Wes Freed
Encyclopedia
Wes Freed is a Richmond, Virginia
-based musician, "outsider" artist, illustrator, and actor whose works have appeared on the album covers of numerous American rock bands, including Cracker
and Lauren Hoffman
. With the assistance of graphic design / layout artists Lilla Hood and Jenn Bryant, Freed is almost single-handedly responsible for creating the artistic aesthetic of the immensely popular, Athens
-via-Alabama
rock band, Drive-By Truckers
.
of Virginia. The feel and look of this area has inspired most of his landscapes and many of the characters who appear in his paintings and comics. According to Freed, when he was about seven years old he ran across a DuPont safety magazine that featured a drawing of a bottle-wielding, bowler hat wearing skeleton driving a roadster. He said he became so enamored of the idea of a boozy hot-rod driving skeleton, that he's been painting variations on that theme ever since.
In the mid-1980s, Freed attended Virginia Commonwealth University
in Richmond, where he earned a degree in Painting and Printmaking. Among his influences at VCU were Professors James Bumgardner and Myron Helfgott, as well as Lester Van Winkle, Joe Seipel and James Bradford. According to Freed, the influence was not so much a matter of influencing his own artwork or style, but because they shared his profound love for live music, British motorcycles, and low-cost alcoholic beverages.
In the early 1980s, Freed formed and became the frontman for several bands, including the punk rock Mudd Helmut, the hillbilly soul of Dirtball, and country-influenced and critically acclaimed band, The Shiners. While in Dirtball and The Shiners, he shared vocal duties with his wife Jyl, whom he married Feb. 29, 1996. According to aficionados, the couple's combined vocals have been favorably compared to the seminal L.A. punk band, X.
Also during that time, Freed began drawing a comic strip he called "Willard's Garage" that ran in various alternative newspapers in the Richmond area. "Willard's Garage" told stories of the somewhat fictional "Crow Holler", a Celt-Appalachian lore-laced location inhabited by skeletal moonshiners and other mystical / comical characters. Of all of the characters, the most popular by far was Hexter the Blood Possum, who eventually had his own spin-off comic entitled "Wild Tales of a Simple Life". Hexter also garnered a pivotal role in the plot of Jim Stramel's "rednexploitation" movie, "The Thrillbillys", which starred Freed and fellow musicians Angry Johnny and Erin Snyder.
Through a variety of circumstances, in 2001 Freed began appearing in various regional television commercials in the role of "a redneck type character", including one for the North American chain of junkyards known as Pick-N-Pull or U-Wrench-It.
The Truckers have remained friends with the Freeds since that time, often staying with them when they played shows in Richmond. It was there that the band first saw Freed's artwork and felt his vision meshed well with their musical sensibilities.
When DBT began work on their ambitious two-disc project, Southern Rock Opera
, they asked Freed to contribute some of the album art for the series of punk-inspired roots-rock songs loosely based on the story of Lynyrd Skynyrd
, as well as Hood’s own experience coming to grips with the contradictions of his Southern heritage.
The album was widely praised after its release in 2001, earning four stars from longtime Rolling Stone critic David Fricke
. The Truckers unique sound and rowdy shows drew crowds and soon elevated them from struggling touring band to regular sellout.
Freed also painted and designed the album covers and booklets for the band's 2003 release, Decoration Day
, 2004’s The Dirty South
, 2006's A Blessing and a Curse
, and 2008's Brighter Than Creation's Dark
.
.
with his wife and their small menagerie of animals which has included a pair of Virginia opossum
s, among other things.
Freed stopped actively pursuing a musical career around 2001, partially to be able to concentrate more on his artwork. With his weekends free for the first time in his adult life, he was able to become a full-time NASCAR
fan. One of his favorite memories and crowning achievements is having had his signature "Drive-by Truckers" lettering featured on the #07 Jack Daniel's
Nextel Cup
car, driven at the time by NASCAR driver and former World of Outlaws
Champion, Dave Blaney
. This was facilitated by The Drive-by Truckers affiliation with the Jack Daniels company.
Some of his artistic influences are Giorgio de Chirico
, Robert Williams (artist)
, Phillip Guston (later work), R. Crumb, Miles Carpenter, Amadeo Modigliani and Edward Gorey
.
Before his affiliation with Drive-by Truckers, Freed was rapidly becoming popular for his renderings of famous musical artists, and still gets a lot of commission requests for a wide variety of musicians. Among some of the portraits he has done through the years have been Bob Dylan
, Ray Charles
, Jerry Lee Lewis
, Richard Thompson (musician), George Jones
, Patsy Cline
, Hank Williams Sr., Gram Parsons
, Johnny Cash
, Ronnie Van Zant
, Ronnie Van Zant & Robert Johnson (musician), Gram Parsons and Keith Richards
, Buck Owens
, Dwight Yoakam
, Merle Haggard
playing poker, Nick Cave
, The Band
, The Carter Family, Jerry Garcia
& Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and more.
