New and improved Online Store, a Video Series, a Podcast and another new Record... aka... Quarantine is busy these days...

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!

New "Why We Write (and How!)" episode with Adam Reid Wilson

Happy Friday! Wait… Is there even such a thing anymore? Well, I guess I’ll just say “hey, it’s Friday.” Yep, it is indeed a Friday. I bet half of you didn’t even know what day it was anymore (editor’s note: I had to look it up, myself). But, I am happy to announce the second episode of “Why We Write (and How!)” with guest Adam Reid Wilson.

Adam is friend of mine, a great singer, a wonderfully poignant songwriter, a business owner (he owns a music school called Learn Music in Cornelius, NC) and one of the most amazing and thoughtful people I’ve ever met. It was really fun to dive into his past and learn about why he got into writing songs in the first place, who his early musical heroes were, which artists have inspired his songwriting style, his favorite songs that he’s written, why he continues to write (and likely will throughout his entire life), and he even played a song for us on the video as well.

If you like to hear about songwriting from passionate artists, I think you’ll really enjoy this episode, which you can find below or on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/KLzf0uPs0Dw

Also, I’d recommend heading over to my YouTube page, https://www.youtube.com/bradleywik, and clicking the red “subscribe” button so you can stay up to date on all the latest videos from ol’ Bradley. Plus, it just makes me feel good. OK, that’s a lie. I don’t know (or care) how many people subscribe but I think it bumps my searchability or some shit, at least that’s what someone told me once. Or, maybe that isn’’t what they said. I was pretty drunk so I don’t remember it specifically but somehow it’s good for me, which makes it a win-win. You get to keep up on all my comings and goings on YouTube and I get something too, whatever that is.

New Video Series - Why We Write (and How!) debuts today!

I’ve been away from the site for a while as it hasn’t felt appropriate to rant to about nonsensical things like HOW SNL CONTINUES TO NEGLECT MELISSA VILLASENOR’S TALENTS or about GENESIS, HALLMARK MOVIES AND NEWSRADIO. Those things don’t really seem to matter much to me these days.

In my last blog, I wrote that I, like millions of others around the world, am so angry that nothing seems to change no matter how often police are caught harassing, brutalizing or murdering black people. There’s never any accountability on the part of the police. Over the past month, I’ve been in awe of the support for the Black Lives Matter movement across the globe and am hopeful that this time is different. It definitely feels different. I hope I was wrong in that blog. I hope things will change this time.

I do want to announce that today I launched a new video series entitled “Why We Write (and How!).” In this video series I am deep-diving into songwriting with some of my friends and fellow songwriters. As the title states, I am asking why people play music, what got them started and how they go through the process of actually taking an idea through to completion. Along the way we discuss songwriting influences and other personal stories relating to music. I find it incredibly fascinating to climb inside the minds of talented musicians and think that you will too.

In the first episode, I talk with my good friend Jon Fickes. Yes, the very man who I used to introduce as “The Blind, Ramblin’ Reverend, Mr. Jon Fickes” when we were much younger and much more naive, thinking we would be the next two Bob Dylan’s, even moving to New York City to “sing the folk” as they say. Wait, nobody fucking says that. That’s stupid.

Jon and I have known each other for a long time and he’s been a huge influence on my musical career. The first song on my first album was one of his (“The Dark Lovely”) and I closed that album with an 8+ minute epic (“Just Like Jon Fickes”) inspired by both Jon and by one of his old folk songs called “Just Like Odysseus.” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Jon is my favorite non-Bruce Springsteen songwriter. I really mean that. I thought I was pretty fucking talented until I met Jon. Hearing him inspired me to get better at my craft. Every time he’s shown me a new song, I’m like “fuck, I want to make something that good.” I thought my last album was pretty damn good until I heard HIS LAST ALBUM.

To this day, I still consider Jon the greatest folk singer of all-time. Bob Dylan may have a slightly higher peak (thinking “Desolation Row” or “Visions of Johanna”), but no one can touch Jon’s ability to channel and hit every corner of the folk genre. He can do it all. Epic tales of rambling or sailing the seas, a sad recounting of lost love, beautiful imagery to express his stories and emotions, the way he weaves his own experiences in fantastical folk tales, the fluidity of his harmonica playing, the way he can finesse his voice to fit any tune or word or emotion; I could go on and on.

And he’s tackles rock n’ roll/pop these days with the same ferocity. If you’d like to read about how I feel about his post-folk career, read my reviews of his first album “TRY AGAIN” and his lead single “DISTANCE RUNNER” off his second album entitled “Closer to a Ghost.” I love both records and I believe you will too.

If you want to take a listen, here are some links to listen/buy:

https://aviewofearthfromthemoon.bandcamp.com/releases

https://thefraidies.bandcamp.com/

To stay updated as I post more videos in this series, go to MY YOUTUBE PAGE and click subscribe so you’ll be automatically updated when they post in the future.

But, enough of my yappin’, CLICK HERE to watch the video on YouTube or just watch below.