Wesley Willis is a rare individual. At 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds, the man attracts attention.
It was easy to find Willis before he took to the WOW Hall stage Tuesday night. He was in the lobby, of course — chatting, laughing and head-butting his awestruck fans.
Willis began performing music and selling his urban drawings on the streets of Chicago. He was discovered there and has since recorded an astonishing 30 albums on many different labels, including Alternative Tentacles, which is owned and operated by former Dead Kennedy singer Jello Biafra.
Willis’ bewildering and prolific songwriting skills and other-worldly approach to music have made him a cult icon. He is an artist and musician who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at an early age. His music is a combination of hilarious, foul-mouth lyrics tempered with new-age synthesizer hooks and a pounding two-beat bass line.
At the show, Willis was also a marketing machine, selling his t-shirts and pushing his new CD, “Greatest Hits, Volume II” to everyone that approached. He signed autographs and urged people to sponsor the nonprofit agency Support Coalition which encourages alternatives to forced psychiatric procedures such as mandatory drugging.
When asked if he was excited to play, Willis responded as only he can.
“I am excited to play. I am excited to whip that llama’s ass,” Willis said.
Marvin Stockwell, frontman for the Memphis-based band Pezz, a rock/punk group that is opening for Willis on this tour, said that this tour is a totally unique experience. Stockwell describes playing on the road with Willis as being a “joyride.”
“Wesley has a great heart and loves people and performing,” Stockwell said.
On stage, Willis methodically pounds on his Technic KN 2000 keyboard, his eyes intensely fixed on the keys. He looks on his lyric sheets, typed in all caps, and reads/raps the words to the verses before the inevitable belting of the chorus/song title.
Many of Willis’ songs culminate to his famous closing phrase, “Rock over London, rock on Chicago.” On Tuesday, he replaced “Chicago” with “Eugene, Oregon” several times, and the crowd roared with approval.
Never has there been an artist with such accessible sing-along material. He announces the name of the song multiple times before he plays it, and it is certain that the title will be the only line of the chorus. Every song is exactly the same length, but on Tuesday, he restarted his songs multiple times, taking pains to get just the right speed and instrument mix.
The attraction to Wesley Willis’ music is a perplexing one. Stockwell said that people come for a variety of reasons, and not all are positive.
“At its worst, it’s frat guys getting their jollies watching a disabled guy. But a lot of times the audience is made up of a lot of people who really love Wesley,” Stockwell said. “Wes feeds off a crowd that loves him.”
He said that Willis’ straightforward personality and genuine friendliness make him a fan favorite.
Still, touring with a man who hears voices in his head can be challenging, said Stockwell. He said that on this tour, they have seen some very positive shows, including an outstanding night in San Francisco. Other nights, including a recent show in Lake Tahoe, found Wesley being ridiculed by the audience.
Joey Mullinix, bass player for Pezz, said that Willis hears voices of two demons in his head — demons named Nerve Wrecker and Heart Breaker. It is these delusions that constitute his diagnosed schizophrenia. Stockwell said that Willis is conscious of when he is being a burden on those around him, and that he can sometimes be very critical of himself.
“There is nothing so sad as when I hear Wesley get down on himself,” Mullinix said.
At the show on Tuesday night, the people there who were only interested in the spectacle were far out numbered by those who were driven by curiosity and interest in this one-of-a-kind performer.
It’s hard to decide what the best songs of the night were. Willis’ songs all follow the exact same form and the music only varies slightly in tempo and key signature from one song to another. Still, his new song “Stop Driving Like an Asshole” and “Get Your Groove On” were big hits.
Both Stockwell and Mullinix said that few people realize that Willis is outstanding with math and directions. They said that he can remember the license plate numbers of cars he sees only once, and that he at any given time he knows exactly how many hours he has been alive.
Wesley Willis is a walking paradox. On the surface, his lyrics seem like improvised piffle. But his strict adherence to song form makes the listener think twice about the intention of the artist.
At the end of the night, Willis made a vow to return to “rock on Eugene,” and the crowd responded enthusiastically to the promise.
“I will rock here again pretty soon,” he said.