Coles Whalen

Coles Whalen is an Americana, pop and country singer-songwriter based in Denver.[1] She has toured extensively through the United States and Canada and has released six independent records.

Coles Whalen live in Tucson

Whalen also composed and performed the soundtrack to Passport & Palette, a public television series, and is the voice of the Living Spaces 2010 ad campaign seen in Super Bowl XLIV. In 2009, a writer for the St. Joseph News-Press described her music as "evolving from a stereotypical emotive folksy singer-songwriter into an artist who dabbles in crafting melodic pop mixed with touches of alt-country, rock and jazz."[2]

In January 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to review a case — Counterman v. Colorado — regarding the extent of First Amendment protection for threatening communications. Whalen was the victim of the threatening communications in the case.

Victim in Counterman v. Colorado “True Threats” case

From 2014-16, Coles Whalen received multiple threatening messages sent by Billy Raymond Counterman to her Facebook account. After a jury trial, he was found guilty of stalking (serious emotional distress). The trial court sentenced him to prison. In July 2021, the Colorado Court of Appeals rejected Counterman’s argument that his jury had not been properly instructed and held that Counterman had made true threats to Whalen [3] The Court explained: “Most troubling are the messages that tell C.W. to ‘die’ or to ‘[f]uck off permanently.'[4]

In January 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to review the case, specifically the question of whether, “to establish that a statement is a ‘true threat’ unprotected by the First Amendment, the government must show that the speaker subjectively knew or intended the threatening nature of the statement, or whether it is enough to show that an objective ‘reasonable person’ would regard the statement as a threat of violence.”[5]

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to review the case, Whalen released a statement:[6]

The thousands of unstable messages sent to me were life threatening and life altering. I was terrified that I was being followed and could be hurt at any moment; I had no choice but to step back from my dream, a music career that I had worked very hard to build. As the Supreme Court weighs this issue, I hope it will consider how dangerous stalking is for victims and their families all over this country. … I am grateful that when I reported these alarming messages, they were taken seriously …. If you are afraid – please – trust yourself and reach out for help.

Appearances

South by Southwest 2016

Denver Pride Festival 2012 with En Vogue

HRC National Gala 2011
Phoenix Pride Festival 30th Anniversary 2010 with Joan Jett

Akon's Hitlab Showcase, Winner 2009

Taos Solar Music Festival 2008 with Paula Cole, John Butler Trio

Discography

Let's Be Lovers 2021

  1. We're Gonna Make it Right
  2. Let's Be Lovers
  3. I'll Make a Change
  4. Right Back to You
  5. Getaway Car
  6. Stop Drop and Roll
  7. Love Me Loving You
  8. Till the Next Life

Come Back, Come Back 2013

  1. Catch Hold
  2. Counting Down the Days
  3. Cruel Game
  4. There's Gotta Be
  5. More Than the Immediate
  6. Fairy Tale
  7. Go Back
  8. Tether
  9. Phone Lines
  10. On My Way to You

I Wrote This for You 2012[7]

  1. Cannonball
  2. Average 20 Something
  3. Beautiful Without Me
  4. Cactus
  5. Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
  6. So It Is
  7. These Small Things
  8. Wrecking Ball
  9. Wake Up Easy
  10. You'll Be There
  11. Can't Take My Eyes Off of You
  12. Paper Airplane
  13. Second to None

The Whistle Stop Road Record 2010

  1. Go Child
  2. Whistle Stop
  3. Butterflies
  4. Hole in My Heart
  5. Wrecking Ball
  6. So It Is
  7. Romeo and Juliet (by Mark Knopfler)
  8. Average 20 Something
  9. Call On Me
  10. Wake Up Easy
  11. Hurricane (Wicked Won Remix)

Nothing is Too Much 2008[8]

  1. Call on Me
  2. How Do You Do This to Me
  3. The Gettin' Side
  4. When You Were Here
  5. Honeyed Out

Gee Baby 2006

  1. Shine
  2. Manhattan
  3. Turn Away
  4. Ship That Sails The Sea
  5. Twice
  6. Weepin' Heart
  7. Pretty Kids
  8. Saint Tony
  9. The Hand That Gives the Rose
  10. Come Back for More
  11. Sevens
  12. Gee Baby

Coles Whalen: ep 2005

  1. Why I Cry
  2. Pick Up the Pieces
  3. Sevens
  4. Hollow Railroad
  5. Providence
  6. Old Man Reality

Songs for Sensational Kids Vol. 1: The Wiggly Scarecrow 2005[9]

Personal background

Coles Whalen is based in Denver, Colorado. She began her performance career with the Colorado Children's Chorale and traveled with the group throughout the United States and to China. She attended Cherry Creek High School and graduated from the University of Southern California.

References
  1. Holly Hatch, "Denver musician Coles Whalen defies genre", Out Front Colorado, February 15, 2012.
  2. Blake Hannan, "This is: Coles Whalen", St. Joseph News-Press, August 19, 2009  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
  3. https://cases.justia.com/colorado/court-of-appeals/2021-17ca1465.pdf?ts=1626966411.
  4. https://cases.justia.com/colorado/court-of-appeals/2021-17ca1465.pdf?ts=1626966411.
  5. https://www.supremecourt.gov/qp/22-00138qp.pdf.
  6. https://www.coleswhalen.com/
  7. Colorado Music Buzz Article.
  8. Coffey, Kevin (December 18, 2008). "On her way to a breakout: Coles Whalen returns to Omaha ahead of a couple of CD releases, including one with a major label", Omaha World-Herald, p. GO16
  9. Milvy, Erica (September 2005). "Songs for Sensational Kids Vol. 1: The Wiggly Scarecrow", Parenting 19 (8): 237
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.