Wensday
Phoenix, Arizona, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
"pristine production by guitarist Dick Wagner (Cooper's longtime collaborator) and a cream-of-the-crop crew of guest musicians"
"while Wensday's smoky mezzo-soprano would be at home in any dark cabaret, her lyricism and lovely looks separate her from other lounge lizards."
"With solid songs, raven locks, red lips, and long lashes, the attractive chanteuse stands out — especially since she's also adorned with numerous tattoos from her time as a professional body piercer, something that prompted Cooper to refer to her as "the other girl next door."
Wensday
Torch Rock
(Desert Dreams Records)
By Niki D'Andrea
Published: June 14, 2007
Seductive jazz singer Wensday made her first Phoenix appearance at Alice Cooper's 2006 "Christmas Pudding" concert, where she performed a soulful version of Cooper's power ballad "Only Women Bleed." That track is included on Torch Rock, with ad-libbed lines like "Just kick that jackass out of town." The other 12 tracks have a similar piano-driven rock sound, gliding on pristine production by guitarist Dick Wagner (Cooper's longtime collaborator) and a cream-of-the-crop crew of guest musicians that includes pianist Fred Mandel (Queen), drummer Alex Cyrell (Sarah Vaughn), guitarist Randy Reinhard (Ray Price), and Nils Lofgren (Bruce Springsteen). And while Wensday's smoky mezzo-soprano would be at home in any dark cabaret, her lyricism and lovely looks separate her from other lounge lizards. Witness the roadhouse rocker "Bulldog Blues," where Wensday sings, "Well, I been working on this song since 1994/and now everybody tells me they don't play this kind of music anymore," before crooning about how her bulldog was a raised a Nazarene. With solid songs, raven locks, red lips, and long lashes, the attractive chanteuse stands out — especially since she's also adorned with numerous tattoos from her time as a professional body piercer, something that prompted Cooper to refer to her as "the other girl next door."
- Niki D'Andrea
"This is an incredible CD. The woman's voice is amazing. I loved the CD from beginning to end. Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears are no competition for this lady. She definitely put her heart and soul into this. She blends jazz and rock and roll and a bit of country and blues as well. I think she brings something new and fresh and exciting to the table and even Alice Cooper is thrilled by her. She does a kickass version of 'Only Women Bleed.' Check out the disc."
- Rocknetwebzine.com
Album Name: A Taste of Torch Rock /Torch Rock [CD]
Artist: Wensday
Year/Label: 2007 / Desert Dreams Records
The record I got is a sampler of the full CD. So I don’t have a track list for the full length.
It also doesn’t really fit the criteria for this site since the songs are not written by her (unless her name is Wendy Greenbaum…in that case she co-wrote one). But I kinda like it, so I’m going to pass it onto you.
I like the melody on “The Rise and Fall of Love”. It goes where you don’t expect and that’s always a good thing.
“After You” has nice piano and her voice really shines. This is where I realized what a stunning voice she has. Clear as a bell and full of emotion. Great.
“Arizona Man” begins with an almost Spanish feel. Very sultry. Then it goes into more of a country anthem.
There’s some great jazzy piano on “Only Women Bleed” which is an Alice Cooper song.
A nice EP and a nice “taste” of the full length. W hich I guess is the whole point.
Track Listing
1. The Rise and Fall of Love
2. After You
3. Arizona Man
4. Only Women Bleed
- collectedsounds.com
Indie Music Stop
"Where Your Music Matters"
Sunday, April 22, 2007
CD Review: Wensday - Torch Rock
Artist: Wensday
Title: Torch Rock
Website: http://www.wensdaymusic.com
Style: Rock
Rating: 8.95 out of 10
By Senior Staff Writer C.W. Ross
Both Wensday and her music are hard to describe. They both pull opposing elements together to create a unique end result. On Torch Rock she manages to blend the "Torch" sound of the past with today's "Rock" to create that unique result.
Growing up listening to her parents' extensive record collection is where she developed her love for torch songs. Later when she went through her punk stage and hung out with her Goth singer-songwriter friend Melissa is when she picked up the rock part.
On this, her debut release, she manages to use those two styles of music along with elements of jazz and blues to create a complex sound that works well. Wensday has the needed vocal chops to pull it off, whether it be sweet and sultry or down and gritty vocals.
Lyrically the songs deal with issues related to relationships, love, and women empowering themselves.
One song you'll recognize is track five, "Only Women Bleed." Wensday does a nice job of reworking the classic Alice Cooper song and making it her own.