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
-based musician, "outsider" artist, illustrator, and actor whose works have appeared on the album covers of numerous American rock bands, including Cracker
Cracker (band)
Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring founders/songwriters singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. They are best known for their platinum-selling 1993 album, Kerosene Hat, featuring the hit songs "Low", "Euro-Trash Girl", and "Get Off This".Founders Lowery and Hickman...
and Lauren Hoffman
Lauren Hoffman
Lauren Hoffman is an American singer-songwriter. She was signed to Virgin Records America and released her debut album titled Megiddo in 1997. She parted ways with the label in 1999, following her disenchantment with their lack of promotion for her, whilst Virgin went on to issue her sophomore...
. With the assistance of graphic design / layout artists Lilla Hood and Jenn Bryant, Freed is almost single-handedly responsible for creating the artistic aesthetic of the immensely popular, Athens
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
-via-Alabama
The Shoals
The Shoals is a metropolitan area in northwestern Alabama, officially known as the Florence-Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Area, including the cities of Florence, Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, and Sheffield, and the counties of Lauderdale and Colbert...
rock band, Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers are an alternative country/Southern rock band based in Athens, Georgia, though three out of six members are originally from The Shoals region of Northern Alabama, and the band strongly identifies with Alabama. Their music uses three guitars as well as bass, drums, and now...
.
Biography
Born April 25, 1964, Wes Freed grew up on his family's cattle farm in the Shenandoah ValleyShenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
of Virginia. The feel and look of this area has inspired most of his landscapes and many of the characters who appear in his paintings and comics. According to Freed, when he was about seven years old he ran across a DuPont safety magazine that featured a drawing of a bottle-wielding, bowler hat wearing skeleton driving a roadster. He said he became so enamored of the idea of a boozy hot-rod driving skeleton, that he's been painting variations on that theme ever since.
In the mid-1980s, Freed attended Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...
in Richmond, where he earned a degree in Painting and Printmaking. Among his influences at VCU were Professors James Bumgardner and Myron Helfgott, as well as Lester Van Winkle, Joe Seipel and James Bradford. According to Freed, the influence was not so much a matter of influencing his own artwork or style, but because they shared his profound love for live music, British motorcycles, and low-cost alcoholic beverages.
In the early 1980s, Freed formed and became the frontman for several bands, including the punk rock Mudd Helmut, the hillbilly soul of Dirtball, and country-influenced and critically acclaimed band, The Shiners. While in Dirtball and The Shiners, he shared vocal duties with his wife Jyl, whom he married Feb. 29, 1996. According to aficionados, the couple's combined vocals have been favorably compared to the seminal L.A. punk band, X.
Also during that time, Freed began drawing a comic strip he called "Willard's Garage" that ran in various alternative newspapers in the Richmond area. "Willard's Garage" told stories of the somewhat fictional "Crow Holler", a Celt-Appalachian lore-laced location inhabited by skeletal moonshiners and other mystical / comical characters. Of all of the characters, the most popular by far was Hexter the Blood Possum, who eventually had his own spin-off comic entitled "Wild Tales of a Simple Life". Hexter also garnered a pivotal role in the plot of Jim Stramel's "rednexploitation" movie, "The Thrillbillys", which starred Freed and fellow musicians Angry Johnny and Erin Snyder.
Through a variety of circumstances, in 2001 Freed began appearing in various regional television commercials in the role of "a redneck type character", including one for the North American chain of junkyards known as Pick-N-Pull or U-Wrench-It.
Drive-By Truckers
Freed's relationship with the band started in the mid-90s, when Freed was touring with his now-defunct group, Dirtball, a critically acclaimed band that Allmusic called "alt-country at its finest." Freed first saw the Drive-by Truckers play at Atlanta's Bubbapalooza in 1996 and asked the them to play the Capital City Barn Dance, a monthly series of alt-country shows that the Freeds, along with several other Richmonders hosted, and a friendship was born.The Truckers have remained friends with the Freeds since that time, often staying with them when they played shows in Richmond. It was there that the band first saw Freed's artwork and felt his vision meshed well with their musical sensibilities.
When DBT began work on their ambitious two-disc project, Southern Rock Opera
Southern Rock Opera
Southern Rock Opera is the third studio album by the alt country band Drive-By Truckers. It was a double album and released in 2001. Covering an ambitious range of subject matter from the politics of race to 70s stadium rock, Southern Rock Opera either imagines, or filters, every topic through the...
, they asked Freed to contribute some of the album art for the series of punk-inspired roots-rock songs loosely based on the story of Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
, as well as Hood’s own experience coming to grips with the contradictions of his Southern heritage.
The album was widely praised after its release in 2001, earning four stars from longtime Rolling Stone critic David Fricke
David Fricke
David Fricke is a senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine, where he writes predominantly on rock music. In the 1990s, he was managing editor before stepping down.-Background:David Fricke is a graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
. The Truckers unique sound and rowdy shows drew crowds and soon elevated them from struggling touring band to regular sellout.
