strong background in live music, what prompted you to begin using computers for music?

A friend showed me his Band in a Box program and I flipped out. This was just a few years ago. Since I'd been away from music for about 40 years it was an answer to my dreams of playing again. Most of my old cohorts were long dead and I had nobody to play with. BiaB to the rescue!

Tell us about you computer set-up at home. What kind of keyboard, sound module or sound card are you using as a sound source?

I have a Pentium with a SB Awe64 card plus a Roland SC88vl (got from PGMusic) and I pipe it thru my stereo system for a great sound. Also have a dinky little Casio CTK1000 keyboard but mainly use BiaB for playing along on guitar. I have most of the PG Music programs but mostly use BiaB and PTA. Recently bought a Compaq Presario laptop which sits on top of my real piano and keep telling myself that one of these days I'm gonna go out and get a gig somewhere.

You've been using Band-in-a-Box for quite some time now. How did you originally hear about it and how did you incorporate it into your musical life at the time?

I first heard about BiaB from a friend. I came straight home and ordered it. It was my prime reason for justifying retirement from my business. So much to do and so little time.

What are your favorite styles? Do you write your own?

Jazz, swing and bossas. I've written a few (actually modifications to existing styles).

Can you give us an example of how you would create a typical song with Band-in-a-Box?

Input the chords via standard keyboard either from memory or thru the Casio keyboard. Then input the melody via Casio. Quick and easy. I wrote my first song earlier this year (at the request of my wife who wanted me to write a song about/for her). First step was to come up with a nice and interesting chord progression and then the melody sorta presented itself. Name is Soft Eyes and I even have a vocal rendition at my website. I get lucky everytime Tanya hears it play.

How has creating music with programs like Band-in-a-Box affected the live, or real-world, aspect of your playing?

I'm not involved in playing in the real world anymore except at our favorite restaurant they (the staff) always make me play piano ( Iearned somewhere along the way) after I've had dinner. This particular restaurant was voted # 8 in the nation year before last so I've been tempted to hang a sign around my neck reading "Will play for food." just for the thrill of being pro again plus the fact that the restaurant is so damn expensive.

Like many of our users, you're an active voice in the online PG Music forum. How do you feel about the community that has grown online in the PG Music forum and in the chat area that you've created on your own website?

It's become a part of my life in my retirement. I've met some real nice cats and enjoy every minute of it. The Forum is my first stop several times a day whenever I log on to the internet.

Your website, Wes' Wonderful World, is a great resource, not to mention a fun place to spend some time. How has it developed since you first created it and what can we expect in the future?

As I began to scour the world for more songs I soon had a large collection which I felt should be shared with other users of BiaB. Originally, my site was to be just for personal use to share pics and other stuff with family members and friends around the country. Soon the direction changed towards being a gathering spot for BiaB users and the site became quite active with about 50+ hits a day. Considering the size of some of the files for download and the number of files X the number of visitors I'd say that GeoCities was humming at times. I presently have about 4000 new songs which I've received from users in the past month which I'm in the process of sorting through to eliminate duplicates. The 8 characters used by so many BiaB users varies greatly with the same song so it's almost impossible to do this without actually loading in each song and checking it for overall quality, lyrics, etc. so as to keep just the best version and delete the others. Stefano from Italy has written BBFinder which, once he has the delete/rename functions active, will greatly help in this sorting and categorizing of songs. And Denis' StylesLibrarian has helped me greatly in organizing all the styles that users have sent to me. I think it is a great tribute to PGMusic that some of these musician/programmers have opted to write some of these utilities on their own and then make them available to others. I think that Peter got started writing BiaB for his own use and look what a monster he's created. Half the fun is sharing these ideas and programs whether for profit or just plain fun by these programmers.

As a veteran musician, what advice would you give to younger musicians who are just getting involved in the music scene?

Listen to what is already being done by others but don't copy them. Absorb as much as you can and your own style will evolve. Listen to others in the group as you play and learn to be a part of the team. Play to enhance what the others are doing and you'll come out smelling like a rose. Practice and/or jam every chance you get either with BiaB or other musicians. Make sure you have a good day job. And above all....have fun!

Wes

If you would like to hear more from Wes or get in contact with him, check out the PG Music Forum or Wes' website, Wes' Wonderful World.