Musicians John Wayne’s Cage stand out in their local Virginia Beach, VA not only for their original compositions in a scene that’s heavy on cover bands, but for the concept behind those compositions. In the works since 2006, The Weaver Family Portrait wasn’t taken on as an entirely full commitment until 2008, when front man Thomas Wilder and guitarist Jared Patch decided to create the full band necessary to complete the trilogy. Soon joining them were drummer Jaimie Peterson and bassist Anthony Libengood, making John Wayne’s Cage a quartet composed of two longtime sets of friends, creating a dynamic connection between members that only can come with knowing your fellow musician for many years.
Though recently faced with a leave of absence from Peterson resulting in a performing hiatus until a replacement drummer is found, John Wayne’s Cage released the first part of their trilogy in 2009. Dubbed The Weaver Family Portrait I: Heaven, this ten track album is a collection of songs meant to “tell a story that teaches the importance of love, kindness, compassion, and selflessness—lessons we as humans, should all learn.” (John Wayne’s Cage)
Based on a set of three short stories written by singer Thomas Wilder, this first installment is about a man named Dunnigton Weaver, so called after a close friend Wilder made during his 2004 tour of Iraq with The National Guard. “Dunnington dies at the beginning of the story and goes to Heaven at the time of the first war that has ever occurred there. Through his experiences during the war, he learns the importance of love, kindness, and happiness—a lesson we, as humans, should all learn. The story is meant to inspire us to be kind to and love one another as much as we possibly can. Because if we all keep love and kindness in our minds, we can change the world. That is just our hope for the world, and we are trying to spread it.”
“Heaven” in itself is a notable album for it’s origin- it’s not everyday that one comes across a local band working with legitimate concept, let alone using it as their debut release. Playing out in a style that ranges from post-rock and alt-country to your more run of the mill alternative rock, the band’s unique qualities initially don’t seem to span much farther than their concept, but “Heaven” shows promise none the less.
Starting off with an instrumental track that is both simple and slightly militant with its hushed guitar and melodic percussion, our dreamy track leads us to “The Waking Light” that has all the compositional parts of a pop-punk song, just taken down a bit tempo wise. The layering of vocal tracks used in its chorus adds to its catchy factor, but, as becomes apparent for the duration of the album, vocals aren’t John Wayne Cage’s strongest point. There’s a slightly nasal flatness behind our front man’s voice, which, with the band’s sound leaning toward the alt rock/country genre is permissible to a certain extent. Even with that forgiveness however, the end result is one that comes across as not quite sloppy, but as if the band hasn’t totally harnessed control of its vocal skills.
Compositionally “Heaven” has a few interesting twist and turns, such as the ending guitar track in “Masquerade” and the jazzy take done with “Follow Me Down”, whose guitar and drums take the song on a swirling ride of rock and funk.
The band blends sounds again in “The Days of Peace are Done” taking elements of blues and tossing them together with a heavy post-rock vibe that dances on the boarder of metal in it’s layout.
“The Battle” displays this post-rock sound at it’s finest, giving off an air of possible influences such as Thrice and Hum, even as it fades into it’s second half- egg shaker and drum heavy, part two manages to play out like a whole new song while still holding on to that same post-rock resonance as Wilder croons “I will bathe in your fire, your fire, While your ring expires, expires.”
Coming out of the heavy-handed sound of the previous few tracks the band brings us “God’s Debt”. With light cymbal and more simple instrumentals over all, this track has all the makings of a classic rock ballad, that we think has real potential if it could just be tightened up a little bit.
In the final song of The Weaver Family Portrait I: Heaven, our vocals finally come together for a consistent length of time, complete with a layered, echo-y choir of crooning that makes it safe to say that the home stretch is where the listener finds the most reward for listening.
In theory the premise of this concept is a great one, and while the story is told subtly, in a way that also lends the lyrics to be interpreted for other uses, it also loses it’s direction in it’s lack of specificity. While at some points crystal clear about the goings on in the story, at others, stanzas and word choice seem to be a little repetitive and run into one another. None the less, The Weaver Family Portrait I: Heaven is a great effort for an up and coming band, and while it may not seem like this group has entirely melded musically, there’s definite potential, and passion for what they’re doing, which sometimes matters more than anything. Concerning this three part project in particular, we look forward to seeing what John Wayne’s Cage will bring us in the future.
