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Pedri releases details on Luzerne County prison deaths

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Happy birthday Benjamin and Claire Wisnosky!

<p>Friends, family and fans are mourning the loss of George Wesley, reggae musician and ambassador of the Northeastern Pennsylvania music scene.</p><p>The Wilkes-Barre resident and local music legend died July 19 after a battle with liver cancer.</p><p>Over a decades-long career, Wesley not only entertained countless reggae fans in the region with his original roots music but also mentored a multitude of young musicians who sought to be creative in the same arts community he called home.</p><p>Wesley was known for his kindness and his encouragement of a new generation of music makers. He was also renowned for his abilities as a songwriter and guitarist in projects such as the George Wesley Band and George Wesley&#8217;s Small Axe Orchestra, where he used a series of loop and effect pedals to create a symphonic sounding solo act.</p><p>Mountain Top musician Pete Terpak, who played guitar in the George Wesley Band over the last six years, said Wesley succumbed to the illness faster than expected.</p><p>Wesley was diagnosed with Stage I cancer a few days after the band&#8217;s last performance at the Fine Arts Fiesta in May.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of us were relieved and thought, &#8216;He&#8217;ll be able to battle this,&#8217;&#8221; Terpak said. &#8220;We thought he&#8217;d have some time. We didn&#8217;t think it was going to happen this fast.&#8221;</p><p>Terpak, who also plays in his own reggae outfit, Subnotics, considers Wesley to have been a great friend and influence on his career.</p><p>&#8220;This is a guy that changed the entire direction of my life,&#8221; Terpak said.</p><p>Terpak, a Wilkes-Barre native, got exposed to reggae while living in Ocean City, Maryland after college. When he moved back to Pennsylvania, settling in Harrisburg, he saw a George Wesley Band show at the Appalachian Brewing Company.</p><p>&#8220;I found out the guys were from Wilkes-Barre,&#8221; Terpak said. &#8220;I was just starting to play guitar, and I realized it was a reality, that I could actually do it.&#8221;</p><p>Back in Wilkes-Barre, Terpak started his own band, in which Wesley&#8217;s son, James, became the drummer.</p><p>&#8220;I told (James) what his dad meant to me,&#8221; Terpak said. &#8220;I was a hacker on guitar, just learning, and he gave me the inspiration to do it.&#8221;</p><p>Terpak said Wesley always took him and fellow musicians under his wing and that he&#8217;s able to do what he does today because of Wesley.</p><p>Sharing that sentiment, Subnotics singer and songwriter, Robb Brown said he wouldn&#8217;t be where he is without Wesley.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s a single person who has risen through the ranks of this industry locally who hasn&#8217;t had direct influence in a relationship with George,&#8221; Brown said. &#8220;George Wesley set an almost impossible precedent of professionalism, integrity and mastering his craft.&#8221;</p><p>More than six years ago, Wesley asked Terpak to join his band for full ensemble performances.</p><p>&#8220;I was totally humbled and honored when I first got the call,&#8221; Terpak said. &#8220;But I also knew with George &#8230; the guy&#8217;s a monster on guitar, and when his band is playing it&#8217;s a force to be reckoned with.&#8221;</p><p>Two weeks before the first show Terpak played with Wesley, he went to a rehearsal where Wesley handed him 10 CDs and 50 Bob Marley songs and told him, &#8220;I&#8217;ll see you in two weeks.&#8221;</p><p>Terpak quickly found out Wesley had a reputation for seeing talent in collaborators and expecting professionalism from those he selected.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of area people played with him, and that was like a badge of honor for many of them,&#8221; Terpak said. &#8220;You were expected to deliver.&#8221;</p><p>Terpak went home and pounded through the songs he was given, and ended up with Wesley throughout the rest of his career.</p><p>&#8220;There are 30 other guitar players who are better guitar players than me in the area, but he identified my passion for it,&#8221; Terpak said. &#8220;I was honored to be able to play with him for so long.&#8221;</p><p>Terpak said the pair would often talk strategy after gigs.</p><p>&#8220;It was plans to be successful to spread the message,&#8221; Terpak said. &#8220;The best thing you can ask for as a musician is that you change somebody&#8217;s life, even if it&#8217;s just for two hours during the show. My encounter with him totally changed my life.&#8221;</p><p>Brown, who sat in with Wesley&#8217;s band as a vocalist both before and after Wesley fell ill, remembered the artist as being driven by his connection with his audience.</p><p>&#8220;His life was music,&#8221; Brown said. &#8220;His life was positivity, and he lived it and breathed it. Some people put on a mask, and some people are that. And George was that.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The George Wesley Band performs on the main stage at the Fine Arts Fiesta in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Friday night.  BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_georgewesley-1-6.jpg</photo1><caption1>The George Wesley Band performs on the main stage at the Fine Arts Fiesta in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Friday night.  BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or Twitter @TLArts</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Update: Fellow musicians remember George Wesley, reggae legend and music ambassador