DeDe: An Artist In her Prime-Ahead of Her Time by Beth Fedornak
At the
October, 2015 International Music & Entertainment Awards (http://www.IMEAawards.com), we had the pleasure of hearing 2014 Two-time Album of the
Year winner & 2015 Song of the Year winner, DeDe Wedekind, perform her Folk
Song of the Year Nominee, “Prime of Life” from her upcoming album Dream
of You. But her Song of the Year
Category win that night was for her Adult Contemporary original, “Stronger”.
What sets
this talented artist apart from others is not only her great vocals, which
garnered her Best Vocalist in March 2014 on SingerUniverse.com, but her unique
& versatile songwriting. DeDe writes
songs that cross many genres of music including: Adult Contemporary, Folk, Pop,
Country-Pop, Rock, Americana, Singer/Songwriter, World Music, Jazz and Inspirational. This was evident when at
the 2014 IMEA Award Show she received 9 nominations in 7 different categories (the
most of any IMEA Artist).
And indeed
she was a winner: she went to the stage to accept a grand total of 3 IMEA
awards that chilly October Night in Kentucky for: AC Album of the Year for Love & Fairy Tales (7/2013), Holiday
Album of the Year for World of Christmas
(11/2013), and Song of the Year for “Canon
on the Lord’s Prayer”. This tied DeDe with friend and singer/songwriter Matthew
Huff, Country Artist of the Year who also won 3 awards, the most awards won by
any artists at the show. Says DeDe about this honor:
“We
were all rooting for each other, all of us Indie artists who had been hanging in there, writing songs like crazy,
and performing all over the place… in a very tough, sometimes brutal industry.
I’d just joined the IMEA because it sounded like a worthwhile organization for
indie artists-and it is. The rest was about timing: I decided to submit a bunch
of songs from my 2 albums I’d just released in 2013 on a whim-thinking “what
the hec”? I have all these new songs, and maybe these judges will like one of
them? But getting that many nominations,
and that kind of real support and recognition for my music, well, that was only
surpassed by getting to meet and know all of these other great indie artists
from around the world- (struggling!) artists who were a lot like me. It was
truly a watershed moment for my songwriting, and it was a life-changing and
pivotal moment for me and my music career.”
Growing up near Houston, she hails from a long
line of actors, storytellers and musicians on her father's Welsh side. She is one of seven musical children from an
exceptionally creative family. DeDe
herself is a classically-trained singer, pianist and flutist. While she had pursued music on a part-time
basis in her 20’s and early 30’s after a career in marketing, she came to realize
that music was coming back into her life. Only about 7 years ago, DeDe started
singing songs around the house that she’d never heard before, and started having
dreams about music. It was at that moment she realized that her true calling
was to pursue a more active role as a songwriter and musician. She decided to hone her theory, performing
and songwriting by returning to college for additional musical training. With the support of husband, Larry, she
began to pursue music again full-time.
DeDe tells
stories through her music: her original songs are about her feelings, her life,
her personal thoughts, joys, losses, hopes, dreams and experiences. She feels
that she has a calling: a gift for relating her music & melodies
to what we all are experiencing in our real lives. “At first it was really
scary for me to step out on a limb and try to start a new career in a field
where I’m definitely not an expert. But I'm not afraid anymore," says
DeDe. "Not afraid to say the things that I feel need to be said, and to
take a chance with my music. I've found my joy, my purpose, and my
peace."
Her latest album, Dream of You, is unique in that it tells the story of the emotions,
struggles, triumphs and the journey that is DeDe’s life. However, it’s not a blow-by-blow
recounting of each and every major life event, but rather a playbook of dreams,
hopes, and feelings, both positive and negative. Its full of thought-provoking lyrics:
observations about the changes she’s been through, and all the emotions and
relationships along the way that defined the life-shaping moments in her
life. Each song is autobiographical
and details actual feelings and thoughts she had about events and experiences:
songs about her dreams, hopes, disappointments and relationships
that are all a part of what has made her who she is.
Every
listener will be able to relate to DeDe’s dynamic and word-picture filled lyrics,
since her songs tell the story of events that happen to us all. Songs that
encompass the dreams of youth (Dream of
You), the wild times and struggles of growing up & looking for love, such
as we find in her 80’s Bon-Jovi like rock tribute: Leaning on Heaven. We relate
to her searches for acceptance and meaning in life via Prime of Life, and the
rush of sexual attraction and thrill of romantic love in DeDe’s super-sexy, Latin bossa nova, Recipe of Love. Then it all unravels
with her Rolling Stones-esque Sell Me
Out about complete betrayal of trust, heartbreak, and being left all alone.
And in the end- redemption: finding the strength to get through anything with “Stronger”, and the capacity to know
and be able to give true love (Love
Lives On, with Andrew Fromm on
piano, writer of N-Sync’s Millenium Album).
Through the
many challenges and experiences DeDe ‘s faced personally and in her music, she finally
feels equipped to accept herself and her circumstances, understand the real
meaning of love, and what truly matters in life. Important things like: relationships
with family and friends, finding unconditional love (My Unsung Hero), a solid marriage (Today I’ll Marry My Friend), and the realization that she is
comfortable with where her life has lead her.
She has also discovered how to overcome fears and the renewed ability to
believe in yourself and in the one(s) you love.
...read more here:
http://www.joomag.com/magazine/mag/0012248001449129331
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