“Stop upstaging us, don’t play too well now!” chuckled Rolling Stones vocalist Bernard Fowler as he smiled and lovingly welcomed Jaeme Brennan McDonald with a hug. Jaeme and his band, Electric Soul, were about to open for the band Tack>>Head at Skip McDonald’s birthday party, hosted by Doug Wimbish at Sully’s Pub in Hartford, CT in 2004. It was only natural for Doug to invite Jaeme to play at Skip’s party, Jaeme being Skip’s son. Having family and close friends involved at his musical gathering was part of Doug’s dream. This event, which the following year would officially become known as “WimBash”, represented Tack>>Head’s first live performance in nearly 15 years. It became the spark for Doug to start the WimBash Music Series, bringing people together, different names, a lot of different acts.
During the subsequent years of the annual Hartford WimBash, Jaeme mostly played with his bands at the events. The WImBash became an opportunity for Jaeme to get his feet wet, get more live performance experience. Not only developing skills during his own performances, Jaeme had the opportunity to watch other musicians, learn from them and learn how to exist in the festival environment versus performing at an individual gig. As an musician with big plans, Jaeme describes that he learned some humility being a part of the WimBash experience, “bring your best, make it short, make it quick – it’s not always about you”.
Jaeme went on to perform for several years at WimBash Music Festiavls, affording Jaeme the self confidence skills that became his early WimBash schooling.
In 2011, Jaeme’s involvement with the WimBash shifted from performer to organizer. As the WimBash events expanded from Hartford, CT to national and international locations, Jaeme became an integral part of the WimBash team, helping to organize gear, get artists on and off the stage and coordinate production. Doug and his partner, Diane Nilsson, valued Jaeme’s calm and professional demeanor, his willingness to help, his creativity, energy, motivation and integrity – a perfect WimBash fit.
“I relished that roll, I really did. I really enjoyed working with the other bands and getting to know people, the excitement of putting everything together. I still got to play, but it really became a vested interest of mine to help organize it [WimBash] and look at a success from that angle, not just from somebody who wants to play on a stage”, describes Jaeme. “it wasn’t about just opening for Living Colour, but to feel important, to feel the industry coming together, to feel the community coming together. To make sure my Dad got there, that his gear was right…watching that happen, all the Philly bands that came up, just watching all of that – not really in awe, but the sense of community’.
In 2013, Jaeme felt his role with the WimBash series move to a different level. At the September Hartford WimBash, Jaeme’s responsibilities now involved looking at input lists and technical riders, including those of Living Colour’s, looking at what a production takes. Jaeme assisted with coordinating artist audio and video interviews. He worked with Behringer representative John DiNicola, getting hands on experience with the Behringer X32 digital mixing console. “It really became, how many cogs in a wheel do you need to make a festival happen? I started to learn all of these different pieces, while at the same time I started working for a backline company. You’re looking at gear lists, what to do if something breaks down…all of the little minutia that people don’t see.” Jaeme refined his communication skills and the importance off staying calm amidst hectic environments. He learned more about how to talk to people and to make them feel good “so that the days goes smooth”. “WimBash became quite the learning experience, to utilize all of those skills and understand the giant, larger picture”, reflected Jaeme. “It was a community of musicians, a community of people that helped the workflow and came together to make the festival happen.”
In May of 2018, Jaeme proudly earned his Bachelor in Professional Studies in Music Production from Berklee College in Boston, Massachusetts. Jaeme credits WimBash with completely influencing him towards his career in production. “WimBash made me understand that this industry is about a lot more than just me. It made me want to do production more than play. I enjoyed it more. I liked the inner workings of people to get a result versus just being the guy on stage. That didn’t fulfill me. What fulfilled me was ‘Oh, I get to mix these bands, I get to look at the recordings as a canvas – it changed how I looked at everything. I never thought it could happen in that direction, but I’m so glad it did. It [WimBash] put me in a role that I was suited for, but didn’t see.”
Jaeme described that while attending Berklee, he “called on all of that experience from WimBash”. “There’s a course at Berklee, a 12 week live sound course. I called upon a lot of the experience of what I head already done at WimBash. It was like, ok, I’ve been here already. I got an ‘A’ in that course. WimBash was my thesis, it continues to be my thesis.”
While WimBash provided opportunities for Jaeme and guided him towards his career path, Jaeme has the inner spirit of what it takes to get the job done. He is a success story.
Completing his studies at Berklee, subsequently receiving his degree, while raising two teenage boys as a single parent and working as a teaching artist teaching vocals, guitar, hiphop history and songwriting to middle and high school students, Jaeme embodies the resilience and work ethic to of what it takes to reach ones goals.
Jaeme, now Production Manager of the WimBash Music Series and Doug Wimbish’s Novasound Studios LLC, reflects, “the other part of it is, obviously I have a connection to my Dad, and to Doug, they’re part of why I play. Part of what I’ve done, is to prove my own legitimacy without constantly having to be under that shadow of ‘he’s here because he’s Skip’s son’ – no, I’m here because I worked hard. I’m here because I love doing it. I don’t want that nepotism to ever effect me. I’ve done things in my own right, as well as having that connection. I wanted to carve my own story out”.
