James Calvin Wilsey is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

. He played bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

 with San Francisco punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band The Avengers

The Avengers (band)

The Avengers are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in San Francisco, California. Penelope Houston, who has also been a folk musician, is their singer.-Original history:...

 but become better known as lead guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

ist with Stockton crooner Chris Isaak

Chris Isaak

Christopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak is an American rock musician and occasional actor.-Early life:Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy , a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver. Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa...

 and his band Silvertone, and featured in Isaak's solo albums Silvertone

Silvertone (album)

Silvertone is the first album by Chris Isaak, released in 1985, and named after his three-piece backup band. The US edition includes the song "Another Idea , and early CD editions of the album utilized CD+G technology....

, Chris Isaak

Chris Isaak (album)

Chris Isaak is the eponymous second album by Chris Isaak, released in 1986.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Chris Isaak; except where indicated# "You Owe Me Some Kind of Love" – 3:51# "Heart Full of Soul" – 3:20...

, Heart Shaped World, and San Francisco Days

San Francisco Days

San Francisco Days is the fourth album by Chris Isaak, released in 1993. The album was dedicated to the memory of Louie Beeson, who was the sound consultant.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Chris Isaak; except where indicated# "San Francisco Days"...

.

It was Wilsey's 1960s Stratocaster, and in particular Wilsey's use of reverb, delay and gentle tremolo, which gave the distinctive 1950s Honky Tonk/1960s Surf sound to Isaak classics such as Wicked Game

Wicked Game

"Wicked Game" is a 1989 song by Chris Isaak from his third studio album Heart Shaped World. Despite being released as a single in 1989, it did not become a hit until it was later featured in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart...

(the simple two-note riff that opens which, in his own words, "crystallizes Wilsey’s approach") and Blue Hotel. he lived in the Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 area. In 2008 Wilsey, having apparently dropped the moniker "Calvin", released a solo album of guitar instrumentals titled El Dorado which pays homage to musical influences such as Duane Eddy

Duane Eddy

Duane Eddy is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young"...

, The Shadows

The Shadows

The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...

, Billy Strange

Billy Strange

William E. "Billy" Strange is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor.-Recordings and songwriting:...

, James Burton

James Burton

James Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 , Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...

 and Link Wray

Link Wray

Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr was an American rock and roll guitarist, songwriter and occasional singer....