Review: B Wishes at 4 Daughters Irish Pub - Mail Tribune

[BWishes]

B Wishes at 4 Daughters Irish Pub
The songwriter and musician draws from her own inspiration

B Wishes is at the top of her musical bent whether she's performing acoustic or with a full band. She and her band released a rock and pop album in May.Photo by Andy Mechling

December 05, 2008
Laurie Heuston
By Laurie Heuston
Mail Tribune

B Wishes brings heady vocals and guitar skills to the songs she writes, and she delivers those songs with a clear musical bent. As political and personal explorations, the Grants Pass-based musician's songs are funny and tough, tender and insightful. Unlimited, like her style.

"I don't really have a style," Wishes says. "I don't really listen to new popular music. I've got too many songs of my own going on in my head. I do like Amy Winehouse a lot, I like her vocals, but I still listen to Paul Simon or the Beatles when I want to relax."

Wishes will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Dec. 9 and 23, at 4 Daughters Irish Pub, 126 W. Main St., Medford.

The songwriter's dearest influences are stated on her Web site, bwishes.com, and include Paul McCartney and John Lennon because, she says, the two weren't restricted by genres. The Beatles' different styles of music coexisted on many of their albums.

"You can't deny what you hear in your head," Wishes states.

Wishes will present original songs and covers at her shows at 4 Daughters.

"Typically, I play to the room, play what the audience wants," Wishes says. "There are acoustic songs that I do when I'm playing solo, then there are the songs I do with my band."

Wishes plays a Martin during her solo shows, a Telecaster when she's performing with her band, B Wishes Band. She and the band released a new CD, "The Truth that Works for Me," in May.

"It's with John Trujillo on bass, Mary Wacker on drums, Mawg, and me on guitar," Wishes says. "It was recorded over the past couple of years at Seedling Productions in Grants Pass, owned by Rob Gunderson. Some was recorded at Mawg's studio, and it was mixed and mastered at Mawg's."

Wishes and guitarist Mawg have worked together since 1984. The two have a duo recording titled "Wishes and Dreams" that came out in 1991. They also work together with reggae/rock band The Toyes.

"The Toyes are a bit more of a counterculture project," Wishes says. "Slightly different from my band. The Toyes are primarily me and Mawg as the songwriters, along with Trujillo and Brian Rogers, a drummer who lives in Sacramento."

That is the lineup of musicians on a new Toyes album coming out soon. Wishes appears on two other albums with The Toyes, and she has a solo acoustic album titled "Live from Paganos" that was out in 2004. "Paganos" offers Wishes' pointed social and political commentary and showcases her work as a folksinger and acoustic guitarist, especially on tunes such as "Our Moment in History" and "Conquerors and Liberators."

Along with her two solo shows, Wishes plans to bring her full band to 4 Daughters in April.

Cover at $ Daughters if free. Call 779-4455.