PATRICIA WILDER New face of 2007, by Dorothy L. HILL

Photos and Text by Dorothy L. HILL

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Patricia Wilder has been toiling the blues road for a number of years but 2007 has been her year to blossom on the international scene in a big way. After an appearance on the Emerging Artists Stage of the Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival last October, her phenomenal performance brought such raves that word of mouth quickly spread.
That led to a booking at the North Atlantic Blues Festival this July at which she again wowed the critics and fans alike. In between, she has continued to play major venues on the West Coast. She is booked for a tour of Italy in November 2007 (Omegna, Casale Monferrato,Torino, Asti, Gaglianico, and Savigliano). Also, in the planning stages is a tour to Australia and a widespread European tour, as well as completion of her third CD.

Pat Wilder grew up in a home rich with music and commented that as a small child her siblings all danced and since she couldn’t dance, she picked up a guitar to accompany them. Her mother bought her a plastic guitar at Woolworth’s when she was eleven years old but her first real guitar was a gift from family friend Taj Mahal. After formal musical study, her career progressed from playing as a sideman in blues and funk bands to more lucrative gigs including local festivals with prominent headliners and with her own band. As a result of the release of her critically acclaimed CD “Sweet Love” in 2005, Wilder finally achieved headliner status. She has since independently produced two CDs “Eugene” and “Lay Down Daddy.” One of the things that sets her apart from so many others is her songwriting - the content of her lyrics reflects her personality, i.e. earthy and real.
Although born and bred in San Francisco, California, Wilder’s guitar style would lead one to believe that she came out of Texas. As a vocalist, she holds the attention of the audience with fire and passion as she seamlessly shifts from raunchy to a girlishly sweet delivery.
The combination is unbeatable.

I catch as many of Wilder’s performances as possible and recently attended several which gave a good overview of her unique style and ability to relate to the diverse audience base of each venue.

At the Little Fox Theatre in Redwood City, CA. in May, Wilder was part of a show billed as Ladies Play the Blues sharing the stage with Carmen Getit and Laura Chavez. The large audience in this up-scale club immedia-tely connected with Wilder in her set and her ability to ignite excitement was evident on her delivery of “Hen House” when she delivered a ferocious guitar attack along with clucking articulation.

Her charisma was infectious throughout her set as she twisted and contorted her body with guitar overdrive. The finale was a good-natured jam session with all the performers strutting their stuff and Wilder was a stand-out.

Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland, CA. is located in an area that is considered dangerous territory for most white patrons, and it has suffered low attendance as a result. It was a moderate audience who bravely attended Wilder’s show on June 9^th and enthusiastically embraced her performance.

She accommodated them with a naughty vocal accompanied by suggestive moves as she came to the stage as the band was warming up on “My Baby Don’t Stand No Cheating.” She covered a number of her tunes including “Lay Down Daddy,” “Big Foot Woman” and “I’m Proud.” As could be expected with this group of fans, they especially loved “Big Boss Man” on which Wilder gave it her all - expressive vocal delivery and delightfully unique guitar flourishes and fills. She covered “Downhome Blues” and “Let It Roll” giving them her own distinctive flair.

The next night at Lou’s Pier 47, the large audience was composed of mostly tourists at this San Francisco Fishermans Wharf club. Well aware of her audience, Wilder kept it lively and covered funky tunes including “Sex Machine” while throwing in blues tunes along the way. She called out to the audience as the show progressed asking various people where they were from and engaging them on a personal level. She came down on the dance floor and shook it up. For pure energy and fun, this show was incredibly engaging. The tip jar was full and lots of CDs were sold by the end of the evening. And, most importantly, it was evident that the audience had a memorable experience that they can share when they go home.

Patricia Wilder is the definitive new face of 2007 and beyond. She has that indefinable “star” quality most often referred to as charisma. She enlivens the blues with a fresh perspective by incorporating the best components of contemporary blues with an allegiance to the blues tradition.

