Joy Wilson

Like a full-grown angel … in pigtails.

With a voice like lemonade … laced with bourbon.

Joy Wilson is, to put it mildly, unique. And the more you hear her, the more complex the sound. This is due not only to Ms. Wilson, the frontwoman and singer/songwriter, but to the three other members of her eponymous Joy Wilson Band ("JWB"). Heavy hitters in their own right, all add their individually impressive talents to meld into one hell of a whole.

With just a hint of a smile, she delivers a melodic, yet hard driving song about—wait for it—oral sex. Called "Swing Low," the first time you hear it, you think your mind's playing a trick on you. That long, brown-haired beauty with the peaches and cream skin can't be singing about what you think she's singing about … can she? Oh God, with every woman in the audience singing along at full voice, you realize that your ears aren't deceiving you after all. The melody alone is catchy and powerful and before you know it, you find yourself joining in, full voice, with the rest of her exuberant fans.

She then switches to a heart-rending ballad such as "To Forgive," made all the richer with the accompanying violin solos from extraordinary guitarist/violinist Jason Barlow. Days later, the refrain kept repeating in my head—either I had to get a lobotomy or get to another Joy Wilson gig, post-haste.

A frequent performer at the Bitter End Pub on Burnside, Portland's gain is Durango, Colorado's loss. With three CD's under her belt, all produced under her independent label, YuGo Girl Records, she is a prolific songwriter who writes all over the map. In the same set, she'll sing about the loneliness of a homeless man who longs for conversation ("3 am"), then she'll switch to a celebratory song about Greenwich Village during the days she spent busking at the subway stations (her signature "Bleecker Street"), to female sexuality (see above!).

Aside from singing lead, Joy is also an accomplished rhythm guitarist, playing both acoustic and electric guitar. Like Ani DiFranco, she employs standard and alternate tunings. The clarity of her voice is heightened by the strains of her guitar with its smooth rhythm style, effortless strumming and expert dynamics.

On lead guitar and/or electric violin, is wunderkind Jason Barlow. What he does for the JWB is not unlike the punch that violinist Boyd Tinsley delivers to the Dave Matthews Band. (Dixie Chicks and Nickel Creek may also come to mind—but Jason is in a class all by himself.) A classically trained violinist who won competitions at a young age, Jason then developed his amazing chops on bluegrass. And being an overachiever he picked up the guitar as well. Now, whether it's the instrument under his chin or the telecaster-style guitar propped against his belt buckle, he's equally good on both, switching effortlessly between chords and leads.

His dynamics are unspeakably strong. Though he's not a showy performer, since his technique is so shockingly amazing, he can't help but astound everyone in the audience. As backup singer (he can do backup even while playing fiddle!), his vocal harmonies fit perfectly with Joy's voice.

Though he looks like he's also singing backup, Brud Giles on drums usually lip syncs to each and every song. (How many non-singing drummers know all the lyrics?) As fun to watch as he is to hear, the left-handed drummer makes good use of all of his drums. Like Jason, he doesn't throw things in just for show, but to enhance the song. His tempo is dead-on, with variation of volume and intensity. As Brud states on the website, "It's not about HOW MUCH you play in a song. The trick is playing the right thing at the right time."

The last of the fearsome foursome, creatively filling in the bottom end, is bassist Jeff Gadette. Hailing from Salt Lake City (not a Mormon), Jeff switches off between 4-string and 5-string bass. Not the usual stare-at-your-feet-and-mumble kind of bass player, Jeff takes the word "animated" to a new high. With his aggressive style, Elvis hips and obvious delight in performing with his bandmates, his style is a great contrast to Joy's softer side. Partly due to his vintage bass rig, he's a bit of a braggart about his "big tone." As he states, "I'd take 70's tubes over solid state any old day. For tone and volume there's no comparison. It may be overkill, but Joy never complains." Nor do we. He doesn't overpower, but for once, you can hear the bass without straining.

Joy will often finish an hour-long set with a musical version of a nineteenth century poem, Invictus by William Earnest Henley, using tension and dynamics to build to a stirring conclusion. The last line of the poem is "I am the captain of my soul." At the end of a performance by JWB, there is no doubt that Joy is the captain of her soul. And for that evening, she just may have become the captain of yours as well.

by Kim Murray