Tomorrow night, Gringo Star, Atlanta’s psych-pop rock ‘n’ rollers will be hitting the stage at the Black Cat, opening for Cincinnati’s “trash pop” Tweens. If you’ve seen Gringo Star before, you know they’ve got something up their sleeves.
“I like trying to switch it up” said Nick Furgiuele, bassist and co-lead vocalist of Gringo Star. “There’s nothing I hate more than seeing a band where it feels like they’re just playing 14 of the same songs in a row.” READ MORE…
There are a ton of good rock bands coming out of Nashville these days. Just yesterday The A.V. Club premiered the new video from the Kopecky Family Band, for instance. Today, we’ve got the new single from The Wans, yet another band from Music City U.S.A. “I Can’t Fix You” is off the band’s debut LP, He Said, She Said, out Sept. 2 and is one of 40 songs the band originally wrote for the record. The trio whittled that list down to 10 tight jams, all recorded live on producer Dave Cobb’s board, which has, at one point or another, been used on albums by The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. That fits The Wans aesthetic, which mixes Zeppelin, Cream, and “newer” bands like Nirvana to come up with a sort of ‘60s meets ‘90s sound that should fly with modern listeners. LISTEN HERE…
To set up an interview with The Wans, or get your hands on press passes, advance music, hi-res photos, album art or videos, contact stevealbertson@babyrobotmedia.com
“In love with both The Stooges and The Jam… steamroller guitar riffs and vocals about partying all night every night.” -NME
“The bastard child of Irish whiskey and cheap American beer.” -NoiseTrade
“Radiating the very soul of rock ‘n roll across the decades and pin-pointing it to this very moment. ” -Heavy Planet
“You know that buzz you get right about the time you’ve had plenty to drink? It’s like that. Fearless. Exciting. Alive.” -Maine Music News
“So edgy and so damn catchy you won’t be able to take it off repeat. Makes 99% of the rest of rock bands in Nashville look like boys choirs.” -No Country For New Nashville
Since they formed two years ago, The Wans have been unleashing shotgun blasts of rock & roll that have resounded from their hometown of Nashville (American Songwriter) all the way to London (NME). They’ve already opened for artists such as Pearl Jam, Beck and the Black Lips, and their music has been featured on ABC’s Nashville, A&E’s Longmire and USA’s Necessary Roughness.
Their new album He Said, She Said (out Sept. 9) was produced by Dave Cobb (Rival Sons, Jason Isbell) & mixed by Vance Powell (Jack White, Arctic Monkeys). The band wrote over 40 songs for the new record before whittling them down—with the aid of producer Cobb—to the 10 best. “We tracked all the songs in one week at Dave’s studio, which is completely analog,” says lead singer/guitarist Simon Kerr. “He has this old mixing board that some of our favorite albums were recorded on—The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin. The sound of that board really guided us on He Said, She Said. We cut it completely live—even the vocals.”
“And we were at Dave’s the whole time—basically slept on his floor the week we made the record,” says drummer Mark Petaccia. “We’d sleep for an hour or two a night then wake up, drink some whiskey and get back to recording. It was intense, but it was fun.”
On He Said, She Said, The Wans channel both the classic riff rock of Led Zeppelin & Cream and the grunge of ’90s bands like Nirvana & Soundgarden, but with a modern twist. “We’re all massive fans of ’60s rock and most certainly the early-’90s grunge movement,” says bassist Thomas Bragg, “but we didn’t really go into this planning to make a ’90s-sounding record. Once the album was finished, though, it had certainly gone in that direction, and we all looked at each other and knew we had something special.” The songs on He Said, She Said possess the same swagger as on the band’s 2012 self-titled debut EP, but they’re more focused than ever. And they’re all pretty much about drunken one night stands & break ups. (“Not that I endorse any of those things,” Kerr laughs.)
The Wans picked up their name from transplant Kerr’s hometown back in Ireland. “It’s everyday slang in Derry,” he says. “Pretty much, it means ‘The Ones,’ but the way it’s spelled is the way it’s pronounced in an Irish accent. So now everyone has to pronounce it that way!”
With the release of He Said, She Said, a new music video on the way, a fall tour in the works as well as some prime festival appearances at the Hangout, Forecastle and Austin City Limits, 2014 is set to be a breakout year for The Wans.
Lily and the Tigers prove that isolation can have very good effects on the music — even when you’re alone with friends.
There will always references and stories about the influence isolation can have on the creative process, most likely raking in references to albums that have stories of this nature embedded in their being. But when you’re part of a group, can you really be isolated in the truest sense of the word? Being away from all the hustle and bustle of city living is one thing, but can you still have that personal journey of reflection, etc, when you’re in the company of others? READ HERE…
Down the well-traveled highways of America comes Lily and the Tigers, rambling from town to town, infecting hamlets and cities alike with their arresting indie folk. Each song spins an intricate web of love and friendship while betraying a dark, pastoral Southern Gothic undercurrent. LISTEN HERE…