The $5,000 Man

While you can’t name your own price ala Radiohead, Wes does present fans with several options for purchasing Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead, described by the artist as his first “rock album” since 2004.

For example, $15.98 buys you a download, the actual CD and a bonus live disc – Don’t Look Back Now – John Wesley Harding Live At Union Hall, Park Slope, 10.27.08.

A price bump to $29.98 adds a t-shirt to the mix and the $49.98 includes a limited live DVD. There’s also a $79.98 package that includes signed artwork.

But it’s the $5,000 sticker that has everybody talking.

For five grand, not only do you get the download, the actual CD, the bonus disc, T-shirt, DVD and signed artwork, but you also get Wes playing it up close and personal in your very own living room.

According to JohnWesleyHarding.com:

“John Wesley Harding will come and perform at your house, for you and your friends, on a mutually agreeable date. NO JOKE! If it’s near, he’ll even pay the transport; though if it’s far, you’ll have to pay. The price of this epic package, including your own personal John Wesley Harding concert, is $5,000, and at that price, we’re waiving the postage and packing. This is the only offer of its kind, and quite possibly the only offer of its kind ever.”

Harding isn’t any stranger to house concerts, but, according to Entertainment Weekly, has “shied away from them in the past,” saying, “There’s one guy whose house I’ve often played at in New Jersey, but I don’t go ‘round looking for those kinds of gigs.”

“Like, people have asked me to play their weddings, and I have said no. I mean, I’ll be the reverend and marry you, which I’ve done a couple of times, but I’m not a party band. It wouldn’t mean very much to the rest of their family having somebody playing the acoustic guitar.”

Entertainment Weekly also asked Wes to explain why he feels he’s worth it, saying his concert rider for home appearances only insists that the residents of the home provide a bottle of bourbon and refrain from insisting he spend the night in their abode.

In response, Wes gave E.W. 20 reasons why he’s worth $5,000, a few of which are reprinted below:

1. The price for me NOT playing a concert at your house is $10,000, and it therefore saves you $5,000.

5. Oscar Wilde said: “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.” Don’t be a cynic. Leave that to me.

7. The price for my playing a concert at your house used to be $20,000, but in these times of economic crisis, my “Obama Special” is $5,000, and that means you’re saving $15,000.

11. Because the person buying the concert is a genius.

18. Every man has a price. You just have to find out how much it is. David Bowie’s is quite high, and rightly so. Mine is lower. That bloke you’ve never heard of and would hate if you had? He pays to play. Capiche?

But the best reason for shelling out $5,000 to have John Wesley Harding play your living room has to be the last:

20. Because if I die soon, my price will soar.

For more information on John Wesley Harding’s new album, Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead, click here.

For Entertaiment Weekly’s article about why Harding thinks he’s worth $5,000, click here.