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Michael Wallace |
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STREET BEAT: Regional Artist Spotlight…
ROCKIN’ AND VOTIN’ ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC
WALLACE
by Ernie Thomas
Singer/songwriter Michael Wallace got some local fame last Fall as radio stations far and near jumped all over his timely single, “The Vote Song,” an upbeat Americana song underlining the importance of exercising one’s right at the polls.
According to Wallace, that song had been inspired by a heated argument between Wallace and three of his buddies during a road trip to attend a Bob Dylan concert. Though the lyrics made reference to both Bush and Kerry, the song did not reveal Wallace’s candidate of favor by taking a side.
“The song was played on WJOB almost daily for a while there,” said Wallace, noting that it also got air play on WXRT in Chicago and X-ROCK here in the region.
“The Vote Song” set the stage for the artist’s own campaign, to promote his music and his soon-to-be released debut album, Cobblestone Wine.
Though his music is largely acoustic-driven and rooted in folk-rock, like Dylan before him, Wallace loves to go electric from time to time and let loose.
That is the energized spirit that fills Cobblestone Wine, which Wallace reports is “nearly completed” at this point. He hopes to have the album on the market by the end of summer.
“This is a project that started out simple and just took on a life of it’s own,” he said, noting how it grew from a solo acoustic album into a full production with several notable area musicians guesting on tracks. “There’s now drums, bass, guitars, piano, horns...it’s turned into this monster.”
Wallace’s primary cohort in creating Cobblestone Wine, has been multi-instrumentalist and independent recording artist, Eric Lambert.
Eric not only is producing the sessions at his Doin’ Alright Studio in Hammond, but also contributes banjo, mandolin and guitar to selected songs.
“The Sunny Side of Gray” and “Inn At Irish Hollow” are two songs in particular that are already getting attention from the album.
The former, already getting spins on the Sunday evening Night Rock Radio program over at X-ROCK/103.9, is looking to be the one that will be pushed to radio (i.e. as a single).
The latter, inspired by a vacation visit Wallace had with his wife, may soon become the official marketing song for Illinois’ Inn at Irish Hollow.
A married father and hotel industry professional by day, Wallace’s evenings are filled these days by music –– writing, recording and playing out.
“I do a lot of coffee house gigs,” he said. He also still does a few shows a year with his alma mater rock band, The Stray Toasters, a variety band whose cover repertoire spans nearly 40 years of pop/rock.
“It was the Pink Floyd Animals album and artists like Tom Petty, that made me go out and buy my first guitar,” said Wallace. “I was 13 and it was a cheap $75 Memphis Mustang Sunburst guitar. I took that thing with me everywhere... I even slept with it.”
The former Park Forest native became popular with his Rich East High School classmates when he started playing all the house parties with his first band, Blue Smoke. Later, he hit the club and college circuit with a group called, The 25th Hour.
“Then suddenly I was a little older and life happened to all of us. I went to work and the band thing fell to the side,” noted Wallace. “I lived my life, got married, had kids and now, years later, I’ve rekindled my love of playing and songwriting.” |
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