Wesley Geer | |
---|---|
Birth name | Wesley Harmon Geer, Jr. |
Also known as | Wesstyle, Wes Geer |
Born | Fullerton, California, U.S. | October 28, 1974
Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
Years active | 1992–present |
Formerly of | Hed PE |
Website | wesgeer |
Wesley Harmon Geer Jr. (born October 28, 1974), also known as Wesstyle, is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the band Hed PE, formed in 1994 in Huntington Beach, CA. He was a guitarist, songwriter and producer in the band until his departure in 2003. Geer also toured with nu metal band Korn.[1]
Geer was born in Fullerton, California. He met rapper and singer Jared Gomes,[2] while attending local music shows in Orange County, California during the 1990s. Together they formed the band Hed PE.[3][4]
Hed PE was signed by Jive Records, and toured with bands like Deftones.,[5] System of a Down, and Korn.[1] Chester Bennington (Linkin Park frontman) said this about Hed PE.: "they deserve worldwide recognition. They're a great live act, they make good albums, and they're awesome. They're not an easy act to open for or follow."[6]
Geer left the band in 2003, to adopt a different lifestyle, and took a job with Fusion Academy & Learning Center to teach music to children in grades 6–12.
In 2010, Geer joined Korn. He knew guitar player James "Munky" Shaffer since 1994. After lead guitar player Brian "Head" Welch left the band in 2005, Korn reached out to Geer; he toured and performed live as a guitar player for Korn since 2010, until 2013, when Welch returned to the band.[1]
Geer founded the band HU3M3N in 2021 with Clinton Calton, Matt Bartosch, and Scott Underwood from Train,[7] who was later replaced by Zac Morris on drums.
Wes Geer has performed on stage with artists like Papa Roach (Jimmy Kimmel, 2006[8]) Bob Schneider (Rock to Recovery Austin, 2019[9]), Moby (Rock to Recovery 3, 2018[10]), Shavo from System of a Down (Rock to Recovery 4, 2019[11]), Monte Pittman, musician for Madonna and Ministry (Rock to Recovery 5, 2022[12]), Acey Slade from The Misfits (Rock to Recovery 5, 2022[12]), and Scott Underwood and Charlie Colin from Train (Rock to Recovery Ten Year Anniversary, 2022[13]). Geer also does public speaking about addiction, mental health and transformations.[14]
In December 2012, Wes Geer started Rock to Recovery®, to provide therapeutic songwriting sessions for addicts.[15] Recovering addicts, victims of abuse, and troubled teens have the opportunity to express themselves through songs that are written by the participants in each session.[16] Each participant in the group forms a "band" with Rock to Recovery staff members (professional musicians in recovery), they write a song with recovery-based lyrics, and in the final session the song is recorded.[17]
In 2016, the Department of Defense granted Rock to Recovery an official contract, to work with the Air Force and Army Wounded Warriors.[18] Rock to Recovery Award Show was created in 2016.[19] The first award show, Rock to Recovery 1, the organization honored Mike Ness[20] and for Rock to Recovery 2, the non-profit honored Corey Taylor and Wayne Kramer.[21] Rock to Recovery 3 honored Moby,[10] Rock to Recovery 4 honored Katey Sagal and John Feldmann,[11] and Rock to Recovery® 5 honored Keith David and Jay Mohr.[12]
In 2021, Geer co-authored the book Rock to Recovery, Music as a Catalyst for Human Transformation Link,[22] which garnered a GOLD award in the Nonfiction Book Awards,[23] received an Award of Distinction in the Communicator Awards,[24] and won the music category in the National Indie Excellence Awards in 2022.[25] Geer was featured on the cover of Recovery Today in December 2022.[26]
Rock to Recovery® was awarded with the ASCAP Foundation's “Sunlight of the Spirit” Award in 2022.[27]