This article was supposed to be a review on Wretchid Child and it saddens me deeply to learn of the recent passing of Wayne. My time with Wayne was short, but extremely important. I first met Wayne at the House of Blues Anaheim back in February of this year. I was getting ready to see a band that was playing that night. Prior to leaving I had a discussion with my wife. I’ve been a lifelong rock ‘n’ roll addict and have been writing all of my life. My wife asked me about writing a review of the show that night, and after some discussion, Madcap Music Review was born. That night I met Wayne. He had a crowd around him which I was to learn was typical when Wayne went out on the town. I approached him, not exactly sure what to expect. I knew nothing about him, but there was something about him that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. He had this rock ‘n’ roll aura about him and I decided to try and chat him up, thinking to myself, “He’s either going to kill me or be the nicest guy in the joint.” It turned out that Wayne was a gentleman of the highest caliber. We got to talking about music and he told me about Wretchid Child and his long journey through the chaotic world of rock ‘n’ roll. I was introduced to Vicki, Wretchid Child’s manager, and after chatting for a bit, we went our separate ways and headed down to see the show.
On my way out after the show, I ran into Wayne again and he invited my partner and I to come down to Cascade Studios the next night to watch Wretchid Child rehearse. I was stunned to say the least. “Wayne had known me for all of 30 minutes and he’s inviting me to watch his band rehearse in a studio? This guy who has toured all over Australia and played every venue one could name in Hollywood was asking me, a perfect stranger, to come on down and watch his band play? Who does this? Nobody can possibly be this nice,” I thought to myself. But, that’s Wayne for you. Wayne told me “Wretchid Child is not just a band. It’s a big family.” Once he took a liking to you he considered you part of the Wretchid family.
The night of Wretchid Child’s rehearsal I got a chance to talk to Wayne and hear his amazing story. One of the first things that I asked Wayne was what advice he would give to aspiring musicians. Wayne said, “Everybody thinks it’s a glamorous life, but it’s not. I would encourage them to be a fisherman. Hell, anything but rock ‘n’ roll.” Wayne had more tales than a pirate and I’m pretty sure if he had been born a couple hundred years earlier that he would have been one. The more I got to know Wayne, the more I realized what a difficult article this was going to be to write. He gave me enough stories and information to fill a book. His life and career in Australia is enough to fill an encyclopedia and that’s only part of his incredible legacy. He toured all over Australia during the height of the glam rock era. Then grunge came and obliterated the hair metal scene. While most bands folded at this time, Wayne continued to believe in his rock ‘n’ roll dreams and formed Wretchid Child. There was an Australian version of Wretchid Child, and after a bit, he decided to bring the band to America.
Wayne flew the Australian version of Wretchid Child to America with his sights set on conquering the states. Wayne endured several line up changes before he found one that he felt was reliable, sober and solidified the “Wretchid sound.” Wayne was really proud of his new band members. Wayne had a solid and business savvy bass player in Jay Bacher, a guitarist that could absolutely shred in Jess Tzimas and a dedicated and talented drummer in Dean Andreatta aka “Dean Drums.” But it was always Wayne who kept Wretchid Child going. Wayne was the James Brown of hard rock. He was the hardest-working man in show business.
The next time I caught up with Wayne was at the Key Club in Hollywood on March 29 before the Wretchid Child show. As usual, people outside surrounded Wayne while he held a spellbound crowd with his marvelous stories. The more I spoke to Wayne it became apparent that he was a man who held no secrets. He was open about his health issues and how dearly he missed his family back home in Australia. Yet, despite all of this, Wayne kept going. Wayne was bigger than life and he certainly wasn’t afraid to take life head on in order to achieve his dreams. He loved his music, his family and his fans. Wayne had a heart bigger than his body; he made everyone he talked to feel like they were the most important person in the world at that particular moment.
On March 29, Wretchid Child played a set full of their classics such as “Hell Ain’t Got No Name,” “Just Wanna Play My Rock “N” Roll” and the haunting “1000 Reasons.”
There was a childlike glow to Wayne when he was up on stage. Wayne had a home as long as he had a stage. Walt Disney once said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Wayne showed me that this is indeed true. Wayne gave me the confidence and belief that anything was possible and it’s because of him that I’m sitting here writing this today. Wayne just wanted to play his rock “n” roll and he did a hell of a job. He never gave up, never complained and was always looking to the future. He’s now looking down on all of us along with Bon Scott and all of his other heroes. I consider myself a lucky man to have had the chance to know Wayne for the brief time I did. Wayne Matthew Gwyer will be sorely missed and he certainly left his mark on the music scene in Los Angeles. Cheers, mate.
For more information on upcoming tributes to Wayne see www.wretchidchild.com
Story Column by: Madcap Music Review, John & Cynthia
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Key Club featured 15 bands on Saturday night.
Wretched Child, Dead End gipsy’s, Stonebreed , Electric Child, Middle Finger Mob, and Pretty Boy Floyd with others all played 20 min. sets before the Key Club cut them off. Dead End Gipsy’s sounded great, more exciting to see then their punk rock music was their extreme hair do’s. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to see Wretchid Child, but the word was that they were,"Wow"! Electric Child, well they were actually children, none of them looked like they were old enough to be in the bar, or even on stage. The guitar player rocked, the vocals were clear and great on the ears. They ended the set with their original song ‘One More Kiss’. That’s the way everyone should have ended their night, with one more kiss. Although I didn’t have a chance to see all the bands, Club Vodka pulled another great night out of their hat. Kudos to Joe Sutton! Reviews for Stonebreed and Middle Finger Mob will come tomorrow.
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Key Club,Hollywood,ca-Dec 30-11 Once again Wretchid Child plays again
Main stage at there Fav Venue with Legendary Rockers The Bullet Boyz, along with other Top Known Acts, Spiders and Snakes, Hotel Diablo, Divebomber, The Hard Way pluz otherz. The Mighty Child came out smoking with their blend of Rock-n-Roll and alwayz adding New numbers when they can. The crowd reaction waz great as they tore into #'s by numbers. You never know whatz gonna happen with the Wretchid ones be it by inviting past or present members or making Surpize guest. So be sure to catch the Next Wretchid happening...who knowz, they might need you""LOL""
And don't forget to chant on Jus wanna play our what...(Audience)
Rock-n-Roll""
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