Jaime Wyatt wrote songs, played gigs and honed her guitar playing for years before pursuing a record deal. Her voice radiates experience and her rootsy grooves fit her like a favorite pair of jeans.
I popped in the CD and was really, really blown away, recalls acclaimed songwriter-producer Pete Droge who co-wrote and produced several tracks for the singer-songwriter of the first time he heard Wyatts music. What struck me most was the magnetism of her voice. It was so appealing. You hear it and you want to get closer to it.
You can tell if somebody has that natural presence, adds Droge. Her voice glowed.
Wyatt describes her material including the effervescent Light Switch, which graced Lakeshore Records recent Wicker Park soundtrack as roots rock with a pop sensibility. The roots part incorporates some blues and country influences, she elaborates, and theres a little R&B groove sometimes, too.
Her fluency in these various genres comes in large part from relentless hard work since her adolescence. But Wyatt was immersed in pop songwriting from an early age.
There was a lot of singing in my family, she recalls of her childhood, which began in Los Angeles but was mostly spent on Washingtons remote Fox Island. We were always listening to music and singing in the car on road trips from L.A. to Washington, Wyatt remembers. We sang folk songs, Little Feat songs. I used to make up songs when I was little. My mom gave me a harmonica, and I started writing songs with that.
The households perpetual soundtrack of classic soul and discs by The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Pretenders and other pivotal artists helped to deepen Wyatts fascination with the power of popcraft.
By age 14 she was avidly writing lyrics in a notebook and working out chord progressions on guitar. Ive always written songs and come up with verses and lyrics, Wyatt notes. But I never wanted to sing in front of people until I picked up a guitar. At that point, I didnt have a problem. The guitar was my vehicle, I guess.
Wyatt rode that vehicle to open-mic performances at Tacomas weekly Antique Sandwich Club, which were broadcast on a local college station. By the time she was 15, Wyatt was performing in bars around town; soon afterward, she had a rhythm section and was playing regular gigs. We had a band called Jaime Wyatt and Seventh House, she relates. I started playing with them and we got better.
The bands sparse lineup forced Wyatt to focus her playing. It was just drums, bass and me on guitar, so I had to do more interesting, funkier rhythms to fill up space, she notes. I wasnt an expert lead player. Ive always looked down on straight-up lead, because I like parts and melody. Im such a fan of songs, of structure.
Eventually she attracted the attention of Lakeshore Records Skip Williamson, who offered Wyatt a deal after flying up to Tacoma for a show.
Wyatt crafted some material with L.A. songwriter Gregory Butler including Light Switch and was later joined in the studio by Droge, who brought in some songs hed written with his partner, Elaine Summers.
I had a lot of fun working with Pete, Wyatt remembers. He really encouraged me as a guitar player. On the song Dope Fiend, we played this counterpoint together that was like Keith Richards and [mid-period Stones guitarist] Mick Taylor.
I wrongly assumed it was the co-writer or some older, more experienced player on guitar, recalls Droge of the axework on Wyatts earlier demos. Shes got such great natural rhythm and feel, which is an elusive thing. Its hard to learn. And my bassist and drummer, who recorded with her on the new sessions, wouldnt shut up about how rock-solid her playing was.
Wyatt continues to refine material for her album, always keeping her classic influences at the forefront. A lot of rock music today sounds so sterile, she says. You dont feel it in your body. I want to write songs that move people.
