Wes Kelley
Rhythm Guitar & Vocals

I can still recall the first time that I knew I wanted to play the guitar. I was reading a copy of Boy's Life Magazine and in the back of the magazine were these little one or two inch ads where you could buy everything from foreign coins to ant farms. Sort of a hobby page, I guess. There was always this one, bigger ad that stood out because it had a drawing in it.

The drawing was kind of a cartoon sketch of a kid holding a guitar and singing. You could see the notes coming out of the guitar. The kid had his head back in this real dramatic pose and sitting at his feet were two or three young girls who were looking up at him kind of doe-eyed. All the ad said was, "Learn To Play The Guitar!" and an address where you could send $5. They probably sent you a Mel Bay for Beginners book, since that's what everyone was using back then.

Guitars and girls. I was sold! Somehow I convinced my parents of the many advantages of having a young guitarist in their home; although I'm sure I sold them on features and benefits that were somewhat different than the ones I had in mind.

God bless my folks for their encouragement and thank God they didn't know my motivations! Maybe they did, or at least my father did since he'd been a drummer and vibes player with Benny Goodman when he was a young man.

I think I was about fifteen or so when I actually wrote my first complete song. I was a camp counselor and the song was something about camp life. It was horrible.

Now, after 35 years of folk, rock jazz and all the in-betweens , the Delta 88s is my first total immersion into the blues. Being part of The Delta 88s has given me an opportunity to work with an ensemble of talented musicians who each brings to the group their own singular interpretation of the blues. The songs we play have their roots in the blues community, but together the sound that we create is uniquely ours.

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