Hi guys, thank you for joining us today, so tell me a bit about yourselves, what have you been up to over the past 12 months?
Well, we've been sort of touring the world really. We started off last year at the Royal Albert Hall with The Who, and then Maddison Square Garden also with The Who. And then we also did the KISS cruise, then vegas, we also did a tour all across Europe in February. Now we are on our way to Birmingham and Newcastle with KISS for the next couple of days, so we haven't stopped really but we are very happy.
Where did your bands name come from and how did you form?
So myself and the blue haired one, we´re married now but at the time we were just dating and we had met on a touring show and after it finished we wanted to say creative. Me and my brother Cam, who is our bassist, we used to write a lot of music together and stuff. So the three of us kind of accidentally, I guess, fell into this and then one day we decided to get serious and so we enlisted the help of our best friend and adopted partner, Pete, who is our drummer. That's how we formed, it was not necessarily on purpose but you know, very happy about it. As for the name, it was literally like trying to form a company. The one rule was: can we see int on top of a festival bill? So we went through about fifteen names, fourteen of them were awful and then for some reason, The Wild Things wasn't taken by anybody. And while The Wild Things meant a lot to me for nostalgia, I was like 'Yeah I want that you!' and I'm the lead singer so I get first dibs.
What has been the biggest highlight of The Wild Things so far?
The biggest highlight, I think being in studio with Pete Townsend was really cool, a big learning experience more than anything because it's watching a rock genius and legend at work and learning tips and tricks from him. But also stepping on stage at the Royal Albert Hall was a big one because it was after lockdown had happened and we didn't know if we were ever going to be able to play live again. The gig we had before that was a semi-acoustic gig in front of 20 people in a hotel basement, so to sort of go from that to the Royal Albert Hall which is not only an iconic venue, not just in terms of where it is and stuff but the beauty of it. It was very surreal and it was kind of like 'Oh right, this is the moment, this is where we start properly' so I think that was the big one, for me.
How did you first get into making music?
For me and for Cam, we have kind of always done it. Cam was a musician from a very early age, he started off playing drums and he is one of those people who can pick up any instrument and play it really well straight away. So because we're siblings, you know, we were playing from a very young age. My Dad has this jukebox in his house that we used to sort of always have on every night, my parents aren't musicians or anything but you know we've come from a family of music lovers. So we've always kind of been into music and then started playing it pretty naturally. And then I bullied Rob into it, like I said we were dating and because I am demanding so I think it was one of those things that sort of happened on its own, it was never really like 'yeah this seems like a good career choice', it just happened really.
What was the process like in recording your latest single 'Paradise'?
Yeah that was another one we did with Pete Townsend so we wrote it quite a bit before we went into the studio but I think to a degree he sort of had some ideas for it and we were like 'okay you go ahead and do em'. Then after he sort of brought some new musical ideas to it we all dove in and it was great, lots of different instruments from our first record and lots of different ways of recording it. We remember it very fondly but also it seems a bit like a fever dream, I can't remember much of it, it just sort of happened.
What is 'Paradise' about?
'Paradise' is from our new album which is to be released and it's about a sort of collection of all of these different stories and 'Paradise' is about one of these villages of this town in Valentine who is dreaming of the past and what Valentine is and sort of raging against those memories. She is mad that those times have gone but she is also madly in love with the fact that those times existed so that it what 'Paradise' is about.
What are some of your main musical influences?
Oh man, I never know how to answer this question, Meatloaf maybe. I don't know, again we all come from completely different musical styles in terms of what we use to listen to but I think, you know, there is some of the kind of a lot of Americana in there, a bit of Who-esque stuff, a lot of older music really at its baseline. I don't know if I can pinpoint one specific artist that you know we have always sort of tied ourselves to, I think we are a real diverse mixture of each of the four of us which is probably a really vague answer. I would say listen to us and you can make up your mind. Not Meatloaf though.
How would you describe your sound on your upcoming album?
It is very story driven, we call it a choose your own adventure album not a concept album because, you know, we are not there yet. So it is very story driven, again very Americana, it is kind of new but it makes you feel nostalgic, I think.
Do you have any pre-gig rituals and if so, what are they?
Sydney: The boys all do tequila, god I sound like such a Grandma 'the boys all do tequila'. Not really, it's usually not a gig unless I get really angry about something before we go on for some reason.
Rob: We do actually have a secret chant that we made a promise not to share with anybody.
Sydney: Do we?
Rob: Yeah.
Sydney: Oh we do, we are not allowed to say what it is but it's usually just a little group huddle, secret chant and me getting angry at somebody, that is kind of the pre-gig ritual.
If 'Paradise' could be in any film, which one would it be in?
Sydney: Oh, that's a good question, that's a good one.
Rob: I don't know, so 'Paradise' and the whole album was inspired a lot by a photographer called Gregory Crewdson, who does very Americana, movie-style pictures, like Cate Blanchett is in a lot of them and it's sort of these big American Vistas. So I think instead of a movie, it's a photograph.
Sydney: Oh gosh, you've always got to be difficult don't you. It's not a movie its a photograph.
Rob: It is not a movie but a series of photographs.
Sydney: Get off, get off the bus now.
What's the funniest thing that has happened whilst touring or performing?
Rob: I've ripped my trousers at The Royal Albert Hall.
Sydney: We have a dildo that usually joins us on stage, its sort of become a good luck charm. We got it on tour and she's called Sharron and she kind of makes her way across the stage.
Rob: Not on wheels.
Sydney: No, that's the next upgrade. If she's not on our keyboard, she will be on somebody's guitar or like an amp somewhere or a make shift drumstick. Sometimes she has been in the audience but we always have her back, I mean she looks awful but you know but it's not about the outside appearance is it really. So you know maybe that.
What's next for you?
Sydney: So we are on tour with KISS right now, and as Pete just said take over the world obviously. So we are on tour with KISS right now and the in the autumn we have exciting and very surprising collab that we are ding with somebody, but we can't say yet. But we will just say, you won't be expecting it
Rob: It's not Sharron
Sydney: It is not the dildo, it is not anything to do with the dildo.
By - Katie Graham
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