About Wes Borland: From Limp Bizkit to Black Light Burns

 

Who is Wes Borland?

American rock ‘n’ roll musician Wesley Louden ‘Wes’ Borland was born in Richmond, Virginia USA, under the Aquarius zodiac sign on 7 February 1975. He’s probably known best for being the backing vocalist and guitarist of the rock ‘n’ roll band Limp Bizkit, while he’s also a co-founder of the metal band Big Dumb Face, and was the guitarist and lead vocalist of the industrial rock ‘n’ roll band Black Light Burns.

Education and early life

Wes and his brother Scott Borland were raised in Richmond by their mother Sally and father Tom Borland, however, not a lot is known about them as Wes respects his parents’ privacy. His brother’s today also a musician – they founded the band Big Dumb Face together in 1998.

Wes began playing the drums while still attending a local elementary school, but chose to switch to guitar because his parents didn’t allow percussive instruments in the house; looking up to his brother, Scott took on the bass guitar, and the two then began playing together.

The family eventually moved to Jacksonville, Florida, and Wes enrolled at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts; because his parents were deeply religious and forced Wes to go to church with them, he left home at the age of 18, but matriculated at around the same time, and then chose to pursue music rather than a college degree.

Career as a musician

Wes joined Lip Bizkit in 1994, only a couple of months after it was formed by John Otto, Sam Rivers and Fred Durst; they quickly established a cult following, and became popular in Florida.

When American turntablist DJ Lethal joined the band in 1995, Wes left because of a disagreement with other members, but returned only a couple of months later, after Limp Bizkit was signed to MCA Records through its record label Mojo. The band was dissatisfied with Mojo, eventually leaving the label and signing with Flip, an Interscope Records’ subsidiary.

Their debut album “Three Dollar Bill, Y’All” was released on 1 July 1997, and its eponymous lead single became a radio hit. The band’s second album, “Significant Other” was released on 22 June 1999, and made them popular in both the US and Europe – it ranked #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, and sold close to 650,000 copies in its first week. Limp Bizkit’s third album, “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water” was released on 17 October 2000, again topping Billboard 200, selling more than a million copies in its first week, and was the 18th best-selling album in the US in the decade.

Wes and his brother released Big Dumb Face’s first album, “Duke Lion Fights the Terror!” in March 201; Wes quit Limp Bizkit by the end of the year, citing ‘creative differences’, and in the same year, Wes and his brother formed their new band Eat the Day, with Adam Yas joining as their lead vocalist in January 2003.However, as Wes and the band’s producer Bob Ezrin were dissatisfied with Adam, they continued their search for a lead vocalist, but disbanded without releasing any songs, because they were unable to find a suitable vocalist.

Wes had another failed project, his 2003 rock ‘n’ supergroup The Damning Well, and this led him to return to Limp Bizkit in August 2004. The band’s fifth album “The Unquestionable Truth” was released in 2005, but they went on an hiatus following the release of their 2005 compilation album “Greatest Hitz”.

The year 2005 also saw Wes launch his new project, Black Light Burns, and they released their debut album “Cruel Melody” in June 2007. He became the American rock ‘n’ roll band Marilyn Manson’s guitarist in August 2008, and in the same year played the bass guitar on The Color of Violence’s album “Youthanize”.

Wes and Limp Bizkit reunited and began touring around the USA in 2009, and Wes quit Marilyn Manson in May of the same year. Limp Bizkit’s new album “Gold Cobra” was released on 28 June 2011, and reached #16 on Billboard 200. Wes then spent a couple of months focused on his band Black Light Burns, and they released their second album “The Moment You Realize You’re Going to Fall” on 13 August 2012 – their ‘concept album’ “Lotus Island” followed in January 2013.

Wes began working on his solo career in the first half of 2016, and released his debut album (instrumental) “Crystal Machete” on 3 May; the same year saw the disbandment of Black Light Burns.

He revived Big Dumb Face after 16 years in June 2017, and their new album “Where Is Duke Lion? He’s Dead” was released on 31 October of the same year; the band’s third album “Christmas in the Cave of Gadoth” was released on 11 December 2021.

Most recently, in April 2022, Wes performed with Danny’s Elfman’s band at Coachella Festival.

Love life and relationships

Wes has been married thrice. He and his long-term girlfriend, American non-celebrity girl Heather McMillan exchanged vows in April 1998, but their divorce was finalized in 2001.

Wes’ second wife was another American non-celebrity girl, Anna Carlisle; the two married in March 2009, but divorced four years later.

Wes and his third wife Carre Callaway exchanged vows in October 2016; she’s an American singer and lead vocalist of the indie rock band Queen Kwong. The two lived in Detroit, Michigan and divorced in 2019; Wes filed a defamation lawsuit against Carre in January 2023, but it was dismissed by the judge.

Wes is yet to mention other girls whom he’s maybe been with, he seems to be unattached as of April 2023, has been married thrice and doesn’t have children.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Wes is recognized by his unique on-stage appearance, as he likes to wear uniforms, masks and body paint.

He and his third wife Carre rescued numerous abandoned cats from Detroit, and renovated their house to make a special room for them.

Wes is an atheist, meaning that he doesn’t believe in God or heaven; he’s also stated that he hopes that he’s wrong.

He’s followed by nearly 300,000 people on Instagram, and has posted over 1,700 pictures onto the network, with most of these being related to music.

Wes’ favorite actor is Tom Cruise, and some of his favorite movies include “Risky Business”, “Vanilla Sky” and “Jerry Maguire”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Wes’ age is 48. He has brown eyes and hair, is 6ft (1.85m) tall and weighs around 170lbs (77kgs).

Wes’ net worth’s been estimated at over $10 million, as of April 2023.

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