Curt Wilson is an artist, actor, writer, director and producer with experience and credits in all facets of the entertainment industry.
Acting Resume
FILM:
Devil's Advocate.........Featured....Warner Bros.
H.A.L. On Earth..........Starring.....Independent
All The King's Horses...Featured....Pitzer College
Matermorphis.............Starring.....Pitzer College
Denny's......................Featured...Independent
TELEVISION:
David Letterman.................Featured...................NBC
Leeza Gibbons Show...........Featured...................NBC
General Hospital.................Recurring..................ABC
Sunset Beat.......................Featured (regular).....ABC
Lou Grant..........................Featured...................MTM
Crime Stories.....................Featured...................NBC
Live On Campus.................Starring....................Pepperdine University
Life Is A Contact Sport........Starring....................Kragen & Company
Kids Sport News Network....Starring....................KSNN
Game Of The Week.............Guest Star................Cox Communication
Coaches Corner..................Guest Star................Cox Communication
News Room.........................Featured..................USC
Brett Dennen......................Featured..................Music Video
THEATRE:
REPO! The Genetic Opera.................Lead..................John Raitt Theatre
Shopping For Shoes.........................Lead..................Cast Theatre
Philedelphia Story............................Lead..................El Camino College
Yanks 3, Detroit 0, Top of the 7th....Lead..................Pilot Theatre
Panic In Needle Park........................Lead..................Pilot Theatre
Jailbreak (ABC Olympic Festival).......Lead..................Laird International, MGM
Award Winning Screenplays.............Lead..................Univ. of Calif., Irvine
COMMERCIALS & PRINT WORK
Tufts Health Care
Keynote Bank
Coca Cola (with New Kids On The Block)
McDonald's
Sprite
Coca Cola (two commercials)
General Mills
Tuxedo Center (two commercials)
Wilson Ford
Pabst Light Beer
California Cooler (five commercials)
Bartles & James
United California Bank
Sy Devore
Northbrook Development Group
Chiat/Day
Carre Design
Arena Sportswear
Post Grape-Nuts
Live at the Club Lingerie
Curt Wilson and Modern Art live at the
Club Lingerie-Hollywood, California.
Wilson writes funky, danceable love songs that are shiny, bright and welcome on my airwaves anytime. I have always appreciated good pop tunes with memorable melodies, sensible and sensitive lyrics, as well as concise song structures.
Musicianship-Several of the songs were stretched to allow guitarist Grady Shawver, bassist Michael McLinden, and drummer MB Gordy solos that betrayed a strong progressive/jazz leaning. Keyboardists Kathy Dean and Skip Martinelli provided mostly padding and sound effects. Overall, the band played well together, executing arrangements that someone has put a lot of thought into. In a crackerjack band, Wilson is the prize. He has a strong, obviously well trained voice that handled each song with power, energy and and a wealth of emotion. This is as good as it gets.
Performance-Wilson is a natural, making even choreographed moves look spontaneous. His was a great performance.
If musical performance were all that mattered, then it would take a yard full of snakes to keep the world from beating a path to Wilson's front door. He's got the songs, the band, and he's awfully good looking.
-Tom Kidd
The Wire Review
5uu's-"Points of View"
"Inspired by the 'Rock In Opposition' (R.I.O) movement's uncompromising stance, drummer/composer David Kerman formed the 5uu's in 1982. Point Of Views reissues their first two lps; Bel Marduk & Tiamat and Elements, which features the addition of The Motor Totemists Guild & is the embryonic blueprint for U Totem. 'Bel Marduk & Tiamat and Elements...(are)...two important avant rock lps.' -The Wire 6/98. An essential document for those interested in the development of a distinctly American version of R.I.O. inspired progressive". -Cuneiform
"Points of View"-Review-5uu's
This album includes the first two albums of 5uu's "Bel Marduk and Tiamat" and "Elements" plus the 7" single "Barcode". This is a showcase of the excellent talents of band leader Dave Kerman, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, and other top notch musicians, The RIO (Rock In Opposition) inspired music is absolutely breathtaking! Kerman manages to take elements from the RIO scene, jazz scene, and folk scene, and many others musical styles and combine it into an incredible powerful music. An incredible blend of power, atonality and ROCK, that leaves no one who likes adventurous music cold! Absolutelty top recommended!. Curt Wilson's vocals on "The Futility of Oneness" really touches the heart! Not for the faint hearted! This is NOT "elevator music", but music for those who really likes music!
- Nylund Thomas J (Turku Finland)
All Music Guide Review - U Totem
"Of all of James Grigsby's productions, Strange Attractors is the work he will be remembered for. This album, weaved on a complex story line jumping back and forth from 1957 to 1985 to 2012, contains some of the best music avant-progressive had to offer in the 1990s...a classic."-All Music Guide.
U Totem Review
U Totem is the combination of the 5uus and the Motor Totemist Guild. This pairing has brought out the best parts of both bands, combining the abstraction and lyricism of the 5uus with the classical control and tambre of the MTG. Keyboards, bassoon, guitar, bass, flute, drums and voice combine to produce major stunners.
