Mike Wilhelm - Wood and Wire (1993)

Mike Wilhelm was an important member of two San Francisco Bay Area groups, in two different decades. In the 1960s, he was a guitarist and songwriter for the Charlatans, often identified as one of the very first San Francisco psychedelic groups, although they were more appropriately described as mixers of blues, folk, jug band, and 19th century saloon music. In the late '70s, Wilhelm joined the Flamin' Groovies on guitar for a while, appearing on the albums Flamin' Groovies Now (1978) and Jumpin' in the Night (1979). In the early '70s, Wilhelm was also a member of the Bay Area hard rock outfit Loose Gravel, and recordings of the group appeared on his 1976 solo debut Wilhelm. Wilhelm released a handful of small-label solo albums in the '90s and 2000s, including 1993's Wood & Wire and 2007's Live at the Cactus, and performed regularly in Northern California well into the 2010s. Wilhelm died in San Francisco on May 14, 2019 after a battle with cancer. ~ Richie Unterberger & Mark Deming