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The men behind the music of John Wayne’s Cage took a little time to answer some questions for us as we talked about their musical influences, what drives their music, and the first bands they ever saw.
Telegram Sam: Tell us a little about the songs people might hear during a set. Is there a specific creative direction you’re aiming towards with your music?
Thomas of JWC - We play just about everything we have. Nothing is off limits. As for a creative direction, yes, there are specifics. Our first album is called “The Weaver Family Portrait I: Heaven.” It is the first of three full length albums to come. I wrote a trilogy of short stories called “The Weaver Family Portrait,” and our first album is based on “Heaven,” part one of the series. “Heaven” is about a man called Dunnington Weaver, named after one of my best friends from my 2004 tour in Iraq while serving in The National Guard. Dunnington dies at the beginning of the story and goes to Heaven at the time of the first war that has ever occurred there. Through his experiences during the war, he learns the importance of love, kindness, and happiness—a lesson we, as humans, should all learn. The story is meant to inspire us to be kind to and love one another as much as we possibly can. Because if we all keep love and kindness in our minds, we can change the world. That is just our hope for the world, and we are trying to spread it.
T.S: What are your top three favorite cities/venues to play?
Jared of JWC - So far we have played shows in Virginia and North Carolina. We would have to say the The Taphouse in Norfolk, VA and The Jewish Mother in Virginia Beach, VA have been our favorites. Both are cozy spots with good sound and excellent beer selections . And if we must choose a third, we give it to The NorVA. It’s a great venue, with a big stage and great sound, but it doesn’t have the local hospitality.
T.S: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Anthony of JWC - The Avett Brothers, Incubus, and Circa Survive
Thomas of JWC - Fleet Foxes, Portugal. The Man, and The Dear Hunter.
Jared of JWC - The Beatles, Dr. Dog, The Police
T.S: What are your top three musical influences?
Thomas of JWC: Our biggest influence has to be The Beatles. I am big on Paul McCartney, myself.
Anthony of JWC: I am influenced by the things I have experienced and all the music I have come across. I don’t think I could limit myself to three.
Jared of JWC: Yes, the Beatles are top on the list, and it would be hard for me to pick three bands, but if I could pick three genres that I think blend in with the rock music we write, I would say folk, soul, and classical.
T.S: What’s in store for your music in the next year? Beyond that?
Thomas and Jared of JWC - We want to continue to record our next album and release that. We would like to out do ourselves with this next one. Our biggest goal is to get signed to a legitimate record label and go on tour. Each of us love to travel and see new places. What better way to do that than playing music? But being a Virginia Beach, VA band it can be tough to get your name out. There are a lot of original artists making amazing music in Virginia Beach right now, but there is also a big demand for cover bands in our area, and we’re hoping that people continue to support and develop the original music scene. There hasn’t been a rich tradition of bands making it big and breaking out of Virginia Beach to become international successes, but we would love to be a band that helps put Virginia Beach on the map.
T.S: Is there any instrument you don’t play already, but wish you did?
Thomas of JWC - I think we all wish that we played piano. We have been wanting a piano player since we started this band. We have not been successful.
Anthony of JWC - The upright bass
Jared of JWC - Yeah, definitely the piano, but honestly I wish I could play every instrument. I’d be able to fill up my own orchestra.
T.S: Who was the first band/musician you saw live?
Anthony of JWC - Diamond Rio… Not by choice
Jared of JWC - I think the first show I saw was James Taylor with my family.
Thomas of JWC - When I was young my dad would take me and my siblings to an event called “Creation.” It was sort of a Christian Woodstock. We camped for the weekend and saw countless live performances. All of it was christian music which, when I was I kid and didn’t know any better, I loved. I had some really great experiences. But once my dad introduced me to bands like Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath, the christian rock days were over. I actually can’t stand it anymore.
Tags: Album Review, Interview, Video
