Interview with Will Wheaton


Q: You've gone independent quite early with your Platinum Bass Records label. Please tell me more about the motivation to start your own imprint and also what you've felt that your contract with MCA never yielded an album.

Will Wheaton: I felt I had to do this in this way to make sure that this time the music actually reached the people. The times prior - which were numerous - there was always some political obstacle. It was never the music. The MCA deal didn't yield anything because of politics. That deal was a product of the show that I did with Dick Clark. Even after he sent a letter to the MCA stating that he would do everything in his power to make the record a success. That didn't help...

Q: How content are you with PBR so far. Where do you see the advantages of your own label and where the limitations?

Will Wheaton: The advantages are control and freedom. The obvious disadvantage is limited is capital.

Q: I've noticed that you've also included the websites and e-mails of all the artists involved on Old School Soul in the booklet. Actually that's the first time I saw it. Why did you do it?

Will Wheaton: You never know who's hands a record will wind up in. All the people that were a part of this were dedicated to helping me. Some of them donated there time for nothing. It's important to me that everyone who worked on this CD can benefit from it. We are all artist and every little bit helps. When I sing on major records I make sure my name is there. That creates work! And we all wanna get paid right?

Q: There's been a six year hiatus since your album Consenting Adultz. What have you done in the meantime and why did it take you so long to release Old School Soul?

Will Wheaton: The lapse happened because I was trying to decide if I wanted to do another CD at all. For a long time I didn't want to do. What changed my mind was seeing how many people were still buying Consenting Adultz without any promotion. That gave me the motivation to reach 1million people with Old School Soul. That's what were doing right now...

Q: Please tell me something about the recording process of Old School Soul.

Will Wheaton: Old School Soul has actually been in the making since Consenting Adultz was released in 1998. I wrote When Nobody Gave A Damn and Where Are You Now in November of 1998. Most of the people that I worked with are friends of mine and or musicians in my band. My biggest motivation to finish this record came from my buddy Young MC. He and I worked together to write Anastacia's Not That Kind. After that we began writing together for some of his CD's, my project, and various other projects. From there 4 new songs were created for this project. Including Do My Thang which was a tribute to the late great Barry White. Old School Soul came about after a meeting at the end of last year with the writer of Love's Here on the Consenting Adultz album. I told him I needed a groove track and he played me that one. The rest was history. I wrote it in an afternoon and we recorded it over the next two weeks. I enjoyed every minute of creating this record because I loved each song. The only song I didn't write was Any Other Way. It's one of those records that makes you want to be in love with somebody. I love making people feel that way.

Q: You've also recorded a house song (Come On Everybody). For me deep house is nothing less than today's uptempo soul music. But still it doesn't happen very often that you'll find a genuine house song on a soul album that isn't just a remix. What's the reason in your opinion that house music hardly leaves its niche of 12" releases and is hardly heard on a soul record?

Will Wheaton: I'm not sure why this happens. Probably because most of it's exposure only comes happens in clubs. The reason you heard it on my record is that I own the record...LOL As I said before control and freedom....A lot of people felt that this song might not fit the CD I didn't care about it fitting I just cared about it being good. The funny thing is more people comment on that song than any other. People tell me they work out to it. It's get them motivated to do things in their lives, etc. That to me is the power of music. If it makes you feel it's real.

Q: You sell you albums on your website. And they are also available on cdbaby and in selected record stores in LA. Which one of this distribution channels is the most successful. Do you plan to offer single songs for downloads as well?

Will Wheaton: At this point Cdbaby and WillWheaton.com are neck and neck. Cdbaby however, is a site that people buy from on a daily basis and I don't mind that (as I'm typing this a sale just came in from Cdbaby). The point is to get it sold. You need those accelerators to keep it moving out of your house. As long as people are receiving their product on time I'm happy however they buy it. Obviously I would be great if it could all come through me. However, I'm not that greedy. The CD is now available from my website in download form.

Q: You've had your share on major labels. What do you think is the reason of the loss in sales for the major labels? And what do you think of the state of soul music today?

Will Wheaton: I think the public is tired of bad artist. And artist such as myself are tired of trying to convince labels that we're good. I also believe the public wants to pick the songs they like and not have to keep the songs they don't want. That's what's hurting everyone not just the majors. Well I should say everyone who doesn't have the clue. Apple has made a fortune with the iPod because people like the fact that they can download only their favorite songs. In the computer age it's really about freedom of choice. The lablels are known to shove artist down the publics throat until they buy them. The internet has changed that. And I think it's great for everyone. Don't believe the hype either. These majors are still making money they're just having to work harder to do it.

Q: Your website states that "nothing compares to Will's own live show". What makes your live shows so special that they are better than your recorded work?

Will Wheaton: I come to life on stage. I used to hate to hear artist say that the studio was so cold and so sterile. Well the truth is....IT IS. There's no energy to feed off of. I first learned to sing for living breathing people and to feed off of their energy. When my band and I get on stage and the crowd is hype we have a ball or even if they aren't we make sure we don't leave the stage until they are. We play whatever we have to make it happen. My show you will hear a wide variety of music. We don't just play R&B we might play some hip hop, some reggae, some whatever. It's a party and we invite everybody to join.....that's what makes it so cool.

For more infos visit willwheaton.com, cdbaby.com and read my review of Old School Soul.