Blues news

By Gracie Hart
Review Staff Writer
Published: October 9, 2008

Sixteen year-old Ethan Weibe is different from many teenagers his age.  He does not own a television or video games and his favorite musical artists are not daily fixtures on MTV.  Instead, Weibe lives on a farm with his family and considers himself to be an up-and-coming blues musician with a style that is just outside that of the delta blues style.
Weibe, known on stage as Hunter Wolfe started playing the guitar two years ago when he received one as gift for his 14th birthday.
“[Before that,] I had an acoustic guitar that I goofed around on but I wasn’t really interested in until one night when it just hit me,“ he said.  “I knew then that I was meant to play the guitar.“
Soon after, Weibe began taking lessons, something that he continued for six months until quitting.
“I quit because I felt like I taught myself more than I was learning [in the lessons.],“ he said.  “When I perform, I also ask people who’ve been playing for a while for their tips.  I get a lot of good info from that.“
Whatever Weibe is doing must be working because he recently performed on stage with a blues legend, David “Honeyboy” Edwards. 
Edwards, 93, is one of the last remaining Delta Bluesmen and still performs at clubs, concerts, colleges and private events.  Weibe saw Edwards in Washington, D.C. and not only did Edwards perform songs using Weibe’s guitar, but he also invited him on stage to perform together.
“That was the most incredible night,“ Weibe said.  “It was incredible to meet him and play with him.“
Adding to his success, Weibe recently competed in, and won, the National Slide Guitar competition.  The competition was held Sept. 20 at the Blue Ridge Corn Maize and brings people from all over. 
“I was very honored to win that competition,“ Weibe said.  “I won the title of National Slide Guitar Champion and I got a chance to meet and play with Mojo Collins.“
Collins was one of the festival headliners.
Even though Weibe has only been playing slide guitar for about a year before the competition, he was able to beat out his opponents by performing three of his original songs for the crowd, some with the help of his 11 year-old drummer sister, Anna.  Together, Weibe and Anna form the band What, a name played off the famous band The Who.
“The band name originally came up when I was in a former band and we were trying to find a name,“ Weibe said.  “We named that [band] something else.  “What” came up again and my sister liked it so we said let’s see if we’ll remember it.“
They did remember it, so it stayed.  According to Weibe, his friends like the name because they can’t forget it, much like his stage name, Hunter Wolfe.
“A lot of people change their name when they become famous or before,“ he said.  “The name is as important as the music.  Hunter is my middle name and Wolfe is a family name.“
According to Weibe, Hunter Wolfe sounds like “some old blues guy” and goes along with what he plays.
“Everything comes from the blues,“ he said.  “I’ve been told that if I try to play something else, it’ll always have a blues touch to it.“
So now that he’s won the contest, what is next for Weibe?  More playing of course.
“I want to try and play at as many places as I can and get my name out there,“ he said.  “I would also really like to record with “Honeyboy” Edwards in Chicago but he’s on a world tour right now and he’s very old but, I hope to record with him within a year.“
When this junior in high school is not playing music, he is working draft horses, “driving carriages and things like that.“  After high school, he hopes to study in England and continue his music.
“Music is my mostly my life right now,“ said Weibe.
For more information on Weibe and to listen to a sampling of his songs, visit http://www.myspace.com/hunterwolfe7.