Coming across Dwayne Wegley was a by-chance find on Soundcloud, whereby I was actually listening to another artist when "Cheryl's Song" started playing in the "similar to this" section. And I'm so glad it did...
As soon as I finished listening to all of his songs (quite literally all) I sent an email to Dwayne immediately asking for a bio, more information - anything, really - as he must have only just created his Soundcloud profile when I discovered him. This is what he sent me:
I started playing music around the age of 13 or 14 when my younger sister got a guitar for Christmas one year. I'd sneak it out of her room and play at night or whenever I could get the chance. It was a terrible sounding half size guitar and never stayed in tune. But, it was enough to get me started and eventually I got my own. Since then I have been writing music but I didn’t write my first song until I was 17.
When I was 17, I got in a really bad wreck and rolled my convertible 5 times. I was thrown out of my car. I got to ride in a helicopter to Saint Francis in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I stayed for 36 days. I broke a tonne of bones and wasn’t really supposed to survive. But, I made it somehow. If I remember right, the church I went to bought me a guitar and brought it up to the hospital because the one guitar I had was ruined in my wreck. Before I could walk again, I would ride around the hospital in my wheelchair and play guitar for people when I was well enough. I wrote my first song there. I can vaguely remember the song but it was about my wreck and how God was watching over me that day. I played the song at a few churches and I was surprised at all the positive responses. So, that’s where it all started. I wrote a lot in high school and college with one of my friends, Richard Larabee. We would play instead of going to class most of the time. We always used recording equipment we borrowed from friends or from church when we could get the chance and I just recorded them on my computer.
For Christmas last year (2014) my wife, Cheryl, got me some recording equipment and over the past year I recorded "Cheryl’s Song (EP)”. I thought it was only fitting to name the EP after her. She’s the reason I started playing and writing again. I designed the album art using a picture from our wedding-moon in Eureka Springs, AR.
A have a lot of love songs and that’s where most of my inspiration comes from. I have so many influences because I love all kinds of music. But, my main influences are Elliot Smith, Josh Ritter, Joshua Radin, The tallest man on earth, Iron & Wine and John Mayer. I’m still discovering who I am as an artist, but I plan to record another EP that’s professionally produced in 2016 . I am going to eventually get out and play but I am really busy and not ready to start that yet. Soon I hope. I would love to hear one of my songs on TV or in a movie one day. That has always been a dream of mine.
I just want to add that I can definitely hear musical influences from Iron and Wine and Joshua Radin. There's a beautifully romantic feel to Dwayne's voice and guitar playing, but listen for yourself:
P.S I also love this song...
Upon discovering him, he was - and still is - in his early days, but, if he's as good as he is at this stage then who knows where his music career will whisk him to in a year or two.
If you'd like to find out more about him and follow his career then just click the links below!
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