One of the biggest challenges to building tribute basses with a story is to keep that story authentic without it becoming a gimmick. For this reason, Wesley became a particularly challenging build that took more time conceptualizing than building. A friend of mine is a terrific touring musician who lost his father in the summer of 2019. Although I never met his father, I tried to get a sense of what he was about, and wanted to understand how he influenced this talented musician’s life and music. Among many other things, we talked about Motown, James Jamerson, Carol Kaye and the music of Chaka Khan. Keeping these ideas in mind, Wesley is unique and quite different from the other Lumière basses. Wesley has a maple neck with a Bolivian Rosewood fingerboard and an alder body that you might find in a bass built in the 1960’s. The Apricot top is quite different. This top was given to me by a friend’s father in Lithuania, and is from a tree that grew apricots that the family enjoyed for years. Although the top is a bit understated by comparison to the other Lumière basses, there is beauty and history radiating through it. The centerpiece of Wesley is the purpleheart ramp that symbolizes the heart at the very center of everything that makes us who we are.