----- Dorothy L. Hill

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BluesArt-Journal - is an electronic publication. Worldcopyright © 1998-2007 BluesArtStudio, BluesLife, USA - AUSTRIA. All rights reserved.
Made with Macintosh


		Photos and Text by Dorothy L. HILL


click the poster		Patricia Wilder has been toiling the blues road for a number of years but 2007 has been her year to blossom on the international scene in a big way. After an appearance on the Emerging Artists Stage of the Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival last October, her phenomenal performance brought such raves that word of mouth quickly spread. That led to a booking at the North Atlantic Blues Festival this July at which she again wowed the critics and fans alike. In between, she has continued to play major venues on the West Coast. She is booked for a tour of *Italy in November 2007* (Omegna, Casale Monferrato,Torino, Asti, Gaglianico, and Savigliano). Also, in the planning stages is a tour to Australia and a widespread European tour, as well as completion of her third CD. Pat Wilder grew up in a home rich with music and commented that as a small child her siblings all danced and since she couldn’t dance, she picked up a guitar to accompany them. Her mother bought her a plastic guitar at Woolworth’s when she was eleven years old but her first real guitar was a gift from family friend *Taj Mahal. After formal musical study, her career progressed from playing as a sideman in blues and funk bands to more lucrative gigs including local festivals with prominent headliners and with her own band. As a result of the release of her critically acclaimed CD “Sweet Love”* in 2005, Wilder finally achieved headliner status. She has since independently produced two CDs “Eugene” and “Lay Down Daddy.” One of the things that sets her apart from so many others is her songwriting - the content of her lyrics reflects her personality, i.e. earthy and real. Although born and bred in *San Francisco, California*, Wilder’s guitar style would lead one to believe that she came out of Texas. As a vocalist, she holds the attention of the audience with fire and passion as she seamlessly shifts from raunchy to a girlishly sweet delivery. The combination is unbeatable. I catch as many of Wilder’s performances as possible and recently attended several which gave a good overview of her unique style and ability to relate to the diverse audience base of each venue.
At the Little Fox Theatre in *Redwood City, CA. in May, Wilder* was part of a show billed as Ladies Play the Blues sharing the stage with Carmen Getit and Laura Chavez. The large audience in this up-scale club immedia-tely connected with Wilder in her set and her ability to ignite excitement was evident on her delivery of “Hen House” when she delivered a ferocious guitar attack along with clucking articulation. Her charisma was infectious throughout her set as she twisted and contorted her body with guitar overdrive. The finale was a good-natured jam session with all the performers strutting their stuff and Wilder was a stand-out.
		Eli’s Mile High Club in *Oakland, CA. is located in an area that is considered dangerous territory for most white patrons, and it has suffered low attendance as a result. It was a moderate audience who bravely attended Wilder’s show on June 9^th and enthusiastically embraced her performance. She accommodated them with a naughty vocal accompanied by suggestive moves as she came to the stage as the band was warming up on “My Baby Don’t Stand No Cheating.”* She covered a number of her tunes including “Lay Down Daddy,” “Big Foot Woman” and “I’m Proud.” As could be expected with this group of fans, they especially loved “Big Boss Man” on which Wilder gave it her all - expressive vocal delivery and delightfully unique guitar flourishes and fills. She covered “Downhome Blues” and “Let It Roll” giving them her own distinctive flair.

		The next night at Lou’s Pier 47, the large audience was composed of mostly tourists at this *San Francisco Fishermans Wharf club. Well aware of her audience, Wilder kept it lively and covered funky tunes including “Sex Machine”* while throwing in blues tunes along the way. She called out to the audience as the show progressed asking various people where they were from and engaging them on a personal level. She came down on the dance floor and shook it up. For pure energy and fun, this show was incredibly engaging. The tip jar was full and lots of CDs were sold by the end of the evening. And, most importantly, it was evident that the audience had a memorable experience that they can share when they go home.

		Patricia Wilder is the definitive new face of 2007 and beyond. She has that indefinable *“star”* quality most often referred to as charisma. She enlivens the blues with a fresh perspective by incorporating the best components of contemporary blues with an allegiance to the blues tradition. *----- Dorothy L. Hill*

home		back
*BluesArt***-Journal - is an electronic publication. Worldcopyright © 1998-2007 BluesArtStudio, BluesLife, USA - AUSTRIA. All rights reserved. Made with Macintosh