Wheeler still has edge

  • By Sharon Wootton / Special to The Herald
  • Thursday, April 7, 2005 9:00pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

Cheryl Wheeler was spitting mad, with most of her ire directed at a particular segment of the political spectrum. The television was probably lucky to have survived the tempest.

The singer-songwriter has mellowed in some aspects of her life, but fear not: The edge is still there.

Wheeler is touring with her new album, “Defying Gravity.” She performs tonight in Shoreline. Her last studio album was in 1999.

“I don’t write as much as I used to. I’m pickier about what I’m willing to consider is song fodder. In your 20s, angst strikes you as being noteworthy; in your 50s, it doesn’t. If I’m just whining about something, I’m not going to give into that.”

Wheeler is finding that getting older is a character-builder.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“You certainly can’t depend on being hot … and then you find out that it doesn’t matter anymore,” Wheeler said.

Life is on a continuum, and she has little patience for songs that lament things not being the way they were.

“That’s the stupidest thing to say. Things aren’t meant to stay the same way. We’re suppose to find something different and more meaningful than hubba-hubba,” Wheeler said.

“I feel like my life is incredibly deep and beautiful. I’ve seen enough of the world to know that there are people who really have something to complain about.”

So who’s Cheryl Wheeler these days?

“She’s a raving lunatic when she turns on the news. I give my finger to the TV 25 times a day. I’m so frustrated with the tone of our government, with having hatred in the name of the Almighty,” Wheeler said.

It’s not that she manages to keep her sense of humor in spite of events, Wheeler said.

“Humor keeps me. Life is hilarious. Once I get over how furious I feel, then the funny stuff strikes me.”

Thus “It’s the Phone,” with a medley of classical pieces over which Wheeler relates her feelings about cell phones, and how pieces by Beethoven and Bach have been reduced to cell-phone rings.

But Wheeler’s strength is storytelling, as she exhibits again in “Alice,” about an older woman who worked at the East Bay Hotel in Grand Marais, Minn.

“When she said, ‘The more I travel the more I want to see,’ my eyes went three feet out from my head. The next day, on the plane home, I started writing it.

“I was very moved by her, how much she so loved life,” Wheeler said.

This is an album that, five years ago, Wheeler couldn’t have put together.

“I’d gone through a big breakup but now I’m happily married and life is wonderful in Massachusetts with my partner, Kathleen.

Don’t expect Wheeler to hang up her guitar in a mellow moment.

“I have to make money. This is what I do. It’s the same driving force that makes me take the dogs for a walk. And it’s what I want.”

Wheeler’s fans, who have lived through some early mood swings with her, will be happy she’s happy but still with an edge.

Cheryl Wheeler performs tonight in Shoreline.

Cheryl Wheeler

7:30 tonight, Shoreline Unitarian Church, 14724 First Ave. NE, Shoreline; $18, $20, children half-price; 206-528-8523.

Cheryl Wheeler

7:30 tonight, Shoreline Unitarian Church, 14724 First Ave. NE, Shoreline; $18, $20, children half-price; 206-528-8523.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Photo courtesy of Kristi Nebel
Folk duo Steve and Kristi Nebel will be among the musical acts performing at the Edmonds Arts Festival, which takes place Friday through Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Kristi Nebel
Folk duo Steve and Kristi Nebel will be among the musical acts performing at the Edmonds Arts Festival, which takes place Friday through Sunday.
Coming events in Snohomish County

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Cascadia College Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Midori Sakura looks in the surrounding trees for wildlife at the North Creek Wetlands on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Cascadia College ecology students teach about the importance of wetlands

To wrap up the term, students took family and friends on a guided tour of the North Creek wetlands.

Kim Crane talks about a handful of origami items on display inside her showroom on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Crease is the word: Origami fans flock to online paper store

Kim’s Crane in Snohomish has been supplying paper crafters with paper, books and kits since 1995.

A woman flips through a book at the Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Pop some tags at Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley

$20 buys an outfit, a unicycle — or a little Macklemore magic. Sales support the food bank.

Audi SQ8 Wows In Motion Or At Rest. Photo provided by Audi America MediaCenter.
2025 Audi SQ8 Is A Luxury, Hot Rod, SUV

500 Horsepower and 4.0-Second, 0-To-60 MPH Speed

The Mukilteo Boulevard Homer on Monday, May 12, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Homer Hedge’: A Simpsons meme takes root in Everett — D’oh!

Homer has been lurking in the bushes on West Mukilteo Boulevard since 2023. Stop by for a selfie.

Sarah and Cole Rinehardt, owners of In The Shadow Brewing, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In The Shadow Brewing: From backyard brews to downtown cheers

Everything seems to have fallen into place at the new taproom location in downtown Arlington

Bar manager Faith Britton pours a beer for a customer at the Madison Avenue Pub in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burgers, brews and blues: Madison Avenue Pub has it all

Enjoy half-price burgers on Tuesday, prime rib specials and live music at the Everett mainstay.

Ellis Johnson, 16, left, and brother Garrett Johnson, 13, take a breather after trying to find enough water to skim board on without sinking into the sand during opening day of Jetty Island on Friday, July 5, 2019 in Everett, Wash. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Epic ways to spice up your summer

Your ultimate guide to adventure, fun and reader-approved favorites!

Everett High School graduate Gwen Bundy high fives students at her former grade school Whittier Elementary during their grad walk on Thursday, June 12, 2018 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Literally the best’: Grads celebrated at Everett elementary school

Children at Whittier Elementary cheered on local high school graduates as part of an annual tradition.

A bear rests in a tree in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. (U.S. Forest Service)
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest transitioning to cashless collections on June 21

The Forest Service urges visitors to download the app and set up payments before venturing out to trailheads and recreation sites.

The 2025 Jeep Gladiator pickup, in one of its more outrageous colors (Provided by Jeep).
2025 Jeep Gladiator is a true truck

The only 4x4 pickup with open-air abilities, Gladiator is more than a Wrangler with a bed.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.