Brett Wiscons

Brett Wiscons – guitar, vocals
Rob Dixon – sax
Anne Balbo – vocals
Kevin Anker – keys
Jon Shoulders – drums
Joey Shestak – bass

Brett Wiscons was born in Chicago and raised in Plymouth, IN on a unique mélange of music ranging from vocal powerhouses Sade and Edwin McCain to rock bands Pearl Jam, the Eagles, and Hootie & the Blowfish. Within these influences, listeners will find his musical marriage – jangly pop, a dash of soul, and moody acoustics – creates a sound all his own. He says, “Growing up, I always heard the vocals first. That’s what drew me in to music to begin with – killer, and in some cases, haunting vocal melodies and lyrics.”

Wiscons didn’t have any formal training – unless you count eighth grade choir – when it came to learning the craft of singing. He would merely listen to whatever was on the radio at that time as well as digest countless tapes and CDs of his favorite artists. “I just sang along to the melody,” Wiscons says. “That’s probably why I am lost whenever anyone asks me to sing harmony – I only know how to sing lead!” He isn’t ashamed to admit that he booked his first vocal lesson this year. “I just want to get better,” he says. “I’ve wanted to get better for a while now – be it as a singer, songwriter, guitar player, or business man. I want to get to another level.”

His latest recording project – The Heineken Sessions Deluxe (HSD) – is primed to take him to that next strata. It is slated for an October 28, 2016 release via his own label, MAD Diamond Entertainment. For it, Wiscons paired up with two-time GRAMMY-winning producer, guitarist, and songwriter Mark Bryan in Awendaw, SC. (Bryan is a founding member of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish.) Containing ten tracks running the gamut from Americana to pop to rock to alt-country, HSD was written and recorded over a two-year period. “Writing and producing with Brett has been fun, and he’s become a good friend,” says Bryan. “From the first time I heard the hook of ‘Don’t Be the One,’ I knew people would be feeling it. I just listened to it for the first time in a while, and I feel like we did a nice job with it. Brett really found his voice on this recording.”

The tracks hit on personal sagas, but also contain works of pure fiction – he leaves it up to the listener to decide which is which. After all, Wiscons has written three private detective novels in the Bear Whitman series. “I’ve always enjoyed writing songs and lyrics,” Wiscons says. “It was a great way for me to escape into my own head when I was a teenager. However, it wasn’t until I started working with Mark back in 2013 that I began to truly grasp the concept of songwriting and storytelling. It’s time for these tunes to be released as a full collection. These are the best songs of my career and I am eager to share them with a wider audience.”

Brett has shared a bill with Darius Rucker, Zac Brown Band, and Katy Perry among others; he averages nearly 200 gigs a year. He knows the only way to climb the ladder in the music business – at least for him – is to put in the work and accumulate the miles. He’s performed at the Vans Warped Tour in Virginia Beach, the Bluebird in Nashville, and the Elbo Room in Chicago to name a few. Aside from his music being featured on Australian television, the new single (“Don’t Be The One”) has been added to stations in Knoxville, TN, Des Moines, IA, Flagstaff, AZ, Burlington, WI, and Indianapolis, as well as garnering specialty spins in a half dozen other markets including Tampa, FL and Boise, ID. The critics are starting to take note. Current Night & Day in Indianapolis writes, “If a smart radio programmer out there hears Wiscons and vocalist Anne Balbo harmonize on the poignant ‘Don’t Be the One,’ the first single from his new LP, The Heineken Sessions Deluxe, they’d be wise to place it in rotation.”