So, you may be wondering: Bradley, with all this down time due to Covid-19, why aren’t you posting blogs as often as you used to? As an unemployed musician, you must have plenty of time on your hands and plenty on your mind these days, right?
Well, you’d be both right and wrong. Yes, the band is only playing maybe 2 or 3 outside and socially distanced shows per month. Yes, I have stopped playing solo shows for a bit. Well, I’ve stopped playing them in public, anyways. I do still have my Facebook Live shows that I do every Thursday at 8pm EST, go to https://www.facebook.com/BradleyWikMusic/ and follow/watch. I started back in April, thinking I would be doing those for a month or so, and well, here we are in basically August with no end in sight. But, I’ve been having a lot of fun pulling out tunes I haven’t played in a while. Last week, and I think THIS VIDEO IS STILL UP, I played an old setlist I found from 2010, back when I was a full-blown folk singer. And when I say full-blown folk singer, I mean harmonica solos out the wazoo and my best impression of Dylan-esque imagery with lyrics like this:
I live beneath the freeway with the fortune teller’s maid
We sleep together on broken bones but she won’t tell me her name
She comes home every evening with sea salt, that’s how she gets paid
But I came here to find love and I hope she expects the same
Each week, I’ve been picking a fun new theme to play songs around. Past Facebook Live topics include: my favorite songs that I’ve written, B-sides/songs recorded for but left off my records, cover songs that shaped my musical journey, songs about drinking, and on and on. Tune in Thursdays at 8pm EST (or watch the replay, they’re usually up for a few days afterwards so you can enjoy over the weekend) to basically hang out with me in my bedroom each week and for a chance to hear songs you may not ever hear anywhere else.
But, back to the topic at hand. I do have more “free” time these days but seem busier than ever. Weird how that happens… But, in addition to those weekly Facebook Live shows, here’s a quick rundown of what I’ve been up to lately:
New BradleyWik.com Store and new T-Shirt designs!
I realize the “store” on my website hasn’t been the greatest and it was far beyond time for an update. Not to mention that CDBaby who had been handling my online orders apparently closed their online store without telling me. So, thanks CDBaby… But, regardless, it was time. So, check out THE NEW AND IMPROVED STORE on the website.
Everything has been brought in-house so we will be receiving a larger portion of the revenue (although this likely means international orders are no more unless I can find a cost-effective way to ship overseas), which helps out greatly during these uncertain times.
My favorite part of the new store is the “MADE TO ORDER” section where you can choose not only your t-shirt style and color, but ALSO can get a whole shitload of other things custom printed, ranging from coffee mugs to magnets to laptop and phone cases to, yep, EVEN MASKS. You can now proudly say “Some Girls Still Love Rock N’ Roll” while you shop for groceries. It’s pretty fucking cool, you should check it out.
On that “MADE TO ORDER” page, click the design you want to customize and the “customize/order” button. That’ll take you to the TeePublic page where you can start choosing options. There are multiple t-shirt and hoodie styles and a wide array of colors to pick from, but if you scroll down the page you’ll see all the other options you can have that design printed on. And there’s lots to choose from.
I will say, their standard t-shirts are really nice. They’re actually the exact same brand/style I chose (and I’m really picky) to have my last run of t-shirts printed on. I was expecting something thick and uncomfortable to be the “standard” or cheapest option and was very pleasantly surprised. And they crank these things out, too. Most made to order places take a couple weeks at least, but my last order through this company was placed on a Monday and I had it in my hands Thursday afternoon. Can’t say it’ll always be that quick but they do a great job and the quality is great. Trust me, I tried/researched a lot of made to order places before I settled on this one and it was worth it.
We are also working on some new designs (we currently have 5), so keep checking back for updates on those. If you have a suggestion for a song/lyric/etc. you’d like to have on a t-shirt, coffee mug, magnet, mask, etc., let me know via EMAIL or on FACEBOOK or INSTAGRAM. I can’t say I will make them all as I’m rather limited on what me or my wife has time to design (see all the other shit I’m currently working on), but we definitely welcome and will take suggestions into consideration.
Why We Write (and How!) Video Series
This is a video series ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL (I also keep you up to date on this very blog) where I interview friends, colleagues and fellow songwriters about, wait for it, why they write music and, you’ll never guess, how they go about building a song from the ground up. We also dive into musical influences, their favorite songs they’ve written, maybe they play a song or two for us, etc. It’s a fun, long-form interview series (usually 45-60 minutes) and I can’t wait to make more of these videos as it’s fascinating to listen to people talk very openly and personally about their songwriting craft.
I’ve released two videos thus far, one with the venerable MR. JON FICKES and one with all-around-amazing-human-being ADAM REID WILSON. More are in the works. A little birdie told me (do little birdies still deliver news these days? Or am I suddenly just really old?) that an episode featuring yours truly, Mr. Bradley Wik himself, is coming soon. That should be interesting. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say…
Friday Night is for the Drinkers, the Podcast
So, this one hasn’t been released just yet, but we have recorded a few episodes already. This is podcast that my good friend Kevin Pietila and I co-host. It’s basically what used to happen when Kevin and I would get together for a drink (remember when we could get together with people for a drink? Good times…). Kevin, a whiskey connoisseur, filmmaker, writer, video editor, basically, a modern day renaissance man; would introduce me to whiskeys I hadn’t tried, help me understand flavor profiles and then we would get into a deep discussion about something that was usually related to our lives artists. Since that is no longer possible, due to the coronavirus, and also the fact that we now live 3000 miles apart, we decided to keep the conversations going (albeit they are a little more structured on pod than in real life) virtually. I can’t wait for y’all to hear this. I’ve had so much fun just having these conversations and I think you’ll enjoy them as well.
I won’t spoil the whiskeys, but a couple topics we’ve discussed thus far: why we became artists in the first place and our take on a favorite movies list, with categories like “favorite movie to watch while sick,” “favorite movie you never want to watch again” and “favorite movie to watch while drinking.” Keep an eye out on this blog, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM or wherever fine Bradley Wik news is printed, for updates for the eventual release date for the Friday Night is for the Drinkers podcast.
Another New Solo Record!
Remember back in April when I released my first solo record during quarantine? (Listen on SPOTIFY or listen/buy on BANDCAMP). Feels like a hundred years ago, doesn’t it? Well, it certainly does for me. So, I’m working on another solo record I’m hoping to release in September, but you never know how these things will go. Sometimes they finish early, sometimes late; probably the latter since I’m doing everything myself again (writing, recording, mixing, mastering, etc.). But, I’m really excited about this group of songs. It’s a few new ones mixed with a few I’ve really wanted to record over the years but never quite fit on a record before. It’s shaping up to be another pseudo-folky, pseudo-synthy amalgamation with some pretty love songs (a change of pace for ol’ Bradley, I know), some upbeat poppier songs and some of that sad bastard type shit I’m famous for from the first solo record. It’s been really fun to get back into the studio, a.k.a. my bedroom, and get back to work on some music. I also have plans for another solo EP after this one, but I need to focus up or I’ll never get either done…
So, there you have it, folks. That’s why I’ve been a little distant lately though I’ll try and provide more frequent updates in the future. Well, that and the fact that I’ve spent well over a hundred hours trying to get unemployment and then going back and forth with them as they owe me a lot of money they seem determined to never pay out. Good times…
Until next time, keep a good head and always carry a lightbulb…
The new and improved bradleywik.com store!