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I met Brandon Wiard at Frank’s Restaurant. In case you don’t know: Wiard is pronounced “wired” and not “wihard” or something weird like that. Good to know, because this 23-year-old musician, wearing an Interlochen t-shirt and looking like he could easily be in high school, just might be one of the next big things out of this town, or so a lot of people say. Wiard independently released a new album in July, Painting a Burning Building (Cerderus). Tracks like “Miss Michigan” and “Second Story” can make you feel like Wiard can both guess your thoughts and somehow know all the music you secretly like. This album, two years in the making, just might be the one that boots Wiard to national levels. He’s been on the road, opening for Mason Jennings and David Dondero. There have been talks of possible soundtrack projects for romantic comedies. And just this morning, he had been dreaming of earning an international reputation while he was in the shower. Well, if the English like Elvis Costello so much, why not Wiard? The Costello comparisons keep on coming—Wiard’s voice does sounds quite similar at times—but the singer aspires more to a Bowie-like mood and harmony. “I only knew one Costello song when I was compared to him the first time,” Wiard says. Wiard moves easily from pop to country to rock; his explanation is simply that he likes doing something “fresh.” And since Wiard began his career eight years ago, singing at school parties and camp concerts, he hasn’t gone long without doing something new. He dropped out of college as a freshman to pursue songwriting full time. “I had just realized that I could write songs naturally,” he says. He
played in two groups and has been solo for three years, and now
he’s halfway through his third and fourth albums (he’s
working on two at once). He has recorded some tracks with Jim Roll.
He says some new songs will be “darker and more Postal Service-ish.”
While Wiard’s still a “baby” in a town of established
and formidable musicians, growing up with him should be interesting.
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