John Wesley Dearth III is an American guitarist and singer, best known as touring guitarist for

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

between 2002 and 2010, and also for performing with

Mike Tramp Michael Trempenau (born 14 January 1961), better known as Mike Tramp, is a Danish singer songwriter and musician best known for his work with the glam metal band White Lion. In 1996, Mike Tramp launched his solo career, interrupted from 2004 to ...

Fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

Sound of Contact In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

Edison's Children Edison's Children is a science fiction-oriented progressive rock trio known for writing "epic Concept albums" with supernatural, apocalyptic and extra-terrestrial themes. It features Rick Armstrong (the son of astronaut Neil Armstrong), Pe ...

and

Vertical Horizon Vertical Horizon is an American alternative rock band, formed in Washington, D.C. Vocalists and guitarists Matt Scannell and Keith Kane started the band in 1991 when they were students at Georgetown University. The band have undergone multiple ...

, as well as for his solo work.

Biography

His professional career began in the early 1980s in the

Tampa Bay area The Tampa Bay area is a major metropolitan area surrounding Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, Florida, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, Florida, Clea ...

where he founded 1991 Southwestern Music Conference's showcase act Autodrive along with drummer/producer Mark Prator. The following year, Wesley embarked on a solo career and became the opening act for British rockers

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...

on seven consecutive tour legs around the world, especially North and South America, the UK and Europe. His debut album ''

Under the Red and White Sky ''Under the Red and White Sky'' is the first solo album by singer, songwriter and guitarist John Wesley. It was released in 1994 on Racket Records, a label operated by the British progressive rock band Marillion and used mainly for their own and r ...

'' was released in 1994 and

Mark Kelly Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, retired astronaut, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from Arizona, a seat he ha ...

played keyboards and produced the album, with guest appearances from both

Ian Mosley Ian F. Mosley (born 16 June 1953) is an English drummer. He is best known for his long-time membership of the neo-prog band Marillion, which he joined for their second album, ''Fugazi'', released in 1984. He had previously been an in-demand ses ...

and

Steve Rothery Steven Rothery (born 25 November 1959) is an English musician who is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the progressive rock band Marillion. Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo The Wis ...

. Also Marillion singer

Steve Hogarth Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956), also known as "h", is an English musician. Since 1989, he has been the lead singer of the rock band Marillion, for which he also performs additional keyboards and guitar. Hogarth was f ...

recorded backing vocals on two tracks on Wesleys second album ''The Emperor Falls''. In 1998, Wesley and ex–

White Lion White Lion is an American glam metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, they released their debut album ''Fight to Survive ...

frontman

were the opening act for the

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English-American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who rose to prominence as a member of the rock bands the Herd and Humble Pie. Later in his career, Frampton found significant success as a s ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

tour. Following this was several world tours with Marillion's former singer

. In 2001, John Wesley was the primary co-writer of Fish's '' Fellini Days'' album. He has performed as sideman, guitarist/vocalist for

, during the ''

In Absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

Deadwing ''Deadwing'' is the eighth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released in Japan on 24 March 2005, in Europe on 28 March, and in the US on 26 April. It quickly became the band's best selling album, although it was l ...

'', ''

Fear of a Blank Planet ''Fear of a Blank Planet'' is the ninth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree and their best selling before 2009's '' The Incident''. It was released on 16 April 2007 in the UK and the rest of Europe by Roadrunner, 2 ...

'' and '' The Incident'' world tours. In 2005, Wesley produced and recorded his fifth studio release, ''Shiver''. The album was co-produced by drummer and co-owner of his Tampa, Florida. recording studio, RedRoom Recorders, Mark Prator, and mixed by

Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosi ...

of Porcupine Tree. On August 24, 2007, Wesley announced that he was making his back catalog of solo material available for free download on his website. In 2011, Wesley partnered with UK native Dean Tidey (live guitarist with Feeder), to produce his EP, ''The Lilypad Suite''. In March 2013, Wesley performed with

as their live guitarist for the Marillion Weekend concert in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

.Sound of Contact LIVE in Montreal March 24 Opening for Marillion.
Sound of Contact. Retrieved June 10, 2013. He then joined the band for their European tour in May 2013Sound of Contact Announce European Tour With Spock's Beard.
Sound of Contact. Retrieved June 10, 2013. and was a part of two Sound of Contact music videos produced in relation to the band's debut album, '' Dimensionaut''. On Wesley's sixth full-length studio album ''Disconnect,'' released in 2014,

Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock band Rush. In 1968, he co-founded a band (which later became Rush) with drummer John Rut ...

made a guest appearance, playing a guitar solo on the track ''Once a Warrior''. Other musicians Wesley has worked beside include

Sean Malone Sean Malone (April 12, 1970 – December 7, 2020) was an American musician who played primarily fretless bass guitar and Chapman Stick. He was most famous for his work with progressive metal band Cynic (band), Cynic, in which he developed a st ...