My personal favorite songs are the two that go down the blues road. Both "Heartbreak Saloon" and "Bulldog Blues" are overflowing with vocal and instrumental parts that will have your mind spinning with excitement.
These two songs painted me a mental picture of a rundown blues club located on the "bad side of town." You open the door to find a smoke-filled room with a stage built in the back, off to one side. There you find the band playing away as the crowd sips their alcoholic pleasures.
Any music that can paint such a clear picture in my mind has got to be good. I think after hearing Torch Rock you'll agree with me.
In closing, I have to give legendary rock guitarist and producer Dick Wagner a mention in this review because he had a big part in this project. In addition to his guitar playing, Wagner also produced and wrote or co-wrote all 13 songs found on Torch Rock.
Posted by Staff at 11:57 AM
- Indie Music Stop
With a bold voice that could fill an auditorium, Wensday embodies everything one could expect in her
aptly named CD, Torch Rock. But what really sold us is her attention to the more subtle nuances’ that
so many singers miss once they discover they can bring the house down with power alone….The CD
is filled with so many good moments that it’s hard to pick a favorite track, so it’s best to only play it
when you have time to listen to the whole disc all the way through.”
- Singer & Musician
- Singer & Musician
After giving the CD a couple spins I am in love with Wensday’s strong, feminine, sultry, sensuous,
emotional voice. When she sings a love song or sad song you feel it. Adding to the package is the
well written and composed music which match the passion and emotion exhibited in Wensday’s
voice.”
- Mike Cavanaugh, All Access Magazine (Rating: 4+ Hidden gem)" - All Access Magazine, Mike Cavanaugh
Self-proclaimed “torch rocker” Wensday wins iLiveToPlay Network’s very first Spotlight Artist Contest, and will be profiled in the July 2007 issue of Singer&Musician magazine.
Wensday beat out more than 150 other artists and bands that entered the contest held in conjunction with the on-line booking resource, Sonicbids.com. The contest is on-going and in addition to the winner being featured in Singer&Musician magazine, they will have their music added to the iLiveToPlay Network’s internet radio station, iRadio.
The tattoo laden vocalist Wensday’s style borrows heavily from the torch singers of the Big Band and Jazz Clubs of the 40’s and 50’s, but has a modern aggressive edge which is coupled with an epic music production reminiscent of the rock operas of mid-1970.
“Great fantastic style that blends contemporary and past, with a powerful voice you can just ride away on. A solid CD all the way through,” says Robert Lindquist, Webcaster for iLiveToPlay.net’s iRadio.
Guitar Dick Wagner of Alice Cooper and Lou Reed fame produced Wensday’s “Torch Rock” CD using an impressive list of musicians well steeped in the classic rock style and provides the musical foundation for Wensday’s sultry vocals.
The multiple influences of Torch Rock makes the CD a natural as the winner of the first of this series of contests as both the iLiveToPlay Network and Sonicbids work with bands and artists of all genres. The entries for the competition ranged from Jazz to Acid Metal, Country to Rap, Folk to Electronica.
The iLiveToPlay Network consists of the website www.iLiveToPlay.net, the print publication Singer&Musician magazine, and internet radio station, iRadio. The network’s mission is to inform and educate musicians so they can not only make better music, but make better money making music.
Partnering with Sonicbids for this contest, iLiveToPlay Network is looking to promote bands and artist that best exemplify the independent musician’s spirit. Information on how to enter the contest can be found at www.iLiveToPlay.net and www.sonicbids.com
- Singer&Musician Magazine - Robert Lindquist
“The voice is what hit me on the first taste of this song. This is a voice I can listen to if she’s simply
singing the numbers out of a phone book. Subsequent listenings allowed me to hear some of the
band. A harmonic is played on an electric guitar to introduce the slow dance on this humid evening,
but the band really is utilized to emphasize Wensday's voice. “Strike a match, baby, light that fire.””
EARTASTE.blogspot.com - EARTASTE.blogspot.com
“Every now and then, I will receive a CD that, for a lack of a better way to say it, will blow me away.
While every recording I receive to consider for review comes from talented persons, occasionally I will
get one from an artist whose God given talent is almost mind boggling. Such is the case with the
debut recording of the Phoenix, Arizona based singer/songwriter Wensday.…‘Potential’ can be a
terrible label to carry, but Wensday's potential upside is almost staggering to consider. I somehow believe she is going to live up to the big "P" word. Stay tuned, her best is yet to come.”
