John Wesley WEHMILLER

John Wesley Wehmiller "Wes" John Wesley Wehmiller "Wes", bassist, composer, photographer, athlete, died in his sleep January 30, 2005 following a valiant fight with cancer. He was 33. Born September 12, 1971 in New York City, Wes and his brother, Abe grew up outside of Philadelphia. Wes was born hearing music. He began creating music of his own at a very early age and, by age 7, had begun to study classical piano. At age 13, Wes taught himself to play the bass. He went on to earn numerous honors during high school, including being named to All State Jazz Band, where he received the Delaware Music Educators' "Award of Distinction." In 1989, Downbeat Magazine named Wehmiller to the "MusicFest USA All Stars." Prior to his high school senior year, Wes attended "Berklee in Santa Fe," a workshop where he earned a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. While at Berklee, Wehmiller was mentored by bassist/professor Danny Morris, who became a close colleague and friend. He returned to Berklee many times to teach master classes in Morris' History of Bass. In 1993, Wes moved to the west coast where, as part of a vibrant Los Angeles community of Berklee alumni, he collaborated with Colin Keenan, Shawn Pierce, Bryan Beller, Griff Peters, Joe Travers, Tom Langford, Dweezil Zappa, Yogi Lonich, Dorian Hartsong, Ali Handal, and many, many others. From 1997 through 2001, Wehmiller toured worldwide with the multi-platinum selling pop band Duran Duran, and appeared on many TV shows with them as well, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Today Show, VH-1's Storytellers and Hard Rock Live. Since that time, Wes has performed with Missing Persons and several other L.A. based bands, and his work appears on numerous recordings produced in the L.A. area and in Vancouver. He gained endorsement deals with SWR bass amplification systems and La Bella Strings. In December of 2004, Wes realized a lifetime dream gig, playing with ex-Frank Zappa guitarist and avant-garde solo artist Mike Keneally in San Diego. Wes was an extraordinary photographer, working in both the studio setting and in the natural world. His photography appears on the album covers and notes of several of his musician colleagues. His recent work can be seen at http://wez.smugmug.com. Passionate about athletics, Wes was a serious hockey player whose insights and talents in hockey were nourished by his many Canadian friends from Berklee as well as by his friendships with several NHL players. More recently, he began cycling as a way to maintain his strength during the past year, and he quickly found that he was able to climb the toughest slopes of the Santa Monica Mountains with the most experienced riders in the area. He had been invited to join a sponsored racing team for the upcoming season. Wes was named for John Wesley Powell, a visionary scientist and anthropologist who explored and documented the American West in the late 1800's. Among Powell's many skills was his knowledge of the languages and cultures of the Native Americans of the West. At a Tribute Concert held by Wes' extended musician family on February 4th in Los Angeles, it was very clear that Wes, like his namesake, had truly learned the languages of the many worlds in which he journeyed. Cyclists, hockey players, musicians, photographers, family and friends all spoke in words and through music of his genius, humor, passion, vision, humility and love of life. Wes is survived by his parents, John and Paula Wehmiller of Lewes, DE; his brother, Abram Lawrence Wehmiller of Seattle; his grandmother, Margaret Morgan Lawrence of Pomona, NY and family members Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Irving Hamer, Martin and Tolani Lawrence-Lightfoot of Boston, Charles Lawrence, Mari Matsuda, Kimi and Paul Matsuda-Lawrence of Washington, DC, Eleanor Fernald of Seattle, Maia Lawrence of San Francisco, and Eric, Suzanne, Dominic and Ericca Brown of New Orleans. A Memorial Service for Wes Wehmiller will be held on Sunday, March 6th at 2 pm in the Lang Music Building at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA. Memorial gifts may be made to The Wes Wehmiller Memorial Scholarship Fund, Office of Institutional Advancement, Berklee College of Music, 1140 Boylston Street, Boston, MA. 02215. PARSELL FUNERAL HOME