Wendy comes from a very musical family background. You will even notice that through the years two of her brothers have played bass guitar in bands she was in! She has been playing and singing since she was a young girl, often battling for who gets to play the guitar next with her brothers. Although her roots lie in country music with such artists as Wanda Jackson and Tammy Wynette she soon learned how to be versatile in her style of singing. Heart, Janis Joplin to name a few were huge influences in Wendy’s style of vocals. Learning to sing different styles of music have made her one of the most versatile singers to ever come out of the Bay area.

By the time she was 22 it was time to hit the road. She played across Canada in a variety of bands ranging from top 40 lounge to back up vocals in an Elvis tribute band. When she came back home after a few years, she was ready to go solo. She started off doing a singles act and soon had a whole band. ” Wendy Rhodes and Whitewater” was the first band of her own. Formed in 1989 with Wayne Kainula on drums, and Randy (her brother) on bass guitar, this was a beginning of what would eventually end up today as being Idol Hands . Wayne and Wendy have performed together for over 15 years and when Dan (a.k.a. Doc) came off the road, a family band was born.

There have been many lives to this band and part of being successful is to always be re-inventing yourselves. Idol Hands is the newest challenge and going back to the rock roots is a real blast! Wendy has always had a love of singing. She recalls , years ago while performing on the road, meeting a fan who really enjoyed her performance. They sat down to talk for a few minutes and Wendy was worried that people wouldn’t like her singing. The fan wrote on a piece of paper a few words that would stay with her to this day. “Wendy, for each harsh word said they’re are always two good ones. Keep being patient and things will come together for you. Keep singing from the heart.” She has never forgotten those words and keeps that note in her guitar case to this day. That was over 20 years ago and today Wendy is still going strong. In her words “never give up on your music and it will never let you down.” She has come along way in this industry as a singer and a musician and still has a lot more songs to sing!