- Tom Branson, Bluesrockers.ws - Bluesrockers, Tom Branson
"She spoons, she swoons, she croons sweet tunes – Wensday is a tattooed torch-song singer who
also knows how to make you move, like a Jessica Rabbit come to life. Rising like a fiery Phoenix out
of the city of the same name, it’s only natural that Wensday ended up working with longtime Alice
Cooper sideman Dick Wagner, since that’s where the Coop also comes from. Wensday has crafted a
sweet, sultry disk that echoes with the smoky tones of bygone eras, shaded by the spark and spirit of
tragic blues figures such as Billy Holiday. Want some fire? Check out “The Rise and Fall of Love,” or
how about the good ol’ boogie of “Bulldog Blues,” baby! And then there’s “Predatory Gentleman” –
ooh, watch your fingers, folks! Not to mention her smokin’ cover of Alice Cooper’s “Only Women
Bleed,” which has been garnering some airplay in recent times – now that’s one torchy track, oh yes!"
- ALL ACCESS MAGAZINE Rob Swick
Discography
TORCH ROCK
Photos
Bio
WENSDAY
Rock legend, Alice Cooper, calls Wensday, “the OTHER girl next door.”
Wensday is an exotic young woman of contrasts: she’s been a body piercing artist, a jazz singer and a rocker – and Associate Director of All Children’s Theatre in her hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. A graduate of NYU and a student at Oxford University, Wensday has adorned her body in a variety of artistic and eloquent tattoos.
Multiple hit songwriter and legendary guitarist DICK WAGNER (Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Kiss, Aerosmith, Air Supply) produced TORCH ROCK™ and wrote or co-wrote all 13 tracks of the TORCH ROCK™ album. Wagner plays lead guitar throughout the CD; and he has assembled a brilliant group of musicians, including Fred Mandel (Elton John, Queen, Alice Cooper), Bobby Flores (Grammy winning arranger and Country Instrumentalist of the Year), Nils Lofgren (Bruce Springsteen), to record Wensday's musical debut.
"After a long time trying to figure out what style I do best, I truly get to do it all on Torch Rock," says Wensday. "I think the album conveys that I'm a singer, first and foremost... Connecting emotionally with people is the most important thing to me."
Wensday had her coming out party during the 2006 holiday season at Christmas Pudding, the annual event Alice Cooper puts on for Solid Rock Foundation, the organization he started to benefit local youths. Sharing a bill with Don Felder, Stephen Stills and pop metal band Tesla, Wensday moved the crowd with her searing rendition of "Only Women Bleed," the classic ballad Cooper wrote with longtime collaborator and legendary guitarist Dick Wagner. WENSDAY'S powerful take on "Only Women Bleed" draws fresh and renewed attention to its enduring theme of empowering women to overcome the cycle of domestic abuse.
A huge fan of Wensday's from the moment he first heard her sing, Wagner produced, wrote, co-wrote and played guitar on all 13 tracks of Torch Rock.
Wagner tells us, "Wensday has a voice that bridges the world of rock/blues with jazz and country. Wensday embodies a new genre of music that combines the new with the old, in which romance and hard edge combine to create a fresh and passionate new music that I call, 'Torch Rock.' This is a voice that can rock your world and then soothe your wounds right after."
Speaking about her powerful creative chemistry with Wagner, Wensday says, "It's an honor to work with Dick, who is a legendary writer and musician, but I think of myself as something of an old soul, so it's a good match. Most of the songs are about love, relationships and female empowerment, all issues that are meaningful to me."
Wensday gravitated early to the "torchy" part of Torch Rock, developing an intense love of jazz, particularly the music of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, from her parents' extensive record collection and her first voice teacher at age 13.
One day, after having put singing on hold for a time to focus on her other creative endeavors,, she happened into a vintage store in Massachusetts, saw a gorgeous 1940s cocktail dress, thought about Billie Holiday and knew she had to get back to singing. "I played with many different jazz ensembles all over New England," she says, "and also fronted my own band Miss Wensday and the Medicinals. Oh, and of course, I bought the dress!"
"I was very happy with my life in Providence," she says. "I loved the balance of working with children during the day and singing in nightclubs at night. I was about to cut a jazz album when everything happened with Desert Dreams Records. It's never been about fame and money for me because those only follow when you do what you love. I just want people to like it and to understand where I am coming from. That's what this great journey is all about."
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