"U Totem is characterized by unsurpassed technique and perfect sound; in addition, this music is well written and well orchestrated...this must surely be the CD of the year!-Gateavisa.
"The closest thing to Henry Cow in complexity...world class playing and singing...there is nothing else like this now."-Chris Cutler.
"Uncompromising in melody, harmony and rhythm...superbly played throughout."-Facelift.
Allmusic article-5uu's
allmusic
By 1980, Kerman and friends had formed 5uu's, with the moniker coming from an L.A. street gang's graffiti; which provided free publicity. Under the wing of Curt Wilson, a local pop singer, the group began a two-year recording process in 1984, with Kerman being the main foundation and energy for the project. Their first record was Bel Marduk & Tiamat, tagged "a wonder" for a first album. A contact with Chris Cutler of Recommended Records led to a recorded track, "Compromisation," in the label's magazine that promoted the work of the Rock in Opposition bands. The California Outside Music Association, consisting of local musicians promoting the more radical sounds which were developing, arranged for 5uu's first concert at the Branch Office Bar (1986) in Torance, CA, and the band's first radio broadcast on KXLU.
Ragazzi Interview-5uu's
Ragazzi Interview with Dave Kerman September 2005
"After the school orchestras and marching bands were a slew of Rock n Roll cover bands, playing Hendrix, Montrose and Zeppelin - that sort of stuff. Then came a period of New Wave bands. The most important of these to me was Curt Wilson's "Maps to The Stars' Homes", as it was the germination of 5uu's. Curt and I cut our teeth up and down the Sunset Strip during those days, playing the Troubadour, FM Station, the Whiskey, Madame Wong's and probably every other club in Hollywood, trying to get a record deal in the hope of becoming Rock Stars. But Hollywood is a bogus business, so it wasn't too long before I had conscientiously made the decision to steer the band away from both the glamorous ignominies of fame, and the fatalistic, squat-culture of Punk, which would have been another option because we were pals with the Black Flag guys. Alas, instead, we went the "Rock In Opposition" way, and ended up in the fatalistic, squat culture of Punk surroundings, anyway. Until, of course, the internet brought back some interest in the 70's recordings of dinosaurs like Yes and Genesis, and furthered it by bringing to fruition a whole line of younger bands who poorly imitate them. From there, our school of music got thrown to the dogs by being labelled "Prog", thus killing any chance of us becoming Rock n' Roll stars and attracting the ubiquitous, hormonal attributes of gorgeous, young groupies."
El Camino College Review
Just checking what can go in this space that might be cool
now it's personal
Curt Wilson started as a songwriter, getting together with friends and fellow musicians he soon found himself fronting different bands and performing at various festivals. Always drawn to the creative process, Curt invested in some equipment and started engineering and producing a variety of artists in several recording studios throughout California. While managing and building his clientele at the various studios, Curts’ reputation as a singer, songwriter, producer and musician grew, he was asked to lend his vocal talents to independent ensembles like the “5Uu’s” and the “Motor Totemist Guild” branching out into an area far removed from traditional “pop” music. Curt has worked with the award winning country pop band “Highway 101” and several Gospel superstars including “The Winan’s” and David Peaston. Curt put together several bands of phenomenal musicians under the names of “Maps to Stars Homes” and “Modern Art” playing with passion and skill at all of the places that should be played in hollywood including the Club Lingerie, Madam Wong’s (East and West), The Whisky, Filthy McNasty’s and The Troubadour, while doing guest spots singing on TV shows like “Crime Stories” and working with the legendary Al Kooper.
Curt has had his songs published, recorded or his productions released all over the world and now he has come full circle putting together a group of songs and performances more personal than any he has released in the past. Several of the recordings on this CD find Curt Wilson playing all of the instruments and performing all of the vocal parts welcoming the listener in to a mood and emotions worthy of their time.
All Music Guide Review - U Totem
U Totem-Strange Attractors
U Totem were the avant-rock supergroup that combined personnel from Los Angeles' 5uu's and Motor Totemist Guild. They existed between 1998 - 2004 and released two albums, of which this is the second. Since his time in U Totem, drummer/composer Dave Kerman has gone onto high profile with with many other projects. This one isn't nearly as obviously 'complex rock' as their first, but that's only because the complexity is more subtle and less overtly in-you-face, which makes it even more impressive when what they are doing on some of these pieces finally 'clicks' in your brain.
"Of all of James Grigsby's productions, Strange Attractors is the work he will be remembered for. This album, weaved on a complex story line jumping back and forth from 1957 to 1985 to 2012, contains some of the best music avant-progressive had to offer in the 1990s...a classic."-All Music Guide.
Shapuno Zoo-U Totem Review
Shapuno Zoo consecrated the Motor Totemist Guild as one of the leading creative forces on the avant rock/chamber rock front. The MTG's first record to be distributed in Europe, Shapuno Zoo reached a wider audience. It also marked the first collaboration between composer James Grigsby and recording engineer Curt Wilson. For the first time, the Motor Totemist Guild has a more than decent sound on record.
by François Couture