Local Spotlight: Cam Wheatley
written by WUVT on
How did you get started writing music?
I started writing songs five or six years ago with my friend Dylan. We wrote these crass, crude acoustic diss tracks about the people we knew. My music was definitely fueled by fury back then (he said, as if his music wasn't still fueled by fury).
What has your Blacksburg music journey been like?
I am a meek person with an aversion to self-promotion, and I was lucky that I had supportive people who helped me get out and play. The first show I played was with Paper Anthem at XYZ and only the bands were there. I played twice as long as I should've and got very emotional and made the six person audience uncomfortable. I've come a long way since and I've opened for artists like St. Lenox and Mannequin Pussy—critically acclaimed acts. It's really cool that the Blacksburg DIY scene can attract those kinds of artists and the local artists like me are given the opportunity to develop and grow.
How have you transitioned between writing music and writing poetry?
I think there's a greater divide between poetry and songwriting than most people realize. With songwriting, you can patch together social observations, internal processing, and political commentary and still create something that's coherent to the listener. With poetry—or the type of poetry I write—you have to keep the through-line tighter. Each word is under more scrutiny. At the same time, you're not constrained by a sonic pattern and the audience isn't distracted by said pattern, so I find it easier to clearly represent an emotion or idea in poetry than it is in songwriting.
Did you name any of your instruments?
I named my acoustic guitar Abigail, after the actress Abigail Spencer (because we live in a culture where everything is a reference to something else). She plays a big role in Burning Love and is in a whole bunch of other disturbing TV shows I used to watch.
What's coming up next for Marble Berry Seeds?
At this time, we're incredibly busy. We just played a show at the Litterbox Friday. We've got the benefit show Thursday put together by the fine folks at WUVT. All the proceeds go to the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership. There's a pre-Progress Festival show in a couple weeks on Highland Farm and we're planning on going in to the studio soon, so we're keeping busy and trying to ride the wave of momentum we've built.