Quick Q and A with Cheryl Wheeler
 by Kathy S-B  ·  3 October 2009

I can honestly say that I have never met anyone who does not enjoy Cheryl Wheeler. Whether she is singing her heart out with incredible passion and poise or whether she is telling a witty tale about some obscure nuance she’s observed in daily life, she’s enjoyable. She’s one of the most well-respected singer-songwriters in the circuit and has a legion of devoted fans. For more information about Cheryl, check out her website.

Also take a peek at this vintage clip of Cheryl singing one of her most popular songs, “Arrow.”

In reading your bio, I was amazed to see the fact that you have never really had a “day job.” You went right into performing music at the Steak and Ale restaurant in your hometown and then eventually on to bigger and better gigs. If you had had to take a job to make ends meet back then, what do you suppose you would have done? Department store clerk? Fast food cook? Professional dog walker?

I did have a job for a few years, “teaching” music at Jemicy School, a wonderful school in the Baltimore area for kids with dyslexia. (“Teaching” is in quotes so as not to suggest I had the training or skills of an actual teacher). I was filling in for the music teacher who had left, and after a few days, I told the director she needn’t be in a hurry to find an actual teacher. I just played guitar and sang with the kids. We put on shows, both at the school and at a local library and a nursing home. Those kids were brilliant. I loved it. During that time I was also doing local bar gigs at night and after a few years I felt like I wanted to devote all of my time to playing and writing, so I moved up here to New England and did that.

I have no idea what I would have done had I not managed to just sit around and play guitar all the time and call that “a job.” As a kid I always said I wanted to be an oceanographer. As an adult I’ve imagined that running a news stand would be cool. But I LOVE what I do.

Do you have one of those “I think I’ve finally MADE it” kind of moments?

Some musicians note that they’ve had them when they hear themselves on the radio for the first time or when they’ve played before a room full of strangers who paid for tickets, etc. What was your moment?

I don’t think I have one of those. The coolest thing that has happened in terms of amazing career moments was receiving in the mail a copy of my “Driving Home” CD, signed by Jay Buckey, a space shuttle astronaut, with an official NASA “Certificate Of Authenticity” stating that that CD was flown aboard the United States Space Shuttle Columbia, April 17 to May 3 1998. The CD and certificate are framed and hanging above my guitars.

Your new CD is on your own record label. What prompted you to start your own label? And, what are your plans for the label?

We, my partner Cathleen and I, just wanted to try that route. The people at Rounder were very nice about it. They were cool with doing another project with me or with me trying it on my own. That’s a nice record company.

As far as “starting my own label,” well, my manager asked me to come up with a label name to put on the record. Hence Dias, an acronym for Daylight is Also Starlight. It is a “label” in so far as it has a record out. I really like the sun logo though. It was designed by my almost cousin Don Ferber (Don Ferber Design). He designed it to be in keeping with the leaves in Catherine Nugent’s cover painting “Leaving.”

One of your most memorable songs is “Summerfly” and you’ve redone it on this new CD. Why did you decide to rerecord this song?

It was Kenny White’s fault. We were in the dressing room at Swallow Hill in Denver last December (‘08). He was playing guitar, some cool chords with a cool groove. I really liked it and he pointed out that they were the “Summer Fly” chords and said I should consider recording “Summer Fly” that way. I liked the idea but felt the song needed a bridge, so I tried to recall what I’d been feeling 30 years before when I wrote that song, and then wrote that new bridge. Kenny had booked some time at Middleville Studio in North Reading, MA. and offered to, get this, let me take some of that time, ask the fabulous musicians he’d been using on his record to come play this tune AND put together an arrangement and produce the track. We recorded it on Obama’s inauguration day.

I’m sure that your fans are delighted that your cat trilogy has been recorded. It’s evident from these songs and some of your stage banter that you’re an animal lover. Have you always had a deep affection for all things with fur?

Always, always, always and more so all the time.

Your evil twin (the one with the outrageous sense of humor) makes appearances at most of your shows. Has “she” always been so witty and so quick? Doe “she” have a favorite comedian / comedienne?

I’ve always loved laughing. There is just so much funny stuff in the world. My partner, Cathleen, is the funniest person on earth. My favorite comedian is probably Kevin Meany. Ellen Degeneres’ stand up is also beyond brilliant.

How do you want to be remembered when people 100 years from now look back on folk music of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century?

Being remembered at all would be quite an honor.