The Story of Wes Burdine and the Librarians
It all started simple:
the sad-bastard stylings of a folk musician who had tried is hand at rock
music. But when Wes Burdine discovered the Librarians they were honing
their skills as a John Denver cover band in the non-fiction section of
the Hennepin County Public Library. And it was pure rock magic from there.
Perhaps.
Minnesotan by way of Texas, Pennsylvania and Texas again, Wes' song-writing
had been forged in confusion, a little country music here, a lot of rock
'n' roll there.
After escaping music for years, Wes finally returned with his solo album,
This is How I Discovered Gold. The record's patchwork quality stood nicely
with the songwriting. Recorded with borrowed equipment (at times with
permission), in numerous locations and with the arrangements often written
on the spot, an album emerged which spanned genres and moods.
After Gold's release, Wes put together the band, which could bring the
music alive. The Librarians were formed from with the husband/wife team,
David and Charissa Osborn, on drums and keys/vocals, Don Osborn on bass
and Ross Piper playing guitars. The band began reshaping old material
and assembling a fuller rock sound thanks to his discovery of rock music.
With the addition of thick harmonies and teeming guitars, Wes Burdine
and the Librarians began to reshape a thickly arranged rock outfit.
Now, with the release of The Jose Canseco EP, Wes and the Librarians have
hit the airwaves with a force. Described by one critic as "the sunny
pop music day that follows This Is How I Discovered Gold's long and tormented
night," the EP pieces together hand claps and overdriven guitars
with five part harmonies and imaginative story-telling. Seemingly incongruous,
the band now pieces together country back-beats with Beach Boys-esque
harmonies over a well-placed tube amp. I told you, magic.
Addendum, or postlogue, or "what the hell is going on now?"
After a year and a half, the Jose Canseco EP, a helluva lot of shows, etc etc... Wes packed up his guitar and took off for Pennsylvania. Right now, he's working on a couple of records from the new WB&the Librarians LP that has no name to the side project of a country record about the Apocalypse entitled, The End is Nigh. So for now, I can't say where I'll appear, but sure enough a new record will come and you will be able to check it out here.
As for those Librarians, well they've gone back to the Hennepin County Library. They're somewhere in the magazine racks working on a couple of John Prine tunes acapella.