Matthew Montgomery interviewed Waxwall Afterglow, a band from Henderson, Nev.
Waxwall Afterglow – “Floating Family Tree”
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/floatingfamilytree.mp3]How would you describe the music you create?
Very intimate. The music we write strikes very deep roots for me. I’d say it’s the closest thing to self therapy for me. Whether I’m writing about the monotony of everyday life that I see people living or about the end of the world or space both lyrically and musically, it’s all pretty much communicating my feelings about how I envision life and the universe. Weaving in and out of sci-fi and real life instances, and then there are just songs about people. I guess to sum it up, I just want to write the soundtrack to the world and universe.
Why do you make music in the style you do?
We just try to write imagery-soaked music. We try to write music that already paints a picture without lyrics then, when the lyrics come in, it’s just the narrator describing the situation. We don’t map out choruses, bridges, or hooks, we just write whatever we feel is necessary to paint the picture.
What are some of your major influences, and how have they affected you?
As for influences, there are a lot. We all listen to different stuff, and we’re all sharing new music with each other, so it’s hard to say what we all listen to. To sum it up, I’d say we’re some jazzy, grunge-loving, noise-rocky, electronic-funky, light-and-airy, chill guys. Our major influence is just life.
People dying, babies being born, people destroying for no good reason, greed, the end of the world: pretty much all the struggle in the world with the mysteriousness of the universe mixed in. I mean, why not write about the stuff that’s real – well, to us, at least — so our music is kind of grim, but not too dark. We have our happy songs. It only makes sense to us to play and write about raw energy and emotions; it’s pretty simple.
For how long have you been making music as Waxwall Afterglow? What inspired you to start?
We have been playing together for about three months. At first, it was just me and TJ, our drummer. We had just disbanded — on good terms — from another project around April, and I immediately started writing.
I learned so much from the people in my last band — in a good way — that I couldn’t stop the ideas from flowing. I just feel that every single person in the band have all gone through so many life-changing events in this year that we all kind of found each other. We all connect and love each other and continue to inspire each other to go to different boundaries with our art.
Oh, and love. We just want to spread love. Our inspiration is positive vibes. Although we write about very grim or dark things sometimes, it’s complemented by a light celestial sound. There’s always a balance. We’re just trying to balance the negative in the world with positive. For every sad lyric, there’s a happier and prettier sound, and vice versa.
Do you find local support hard to come by in the Las Vegas area, or is it something you find in abundance? How have you been benefited by the area?
We haven’t really been exposed to much. We’re kind of new, but we’re brushing up some of the songs and writing new stuff. We’re in no hurry to blow up the local music scene, but it’s definitely getting better. We have our local bands getting their props, and I feel that it will only get better. As long as the bands that promote fighting and stupid shit that gets our venues closed, (there will be problems.) All that is gradually coming to a halt, thankfully. Local support is so-so, but it’s getting better.
What are your plans for the future? Are you interested in releasing a full-length album?
We plan on just fine-tuning the song, just trying to give them life and feel, and working on the countless other ideas that everyone has in the band. We’ve got our plates full with music, and it’s very exciting.
As for a full length, I’m not sure. I’ve always liked the old-school records with like 8 tracks on them. We’re most likely just going to record out of home and put out something nice soon, maybe an EP, who knows? But it will be soon, and there will be plenty more after that.
What is playing live like for you? Is it difficult, considering your style? Do you find it rewarding?
So far, we’ve had only one show. It was kind of a test to see how everyone felt the material feels live. We all agreed that some of it was just too rocking – don’t get us wrong, we love just jammin’ out, but we’re just trying to tighten it up.
It’s not hard at all, because if there’s something we feel that we recorded and sounds cool but is too difficult (for equipment purposes) to do live, then we’ll just feel it out and play it differently — like the remix. It’s the jam-band jazz in us.
Its very rewarding, though. We do kind of set up differently then other bands. We all try to face each other. We play the best when we can vibe, so whether or not we have to play in a circle every show, it doesn’t matter. We’re just there to play some music and vibe with each other; it’s just like we’re practicing and having fun, but people get to watch it.