The name “Willie Wisely” has been music to discerning pop fans’ ears for well over a decade now, but he’ll be the first to admit his albums have thus far failed to penetrate the wider marketplace, despite reams of positive reviews and a fervent fanbase. With his latest release, titled simply Wisely, he hopes to change all that — and was willing to chat with Popdose during part of a 14-hour drive between gigs in order to help further his cause. If you’re somehow unfamiliar with the magic of Wisely’s songs, prepare to be enlightened…

Where are you right now?

I think I’m near Jacksonville, Florida. When I MapQuest for these gigs, I never pay attention — I only know I need to turn in 400 miles. Daytona Beach! There, that’s where I am. Started the morning off in Richmond, Virginia, so today I’ve been doing a good chunk of driving. I’m playing tonight in Melbourne, Florida, which I think is near Tampa.

Sounds like you’re in the thick of promoting the new album.

Yep, yep, lots of touring. This is something like date number 73 since October.

The new record came out in January, on Oglio. How did you end up with them?

I was working with Andy Dick — I was producing and co-writing an album for him, and it was suggested to me that we approach Oglio, because they have George Lopez and some other big names I don’t know, ’cause I don’t follow comedy, but they’re the go-to label for that sort of stuff. I always knew the president of the label had a pop music heart as well, but really, I was just approaching him on the Andy Dick record; there was a spoken-word album in the can and we were working on the musical project, so I went to them and said “Why don’t you release this?” and they said “Great!”

I was sort of the point man for keeping Andy involved in the promotion of the record, and I got to see what a great label Oglio is — and they got to see that I’m easy to work with. I sent them a rough edit of the video for “Through Any Window” before I sent them the album, actually, and asked them what I should do with it. Mark at Oglio said “Holy shit! What should you do? We should sign you!” We signed up pretty quickly after that. I sent them the rough edit of the album, and it all came together. There were no attorneys involved. (Laughs)

Andy Dick! There are obviously hidden depths to your career that I didn’t know about.

Yeah, I don’t like to emphasize it, ’cause he’s a friend. A great friend. (more…)