Freed also painted and designed the album covers and booklets for the band's 2003 release, Decoration Day
Decoration Day
Decoration Day is the former name of Memorial Day in the United States, and may also refer to:*Decoration Day , a song by Sonny Boy Williamson I, later performed by John Lee Hooker*Decoration Day , a 2003 album by Drive-By Truckers...
, 2004’s The Dirty South
The Dirty South (album)
The Dirty South is the fifth album by Alabamian alternative country/Southern rock group Drive-By Truckers, released in 2004. The Dirty South is Drive-By Truckers' third concept album...
, 2006's A Blessing and a Curse
A Blessing and a Curse
- Personnel :* Mike Cooley – guitar, vocals* Patterson Hood – guitar, vocals* Jason Isbell – guitar, vocals* Brad Morgan – drums* Shonna Tucker – bass- Chart performance :- References :*...
, and 2008's Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Brighter Than Creation's Dark is the seventh studio album released by Drive-By Truckers. It was released on January 22, 2008 in the United States. Recorded during and after the acoustic Dirt Underneath Tour, the album features a more stripped down, and country based sound not seen since their...
.
Current work
On top of his work for DBT, he is also called upon to do illustrations for various advertisements, and generally has a waiting list of commissions that he is working on, as well as trying to find time to sneak in an occasional piece that he is doing for his own enjoyment. One current project he's very proud to be involved with is Hoosier Biker Jim Bantz's Shop Truck project, which will feature paintings and artwork by various American folk artists, including the late Harley Warrick, who painted an estimated 20,000 of the mid-western barns advertising Mail Pouch tobacco. Freed has completed a dash board for the truck, and will be adding more to the door panels in the near future. When completed, the truck will be a museum-worthy tribute to contemporary folk art, as well as a rolling piece of AmericanaAmericana
Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
.
Side Notes
Wes currently lives in Mechanicsville, VirginiaMechanicsville, Virginia
Mechanicsville is the name of four places in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States of America:*Mechanicsville, Hanover County, Virginia*Mechanicsville, Loudoun County, Virginia*Mechanicsville, Rockbridge County, Virginia...
with his wife and their small menagerie of animals which has included a pair of Virginia opossum
Virginia Opossum
The Virginia opossum , commonly known as the North American opossum or tlacuache in Mexico, is the only marsupial found in North America north of Mexico. A solitary and nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat, and thus the largest opossum, it is a successful opportunist...
s, among other things.
Freed stopped actively pursuing a musical career around 2001, partially to be able to concentrate more on his artwork. With his weekends free for the first time in his adult life, he was able to become a full-time NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
fan. One of his favorite memories and crowning achievements is having had his signature "Drive-by Truckers" lettering featured on the #07 Jack Daniel's
Jack Daniel's
Jack Daniel's is a brand of sour mash Tennessee whiskey that is among the world's best-selling liquors. It is known for its square bottles and black label. As of November, 2007, one blogger was claiming that it was the best-selling whiskey in the world. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee by...
Nextel Cup
NEXTEL Cup
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing . The series was originally known as the Strictly Stock Series and Grand National Series . While leasing its naming rights to R. J...
car, driven at the time by NASCAR driver and former World of Outlaws
World of Outlaws
The World of Outlaws is an American motorsports sanctioning body. The body sanctions two major national touring series. It is best known for sanctioning a national tour of sprint cars. It later purchased a national tour of late model stockcars called the World of Outlaws Late Model Series...
Champion, Dave Blaney
Dave Blaney
David Blaney is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. He currently drives the #36 Golden Corral/Big Red Chevrolet Impala for Tommy Baldwin Racing. Blaney was a successful sprint car driver before he started racing in NASCAR...
. This was facilitated by The Drive-by Truckers affiliation with the Jack Daniels company.
Some of his artistic influences are Giorgio de Chirico
Giorgio de Chirico
Giorgio de Chirico was a pre-Surrealist and then Surrealist Italian painter born in Volos, Greece, to a Genovese mother and a Sicilian father. He founded the scuola metafisica art movement...
, Robert Williams (artist)
Robert Williams (artist)
Robert Williams is an American painter, cartoonist, and founder of Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine.Williams was part of the Zap Collective, along with other underground cartoonists such as Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton...
, Phillip Guston (later work), R. Crumb, Miles Carpenter, Amadeo Modigliani and Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his macabre illustrated books.-Early life:...
.
Before his affiliation with Drive-by Truckers, Freed was rapidly becoming popular for his renderings of famous musical artists, and still gets a lot of commission requests for a wide variety of musicians. Among some of the portraits he has done through the years have been Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Richard Thompson (musician), George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
, Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
, Hank Williams Sr., Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Ronnie Van Zant
Ronnie Van Zant
Ronald Wayne "Ronnie" Van Zant was an American lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and a founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd...
, Ronnie Van Zant & Robert Johnson (musician), Gram Parsons and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
, Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
, Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
, Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
playing poker, Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
, The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
, The Carter Family, Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
& Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and more.