James Wilsey Finds El Dorado

You probably know this guy as James Wilsey from the band Silvertone that backed Chris Isaak. Well, he is that guy, but prior to creating the musical signature of the 90s with his mysterious, romantic twangy guitar work on 1989's "Wicked Game," Jimmy Wilsey was known to punk rockers around the world as the bass player for San Francisco's seminal punk rock band The Avengers.

Wilsey has spent more years in the public eye on the guitar rather than bass, and many more years in the pop spotlight because of his contributions to Chris Isaak's body of work. That sultry guitar work - all Wilsey's - is a result of his non-punk rock influences such as Duane Eddy and Link Wray (though Wray's "Rumble" is pretty punk rock if you ask me).

So, 30 years after proclaiming with the Avengers "We Are the One" and 18 years after showing the world how to play a "Wicked Game" with Chris Isaak, James Wilsey releases a solo album - an instrumental album - called El Dorado.



What can you expect of El Dorado? Jimmy reveals a lot of that in his myspace blog so go ahead and give that link a click and see what he has to say... he also reveals why he calls the record "El Dorado," which is a Western / Mexican legendary place and ruler - The Golden One and his city of gold. The whole concept of El Dorado takes up a lot of cultural space and is invoked by many artists and philosophers alike.

However, to me, The Golden One right now is Jimmy Wilsey. I'm proud of my life-long pal. Long may you twang!