Read a story of perseverance and triumph against all odds as I recap my interview with one of my favorite bands, Wednesday.
This interview was off to a blazing hot start from the get go as Karly Hartzman announced that there was a bear (a fucking bear) in their yard.
Jake Lenderman (guitar) and Xandy Rooben (muse of the band) joined us for one of my favorite interviews to date as the three of them were an absolute joy to talk to and left zero doubt as to why they are on such a fast ascent to stardom. We were excited to begin discussing new singles ‘Handsome Man’ and ‘Cody’s Only’ and the upcoming probably AOTY coming on 8/13…
That’s when things got blurry.
During the most important interview to ever be conducted in history, my home experienced a power outage. My neighbor called and LADWP said it was an 1800 home outage.
Sadly along with my unprecedentedly pink and blurry face, my audio had also become distorted, to the point that it made the interview unwatchable.
Fortunately Wednesday’s answers came through clearly, which is why this time around I am transcribing the interview here on the blog.
Even more fortunately, Wednesday’s PERFORMANCE CAME THROUGH CRYSTAL CLEAR, giving some some quality footage to use.
Here’s the full interview video for anyone who wants to watch, but be forewarned that the audio makes it tough at times:
Without further ado:
What moment in music history would you buy as an NFT?
NFTs are bad for the environment, but let’s say in an ideal world where they weren’t for this example.
Jake: George Jones driving a tractor to the liquor store after a several day drinking binge
Karly: Dolly Parton’s nails from the classic concert that Dust To Digital just released on video
Alan (via comments): Smashing Pumpkins, London ’93
What are some of your biggest musical influences?
Karly: This past year and right around the time we were recording it was Unwound, a big one for me right now.
Jake: Smashing Pumpkins. We try to layer guitars like that.
Karly: I like the Swirlies a lot, they’re one of my favorite bands ever. We also like a lot fo country music, especially when we’re grilling or sitting on the porch, it’s like the only thing that makes sense for what we’re look at and what we’re eating, which is usually hot dogs.
Besides from music, what are some other mediums of art that you think have influenced you?
Karly: I do a lot of sewing, I’m actually about to drop a bunch of Wednesday shirts that are handmade. Jake likes to paint trucks, and Xandy is a baker, which actually plays into the way we write music.
As we went in depth into this Karly mentioned that she a line of brand new handmade Wednesday shirts, available here. Here’s a preview:
What artists are killing it right now, and who should we watch out for?
Jake: Dan Wriggins, Michael Cormier, Fust, Colin Miller, bandmate Margo recommends Lavender Blue
Karly: Space Heater, Orindal Records, Dearlife Records, Jake’s album (MJ Lenderman), Walkhome, Zach Romeo, Harsh Realm
Xandy: Green-House
And also SECRET SHAME (of the 2020 Indie Pong playlist 🙂)
What artist’s discography would you take with you to a desert island for a month?
Xandy: Arthur Russell
Karly: Space Heater, final answer
Jake: Island Book Soundtrack by Lewis Dahm (made for the graphic novel Island Book by Evan Dahm)
In addition to all of this we discussed fun things to do in Asheville, shopping local and avoiding the new chains popping up (especially Harvest Records), baking on tour, and a myriad of other fun topics.
Anyways, take it away Wednesday!