INTERVIEW: THE WLDLFE — Music Musings & Such

INTERVIEW:

PHOTO CREDIT: Nitish Durbha

THE WLDLFE

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THIS week is already off to flyer…

PHOTO CREDIT: Nitish Durbha

as I now get to speak with THE WLDLFE. I have been wrapping my ears around the new song, Towel, and was determined to find out more – and discover what it was like filming its unique and sensational video.

I discover how the Indianapolis band are progressing and what they have coming up; whether there are tour dates coming up; the sort of artists, new and past, they are reacting to; when the guys all got together – they each select a cool track to bring the interview to a close.

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Hi, guys. How are you? How has your week been?

We are doing well! It’s been a busy couple of week since releasing Towel and such - but a good kind of busy.

For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please?

For sure. We are a band called THE WLDLFE and we are from Indianapolis, Indiana. My name is Jansen, and the four other members of the band are Carson, Geoff; Jack, and Jason. We’ve been together for about two-and-a-half-years now and we aren’t planning on quitting any time soon.

Towel is your new single. What is the story behind it?

Towel has gone through a lot of different phases but I think that’s why we like it so much and one of the reasons why it feels like one of the tracks we’re most proud of. I wrote the verses a year or so ago and couldn’t figure out a good hook and a few months ago the chorus came to me at like 2 A.M. and it just was the perfect fit. Even though it’s a bit of a ballad, I feel like it’s kind of an anthem for those who have felt what it’s like to be in love with somebody who drives you crazy.

What was it like shooting the vertical video for the song?

It was definitely a little bit of a different process than a lot of the other videos we’ve done. We found a gem of an Airbnb in Muncie, IN which is a pretty small town and it turned out to be the perfect setting for the visual. We didn’t really shoot the video much differently than any other video and the vertical-ness of the video was brought together in post-production. We’ve been working with Brad Wong on all of our visuals for a while and he just keeps getting better and better.

The Towel video definitely feels like he took it next level and we really couldn’t be more pleased with how it came out.

Was it cool working with (director) Brad Wong? He seems to have a pretty good sense of concept and visuals…

For sure. Like I said; we’ve worked with him quite a bit and he’s always been great. He’s supe-open to what we have envisioned for the project and I think that’s why we keep calling him back. He certainly knows how to get the most out of what we want the video to look and feel like.

How did THE WLDLFE get together? When did you start making music together?

This will sound like a joke, but we all kinda met at ‘Camp Rock’. Jason, Jack; Geoff and I all met each other at a camp called Orangehaus at Anderson University when we were in high-school and that all led us to attend college in Anderson. We all reconnected there and that is where the band was born. Carson is my younger brother and so I met him when he was born but he joined us in January of 2018 - and having him on the road with us has been awesome. He really felt like the missing piece for us and he has really helped us kinda reach where we wanted to be as far as live performance goes as well.

Do you remember when music first came into your life? Which artists inspired you all?

We really all grew up listening to different music. Carson and I grew up on Journey and John Mayer. Geoff’s second cousin in Rick Allen from Def Leppard so he grew up listening to ‘80s Hair Metal. Jack and Jason both were into Hardcore bands like Underoath and Dance Gavin Dance - so, there is definitely a wide range of influences for all us. I think that plays to our advantage in a lot of ways though and it helps us look at music through, maybe, a different lens than maybe bands who grew up listening to the same music.

You are based out of Indianapolis. Is there a pretty healthy music scene there?

It’s growing and there are lots of plans to help improve the music scene in Indy. We’re excited to be one of the bands that are helping that expansion.

Where are you heading on tour? Where can we catch you?

We are headed out to the West Coast in July and we’re super-pumped for it because we haven’t been able to get out there until last summer…

7.6 - Memphis, TN

7.7 - Kansas City, MO

7.9 - Houston, TX

7.11 - Phoenix, AZ

7.12 - San Diego, CA

7.13 - Anaheim, CA

7.15 - Dallas, TX (SAY INDIE! FESTIVAL )

We are working on more dates in the fall as well but we are excited for this week in July. It’s gonna be a fun trip.

Might you come to the U.K. and play?

Hopefully, soon! We would love to make it across the pond. Geoff’s family is actually from London so we know we at least would have a place to crash.

What do you hope to achieve in 2018?

It sounds like the boring answer but we just want to be better than we were last year. We want to grow and reach more people obviously but we always want to put the best records we can and put on the best show we can. That’s what we pride ourselves on.

Have you each got a favourite memory from your time in music – the one that sticks in the mind?

I would say our favorite moment to date was this past April. We were playing in Lynchburg, VA. We had heard that we had a good following in the town but I don’t think any of us expected the kind of response we got at that show. It was just a special night in a packed record store and we definitely will not forget that show anytime soon.

If you could support any musician alive today, and choose your own rider, what would that entail?

I think all of us might answer this question differently but I would love to support Jon Bellion. I think he is just a creative genius and a good example of how hard work and dedication to your craft pays off. He’s not the flashiest but he always puts on a good show.

As far as a rider goes, I think we would all agree on a lot of pita and hummus. Like a lot of it.

What advice would you give to new artists coming through?

One thing (I think) I’m super-happy we did off the bat was to invest in good-quality production. When you have a professional-sounding product, it’s easier to promote your music. Bloggers pay more attention and so do online publications. Making music can be expensive but I would definitely encourage people to make that investment because it definitely pays off.

IN THIS PHOTO: PHANGS

Are there any new artists you recommend we check out?

Our buddy, PHANGS, is a guy out of Nashville who has been killing it lately. Super-genuine dude as well.

Do you get much time to chill away from music? How do you unwind?

Lots of NBA 2K18 and Mario Kart. If we aren’t on stage, when we are on the road we are usually pretty glued to those games. We all have jobs on the side and, when we aren’t touring, we are usually preoccupied with those as well.

Finally, and for being good sports; you can each choose a song and I’ll play it here (not any of your music - I will do that).

Phangs (ft. Truitt) - Dry Eyes