Wes Tirey, the Writer
Prolific songwriter, musician and poet Wes Tirey released his latest album, The Midwest Book of the Dead, on Dear Life at the end of April. Our wonderful contributor Lou Turner conducted a thoughtful written interview with Wes you can read here, but I was lucky to talk to him a bit more. Wes is an incredible lyricist and naturally his poems aren’t shabby either. I wanted to ask him specifically about his identity as a writer, how he processes poetry vs. songwriting, and how he got into music. I highly recommend listening to the Talking Book podcast in which Wes reads a few of his poems from the chapbook available alongside the album.
Hearing Wes say that he identified with these lone Americana figures as a youngster makes a lot of sense. His writing style and deep baritone very much aligns with this sort of American sensitive stoic figure – his vivid descriptions speak for themselves, and he shows you rather tells you about the rich emotionality of a scene. The Midwest Book of the Dead is an immense, detailed text; and his back catalog is full of gems as well. No Winners in the Blues makes me swoon, Black Wind is a beauty, and there are many more to parse through. I recommend diving into his Bandcamp discography during your next long drive.
Wes was also kind enough to make us a playlist called “Light Wash,” because it contains “Plenty of light wash denim vibes.”
Get The Midwest Book of the Dead on Bandcamp – and make sure to spring for the accompanying chapbook.
