John Wesley

Music enthusiasts recognize John Wesley, also known as Wes Dearth, primarily as an engaging and adaptable guitarist who has logged countless miles on the road while serving as the unofficial fifth member of Porcupine Tree. His touring résumé spans numerous acts across prog, hard rock, metal, and indie rock, yet he maintains a distinct identity as a singer, songwriter, and recording artist whose catalog of solo releases continues to expand. The stylistic range of his own work fuses melodic prog elements with hard rock drive and broad, lyrical pop sensibilities.

Born John Wesley Dearth III in Brandon, Florida, he picked up the guitar at age thirteen under the sway of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Rush’s Alex Lifeson, and Jeff Beck. A college scholarship allowed him to pursue formal study of the instrument; after two years of coursework he balanced academics with side work as a guitar technician and instructor while leading his own regionally active band, which began touring in 1979. The project AutoDrive emerged in 1991 and earned a showcase slot at that year’s Southwestern Music Conference, bringing his guitar and vocal contributions to the attention of Marillion. The band invited him to open dates, where he performed his own material and doubled as their guitar tech—an association that ultimately stretched across more than three hundred performances.

His debut solo album, Under the Red and White Sky, appeared in 1994 on Racket Records and featured contributions from Marillion’s Steve Rothery, Mark Kelly, and Ian Mosley along with AutoDrive colleagues Mark and Paul Prator. The follow-up, The Closing of the Pale Blue Eyes, arrived the next year; the two recordings were later combined for a joint reissue. Through Marillion he connected with former vocalist Fish and joined the singer’s live lineup on guitar. Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson had already produced Fish’s 1997 album Sunsets on Empires and contributed guitar to 1999’s Raingods with Zippos, paving the way for a quick friendship with Wesley. The Emperor Falls, issued in 1998 with much of the same supporting cast plus bassists Sean Malone and David Wehner, drew Wilson’s expressed admiration.

In 2001 Wesley added studio guitar to Fish’s Fellini Days and released his own Chasing Monsters, which reflected larger-scale production values. An email from Wilson soon requested guitar parts for the track “Blackest Eyes” on Porcupine Tree’s In Absentia; Wesley supplied ten takes, all of which Wilson incorporated into the final mix. He formally joined the band in 2002 and stayed through the 2011 tour supporting The Incident before the group entered hiatus.

Solo activity resumed with Shiver, originally released on Intact in 2005 and regarded as his most accessible recording to that point. While balancing Porcupine Tree commitments, running his own studio, and handling session work, Wesley placed new solo projects on hold. In 2009 he made a substantial portion of his catalog available for free download through his website. Two live solo acoustic recordings followed before he completed a studio album, 2011’s The Lilypad Suite, which introduced a harder-edged rock approach blending prog, post-psychedelia, metal, and blues. Around the same time he toured as a member of Wilson’s solo band in support of Grace for Drowning, then resumed his own road schedule, issuing four live and rarities collections over the ensuing couple of years.

InsideOut Music signed him in 2013; Disconnect appeared the following year, tracked at his RedRoom Recorders studio and co-produced with Dean Tidey. The album included a guest appearance by Lifeson on the track “Once a Warrior.” Further touring ensued, including stints with prog metal supergroup Flying Colours and BigElf, both featuring drummer Mike Portnoy. Late in 2015 he returned to RedRoom Recorders to begin work on the next solo release, co-produced and engineered with drummer Mark Prator and featuring Sean Malone on bass. Bulgarian-born vocalist Geri X, a Tampa resident, contributed to the title track “A Way You’ll Never Be.” InsideOut issued the album in fall 2016, after which Wesley embarked on another tour.