Daily Discovery: Wes Harllee, “Run To You”

cover3-03-1

Videos by American Songwriter

ARTIST:  Wes Harllee

SONG: “Run To You”

BIRTHDATE: 6/8/84

BIRTHPLACE: San Antonio, Tx

AMBITIONS: I’m happy playing music. I love to serenade people, and that’s where my heart is. But I’d like to win a Grammy. Play to a sold out arena. Open for Mayer … little things like that.

TURN-OFFS: Indecisiveness. Let me know what you want. Make a decision and go with it. The guessing games aren’t really any fun. It’s likely I’ll guess wrong.

TURN-ONS: Confidence. Self assuredness. Not cockiness, just someone who’s comfortable in their own skin. Oh, and a girl who drives stick. That’s awesome.

DREAM CO-WRITE (if you do that): Sara Bareilles. She’s the poet laureate of our time. That girl throws words like “Carbon” and “Cavalcade” into a tune and somehow makes it completely poetic, and relatable; all the while singing a beautiful melody that stays with you. (See “Bright Lights and Cityscapes”)

TV ADDICTIONS: How I Met Your Mother, Community, Walking Dead, and recently The Following. If I’m being completely honest, New Girl should be thrown in there as well…

CELEBRITY CRUSH: I’ve got a few. The aforementioned Sara Bareilles for starters. Yvonne Strahovski. Natalie Portman. Mila Kunis. I dig the girls who can display both femininity and the ability to kick ass.

MY FAVORITE VENUE TO PLAY: The 502 back in San Antonio. There are plenty of awesome venues with great sound here in Nashville, but the 502 feels like home, and I know I’m playing to my family and friends.

THE BOOK THAT CHANGED MY LIFE: This is difficult. There have been several. I’m gonna go with “The Giver” by Lois Lowry. As a kid it taught me that emotional depth and individuality are to be sought after. That living in the plateaus and the valleys, the ups and downs is better than a flat line. Without pain we can’t understand joy. Without heartbreak we can’t truly understand love.

I NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT: a guitar pick. Or my wallet -in which I have another guitar pick.

I WROTE THIS SONG: as a love song that I hope anyone can identify with. The Chase! Few things in life are more exciting, more fun, and more terrifying than falling in love. I wanted to find a genuine way to discuss the contradiction in that moment. You’re hopeful! You’re confident! You’re restless. You’re nervous.  I wanted the music to demonstrate this juxtaposition as well. I wanted the song to be HUGE and then to drop away to nothing on the bridge so that the real heart of the song could shine through. “It’s this, just this: honey I’m yours.”

 

One Comment

Leave a Reply

Leave a Reply

The Sharp Things With Laura Cantrell, “I Know You’re Gonna Break My Heart”