; as well as a live performer with

featuring

's Pete Trewavas and starring

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was al ...

's son guitarist Rick Armstrong. He has also performed as an occasional fill-in bassist and lead guitarist for Florida-based group

Sister Hazel Sister Hazel is an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida, whose style blends elements of jangle pop, folk rock, classic rock, and Southern rock. They are best known for their 1997 single " All for You." History Sister Hazel formed in G ...

. In 2018, Wesley performed lead vocals with international artists ÚMÆ on their debut album titled ''Lost in the View'', which was released on January 3, 2019. Guest performers on this project also include Adam Holzman (

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

) and Conner Green ( Haken). In July 2019, Wesley and drummer Mark Prator played with

, the sci-fi band of

's son (Rick Armstrong) which is known for writing music about the supernatural & extra-terrestrial co-headlining with the

Alan Parsons Project Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

in an outdoor concert festival near the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

celebrating the 50th anniversary of Rick's Father and

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

's landing a crewed spacecraft on the Moon for the first time. In 2021, Wesley began touring as guitarist and backing vocals for

Discography

Studio albums

* 1994 – ''

'' * 1995 – ''The Closing of the Pale Blue Eyes'' P* 1998 – ''The Emperor Falls'' * 2002 – ''Chasing Monsters'' * 2005 – ''Shiver'' * 2011 – ''The Lilypad Suite'' P* 2014 – ''Disconnect'' * 2016 – ''A Way You'll Never Be''

Studio albums with other artists

* With

: '' Songs I Left Behind'': ''(Guitar on "What If I", "Falling Down"), This & That (But A Whole Lot More):'' ''(Guitar on "Wait Not For Me")'' * With

: '' Fellini Days'': ''(co-writing and recording credits)'' * With

''(recording credits)'': ''

'', ''

'', '' The Incident'' * With

Ruud Jolie Ruud Jolie (born Rudolf Adrianus Jolie on 19 April 1976) is the lead guitarist of the symphonic metal band Within Temptation. Early life Ruud is an only child. Growing up, he first initiated himself to music by playing the keyboards, but his pa ...

: ''For All We Know'' ''(lead guitar on "I Lost Myself Today")'' * With ÚMÆ:''Lost in the View'': ''(lead vocals on "Turn Back Time", "Echo", "Running Away")''

Compilation

* 2004 – ''John Wesley: TEN''

Singles

* 1994 – ''The Last Light'' * 1995 – ''Into the Night'' * 1995 – ''Domino'' * 2003 – ''Fly Boy''

Live releases

* 1998 – ''Waiting for the Sun to Shine in Paris'' * 1998 – ''Wesfest 98'' * 1999 – ''Starting the Engine II'' * 1999 – ''WesFest 1999'' * 2000 – ''The John Wesley Bachelor Party Tour'' * 2002 – ''The Chicago and Frisco Bootlegs'' * 2006 – ''Live at Katie Fitzgerald's'' * 2009 – ''Oxford'' * 2010 – ''Live at the L'Olympia'' * 2013 – ''Live at Morrisound 30th Anniversary Show''

Live albums with other artists

* With

: ''Issue 30 CD (From the 1999 Haddington Convention)''(2000), ''Candlelight in Fog (limited edition live album, 3000 copies only)''(2000), ''Sashimi''(2001), ''Fellini Nights'' (2002) * With

: '' XM'', ''

XMII The following is a listing of officially released works by the English band Porcupine Tree. The band has released eleven major studio albums and 7 EPs, as well as many limited editions and revamped material. At the time Steven Wilson was goin ...

'', ''

Rockpalast ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started on 4 October 1974. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz bands have perf ...

'', '' Arriving Somewhere...'', ''

We Lost The Skyline ''We Lost the Skyline'' (also known as ''Transmission 7.1'') is a live recording by Porcupine Tree, recorded during an in-store performance at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Florida on 4 October 2007, with 200 fans in attendance. Although it was or ...

'', ''

Ilosaarirock The Ilosaarirock Festival is an annual rock festival held on the second weekend of July in Joensuu, Eastern Finland. Founded in 1971, Ilosaarirock is the second-oldest rock festival in Finland still active, and one of the oldest in Europe. In 2 ...

'', ''

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

'', '' Octane Twisted''

Videos

* With

: '' Arriving Somewhere... ''September 2006, '' Anesthetize ''June 2010, '' Octane Twisted ''November 2012 * With

: "Not Coming Down" May 2013, "Cosmic Distance Ladder" May 2013

References

External links

*
John Wesley's recording studio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wesley, John, Dearth, Wes Living people Songwriters from Florida American male singers American rock musicians 24 Hour Service Station artists People from Brandon, Florida American male songwriters Year of birth missing (living people)