Lorrie.  That’s what they called me back in the early years.  The name “Lorraine” to my way of thinking was the name of old women, doddering aunts; strange, exotic neighbors with scarves and odd smells.  Not the name of a bouncy, very energetic little blonde who tore up the neighborhood and sang from trees.  So Lorrie it became and lasted for years until I launched as the “chick singer” of a band called Lonnie & the Lugnutz and the name was deemed “far too fluffy for rock and roll.”  The boys had names like “Snake” and “Gadget” so the least I could do was revert to my birth name and its somewhat continental flair.  That’s where it all started…

The bio below was originally published on my website, www.lorrainedevonwilke.com.  I could’ve gotten industrious and written an official “Blog Bio” but figured this one was sufficiently detailed (please don’t make me write another one!).  The embedded links will get you to various pages on my site; if you do make a visit, just hit the back buttons to return to this blog when you’re done.  But of course, peruse my site freely to get more information than you could ever possibly want about what I’ve been up to all this time!

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The day her father carried the smoking TV out the door for the last time was the day Lorraine Devon Wilke unknowingly embarked upon her life as an artist. Once the kicking and screaming stopped and the dulling noise of canned laughter disappeared, she and her 10 brothers and sisters found their vivid imaginations – and the world at large – to be a very colorful and creative place. The record player now accompanied every waking moment, whether her mother’s Perry Como, her brothers’ James Gang, or the Beatles, Joni, and CSN she and her sisters devoured. Her father took them to musicals, her mother created worlds with backyard carnivals and hand-made dolls; her brothers and sisters painted, wrote outrageous basement shows, picked up guitars and sang until there wasn’t a stage they could step on and not set the room on fire. That was the truest, most cherished legacy of her family life…artistic spirit.

From there she pounced into her own version of consummate creativity: a theater major at the University of Illinois, she learned stage acting and script writing and spent most of her sophomore year traveling with an award-winning original musical that took her and her cast mates to the Kennedy Center. The pounding activity of live performance piqued her interest in recording and performing with bands, a passion that ironically compelled her early departure from school when the one that wooed her onto the road became too great an adventure to ignore.

Dreams and westward bookings landed her in Los Angeles, where she decided to embrace the fabled city of movies and grand destinies by trying her luck as an actor. For 5 years she studied with Robert F. Lyons, a protégé of famed acting guru, Milton Katselas, and while she honed her skills, learned how to teach the craft, performed in countless plays, landed some TV and film roles, and enthusiastically pounded the pavement along with the best of them, the siren song of music sweet music was always a seductive pull.

She launched back into full-time rock and roll in the ’80s (see Music Page), but continued to keep her feet firmly planted on all sides of her creative road. When she and filmmaker, Patricia Royce, sat around her apartment talking long and hilariously enough to come up with a timely, clever screenplay based on their tumultuous 30-something lives, the result was To Cross the Rubicon, a 1.7 million dollar feature produced in the early 90’s by the Lensman Company out of Seattle, directed by Barry Caillier, which went on to win awards on the festival circuit, had a short but successful domestic run, and was released in the early 2000’s on DVD and video. The film starred acclaimed singer/songwriter, J.D. Souther, and featured one of her favorite performers, David Crosby, in a small but memorable cameo. Co-starring as a prodigal rock and roll singer attempting to find balance between dreams, reality and men who’ll commit, Lorraine co-wrote and recorded several of the songs on the soundtrack, one she performed as her character, winning accolades in her hyphenated role. (see Film Page for reviews.)

Life took another unexpected but profound turn when she and the Lensman Company’s attorney, Pete Wilke, (www.pwilkeindieatty.com) met and were married before the film was even edited, an event that heralded the most creative and fertile period of her life. He brought with him his lovely daughter, Jennie, and soon their son Dillon (www.birdyindustries.com) followed.  After living a life of travel and passionate pursuit, Lorraine took some time to breathe, revel in family, write a bevy of new songs and screenplays (see Writing Page), as well as develop her left-brain skills working as a management and development consultant in a variety of business arenas. Small theater and indie films were also her playground for much of this period, but as always, music came knocking.

With a variety of plates spinning throughout the early 00′s, she immersed herself once again in band life with ROAD TO BLUE (see Music Page) and the eventual recording of her first full-length CD, Somewhere On the Way (see CD Page), a well-reviewed collection of soulful roots/rock originals written, arranged and produced by Lorraine and her partner, guitarist Rick M. Hisrch.  Somewhere On the Way can be purchased at CDBaby (www.cdbaby.com/cd/wilke) or ITunes  (http://tinyurl.com/23b9sq5).

Continuing to work in the music industry, she also wrote and directed projects both creative and industrial, developing her expanding skills as a photographer and photo restorer.  Most recently, Lorraine has embarked upon a transitional period in her work and business life (see Business Page), exploring a number of entrepreneurial and creative endeavors that utilize her considerable business skills.  She has recently completed her first novel, The Pros and Cons of Neighbors (see Writing Page) and a feature screenplay of hers, The Theory of Almost Everything, is under option with Los Angeles production company, Gabriel Entertainment Group (www.gabrielentertainmentgroup.com).

Continuing her world travels whenever possible, pen and camera always in hand, she experiences her greatest joy in life with her family, where all things heartfelt and inspirational are found.

There…that’s the fluffy website bio.  Questions?