On occasion, Luncheon Society gatherings materialize from thin air at the last moment. When this happens, things can get crazy and we quietly wonder if we can pull things together in time. However, there are other times when being impulsive is the only route; the experience and the conversation are simply fantastic. This is especially the case when you’re with somebody as multi-talented as Wesley Stace/John Wesley Harding.
Stace, who records under the name of John Wesley Harding, read the opening chapter of his new novel, Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer, and then played an acoustic set from his latest CD. We gathered in the private dining room of Credo, a freewheeling restaurant tucked several floors below the Financial District on Pine Street in San Francisco. We were in luck; acoustics were perfect as the music resonated off of the cement walls in the basement.
Some are able to compartmentalize themselves into two brilliant double lives; it’s twice as fun as we’re all the better for it. Go for it, Wes.
Days earlier, Wes was profiled in The New York Times, who praised his ability as a “double threat,” in both writing and in music. He is an inviting person and within a few short minutes the group dove into some great conversation. A hour earlier when he entered into the room, I knew him as recording artist John Wesley Harding; when he left we all knew him as Wesley Stace. We will be together with both (!) in Manhattan on of April 6th, for an evening gathering at a place to be named soon. Join us if you can.
Enjoy a great interview with Rumpus Magazine posted on February 24th, the day before our gathering in San Francisco. Continue reading
The Luncheon Society 