www.facebook.com/wiseyoungblood
From: Nanaimo, Canada
Sounds like: Rock
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Wise Youngblood” and is there any meaning behind it?
Well Andrew and Kyle were at a party one evening “heavily drinking” and they were out on the deck having a smoke, and Andrew said “Hey you’re that singer dude, I play music as well but you're into country :(”. Kyle responded with fury, "No actually I Love Rock N Roll” and they played a gig the following weekend and knew they had to make a rock band! Then Andrew got his cousin Dave over who started slapping out those funky bass lines. It was looking up for the band, but there was one thing missing, and that one thing was Myles. We all got together at Dave’s parents shop where we are still jamming at to this day. From that moment on, the magic was happening. We started the making of our "Desert Wake" EP. For the sound we really wanted to go for a classic rock feel as that's what we all truly loved. We all had a deep, dark passion for the 90’s grunge rock flow with a modern touch and mix it all together, and you get Wise Youngblood.
Kyle pitched the name to the boys and described it as the definition of “youngblood” being we were all young men with lots of drive and ambition to do something but with a lack of experience. As we were a young new band and two of us hadn’t played music in several years. But we all had so much passion and drive behind everything we did and especially when we all played together that we decided to throw the “Wise” in front. And that is how "Wise Youngblood" was born.
2. What do you want listeners to take away from the "Desert Wake" EP?
We just want everyone to be reminded that Rock N Roll is NOT dead.
3. What can people expect from your live show?
The fans and people can expect to see a band that lives for playing shows. We pride ourselves in putting on the best show we can every time we hit the stage and we want the crowd to have as much fun hearing the music as we do playing it. We like to have fun and we like our shows to be a big party. All in all “Sex, Drugs, and Rock’N’Roll.”
4. What's your favorite track to play live?
From our EP our favorite song to play would be “Pyromaniac”. Nothing gets the crowd more involved than chanting back well if I’m a “Pyro” then you're a “Maniac,” this really fires us up and gets the adrenaline pumping on stage while the crowd rocks out. P.S - We do have a new track in the works and we must admit it may be our new favorite, so stay tuned.
5. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Three bands who we would love to tour with would be Queens Of the Stone Age, well because they fucking ROCK. Our fellow Canadians One Bad Son who we had the great opportunity to share the stage with, and Highly Suspect because we really dig their sound.
6. Any crazy show stories?
Well, We had a double header one day, played our first show at a Canada Day festival and after our set we took advantage of the beer garden. From there Kyle and Andrew headed for the second gig planning on meeting Dave and Myles there for soundcheck. When we got there, we saw Myles setting up his drums and asked him “Hey, where’s Dave at?” Myles said “what do you mean, I thought he was coming with you guys.” At that point we all realized that we left Dave in the beer gardens at the festival still rocking out to the bands waiting for all of us to leave, bringing full meaning to the phrase “Dave’s not here man”.
7. What’s your take on the current state of rock?
Rock N Roll is still alive, and we are living proof.
8. What’s the current music scene like there in Canada both locally and country wide?
Locally, music is great. We have great support from the triple f’s: “Friends, Family, and most importantly Fans.” We have been blessed to play shows with countless local bands who share the same passion for music we do, which makes it all the more awesome. Country wide, music is fantastic. We get to hear a ton of Canadian music on the radio and its cool to hear how each part of our Country brings out its own unique style of music. We recently just watched the CBC airing of the Tragically Hip’s final show, as their frontman Gord Downey was just diagnosed with terminal cancer. Watching this show together was an incredible experience because as their following is not as strong outside of Canada, they are considered one of the most iconic bands Canada has produced. This show brought musicians across the country together for 3 hours of some of Canada’s finest music.
9. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?
Well as up and coming starving musicians, it is hard to really have a say in the matter. At our point in our career, our main goal is to get our music heard by as many people as possible. We found it funny that a friend of ours was able to “pirate” "Pyro", which was some good irony. When it comes down to it, illegal downloading is basically unavoidable and we are really in this business to be able to do what we love for a living, and tour as much as we can to let people hear us.
10. What’s next for Wise Youngblood?
We are going to keep making music and never stop, tour the world playing the tunes we love to write. It's the lifestyle we want and love and most importantly we want to take it on together as Wise Youngblood. We just got out of the studio and are excited and proud about releasing our next upcoming singles.
11. Any shoutouts?
Again, the three F’s (Friends, Family, Fans). Dave’s parents for putting up with our loud late night jam sessions every night at their house. The production prince Rick Salt himself for producing all of our tunes and giving us the best live sound we could ask for. Also, all the many mentors we have had who taught us how to play the instruments we play. Kenneth Ermter for giving us all the advice we could ask for when it comes to this business and connecting us with the right people. All of our parents individually for the phenomenal support on letting us chase our dreams. And last but not least, Mike Bohn with From the Depths Entertainment for taking a chance on us and giving us the opportunity to make our dream a reality.
