Bio

 

With splashes of grungy guitar, a base of heavy beats, and shades of fun, innocence and rage all rolled into one… The Help Wanteds perform alt-rock garden-punk at its fundamentally frank finest, while brandishing an extra-fitting moniker.

 

“Back then I moved around a lot and didn’t know where I was going next, what gig would pop up, or what festival might book me. So I pondered on a band name that could be used for different projects,” says waNda wilsoN, a self-taught guitarist-vocalist-lyricist who started the innovative music project in 2008.

 

After thinking for quite some time, the idea finally came to mind: “I had a realization one day that a ‘help wanted’ sign is universal, and fit exactly what I was doing by always looking for musicians. So I played under the name a few times, and it felt right. That was that. The Help Wanteds it would be.”

 

wilsoN originally hails from Opaskwayak Cree Nation, but now resides in Winnipeg. Being nomadic by nature from the day she was born, she takes her roots along with her wherever she roams, planting down in the community she chooses, and boldly riding each creative wave as it comes. From the very start, wilsoN fearlessly adopted the DIY ‘got nothing to lose’ approach because, frankly, she had nothing to lose. And it’s been working. 

 

Influenced by the likes of The Breeders, P.J Harvey, Sleater-Kinney, The Violent Femmes, ACDC, Verruca Salt, Lucinda Williams, Babes In Toyland and others, and inspired by growing up in Northern Manitoba, wilsoN’s style can be described as homegrown gritty, totally real, and imperfectly honest. Each song written takes on a life of its own depending on the surroundings and senses. With a tendency to tune-in to everything in her space like the colour of the room, the way the lights glow, the buzz of electricity, smells in the air, the steam rising from her hot pot of tea… every nuance affects the outcome.

 

Each track created by wilsoN is another stepping stone towards learning and growing. Each show performed by The Help Wanteds is another chance to be fresh, alive, to improvise. Each project released is another shot towards artists making a living from creating art.

 

With the help from her friends.