Wheelwright’s Jared Kolesar embraced his heritage as he opened Extra Innings Festival Day two in Tempe, Arizona this past weekend.
“My last name is Kolesar, and in Slavic, that means ‘wheelwright.’ And I think that the reason I like that is because it's in touch with my past, my family, and where I’m from, but you wouldn’t know it,” he said.
While this is not common knowledge to many of us, this subtlety is what brings so much significance for Wheelwright.
“It means something to me, and it may not seem to mean something to someone who hears it…It’s mine to know.”
Wheelwright is not only just a personal connection for Jared, but the name also serves as a blank canvas for him after performing for 10 years as the lead singer of the band Jared & the Mill. He explained that the name, Wheelwright, is creatively freeing for him.
“I…like the idea of it because…most people wouldn't really associate [anything with] the imagery that is evoked in your brain when you hear ‘wheelwright.’...It doesn't evoke an image in your mind.”
Not only does Wheelwright have Slavic heritage, but he also grew up in Phoenix, the fifth largest city in the U.S. His name and music both reflect a deep connection to his roots and a desire to represent the diverse culture of the Southwest. Phoenix has influenced his songwriting and has served as a guideline for his sound. Despite the city’s size, Wheelwright explained that Phoenix does not always get the recognition it deserves. However, he is trying to bring more attention to the desert city through his music.
“We're a really interesting place, because…we're smack dab in between California, Texas and Mexico, which is this convergence of cultures…The Southwest is such a culturally unique place, I try my best to to represent that music.”
His sound blends various influences that combine to illustrate Phoenix as, “A little country, a little mariachi, a little pop-punk—really, a little bit of everything,” he said.
As one of the performers at the Extra Innings Festival in Tempe, Wheelwright reflected on the opportunity to play in his hometown. He explained how surreal it was to perform to audience members who may live just down the street from him.
“It feels it's nice to…see my name with all the other cool national names, but at the same time, it's just nice to play for people that live where I live.”
In the future, Wheelwright hopes to see more Phoenix-natives on the Extra Innings stage and even a Phoenix-based music festival.
Wheelwright’s newest EP, “Keep Me Going,” was released the day he performed at Extra Innings. “Keep Me Going” combines alternative country with lyrics that are inspired by punk artists, including blink-182. Wheelwright also draws inspiration from older country music, which he calls “outlaw country.” These genres blended to form a diverse sound on the EP.
“I know I wanted to take elements of all the songs, of all the music types…but…it [the EP] still takes a lot of shapes,” he said.
While releasing “Keep Me Going,” Wheelwright wanted to highlight each song individually. In order to achieve this goal, he released the first single and then four weeks later, he released the next song. Also known as a “waterfall release,” this practice allowed Wheelwright to showcase every song on the EP.
“To me, every song is special. So when you roll out songs as singles and let them have their own time in the sun, I think that's also really cool.”
Wheelwright is also a graduate of Arizona State University’s 2013 class, and he reflected on how music had also been instilled in his life during his college days.
“Me and a bunch of my buddies rented four houses next to each other. We took an ax and broke down all the fences in between our yards. We had massive parties.”
However, the set-up was not just a typical college party. It was the ultimate “open-door” situation.
“I’d have kids from the jazz school come play really sick jazz in our garage.” Jokingly, he added, “It was funny because you wouldn’t normally associate jazz with grungy hipster kids…but that was the vibe.”
By senior year, Wheelwright was booking shows for the parties and fell in love with the logistical side of planning.
“I felt like I was a professional party planner…I knew a girl that was on the Red Bull team from my sociology class, so we’d end the night with Red Bull Mini Coopers pulling up and throwing Red Bull to everyone. We had a lot of fun.”
Organizing events with his love for music allowed him to create some of the best memories of his college years. His natural ability to bring people together through music has served him throughout his solo career.
In terms of new music, Wheelwright said he is planning to release a new record around late April.