An Interview With LA-Based Alternative Pop Band, NYLON WAVES On Making Their First Video, Biggest Inspirations and More!

The Los Angeles-based alternative-pop band, Nylon Waves consists of Richie- (Vocals & Guitar), Kassie- (Bass, Vocals & Keyboards), Bradly- (Guitar, Vocals & Keyboards) and Eugene- (Drums & Vocals).

It’s an exciting time for this newly-formed group as they recently released their very first video for their debut single. “Deadly” is the track and it’s a hypnotic and catchy track! (Watch the video below)

Learn more about this talented group of musicians in the following All Access interview with Nylon Waves member, Bradly:

Thanks for your time today, Brad! So, what’s a typical day look like for you and the band?

Thank you for your time as well, Leah! We meet just about every day of the week, but what we do varies based on what we having coming up. We are always writing, but if we have a show in the near future then we are practicing a lot more. If we don’t have a show, then our main focus is on songwriting. On top of that we are always keeping up on social media, booking shows, scheduling and planning for the future. We also go to shows regularly to see what is out there and to support the local scene.

How did you all first meet?

I have known Eugene Pererras, our drummer, for years. We originally connected through songwriting and he quickly became one of my best friends. Eugene and Richie Aquino, our lead singer, grew up together, so I met Richie through Eugene. The two of them were in the beginning stages of recording a new project and I went to the studio with them one day to hang out while they were recording. The producer thought that I was in the band and asked me to jump in the booth to lay down some backing vocals, I did, and have been in the band ever since.

Richie was at a show and saw a great bass player he thought would fit well with what we were doing. He talked to Kassie White after she got off stage and it just so happened to be her last show with that band. We asked her to join and Nylon Waves was complete.

What do you think convinced you all to start Nylon Waves?

I think that it came at a time when we all needed something more in our lives. Richie and I were writing independently, Eugene was producing, and Kassie was at the end of a another band. While the path that was ahead of us was exciting, it didn’t necessarily fulfill all of our needs. Richie and I were going through some bigger life changes and we needed something to fill in to help make sense of what we were going through.

All four of us are very creative people and music is often our outlet and at times our validation. Because of those reasons and our creativity, we have an urge to continuously create and a passion for performing that made creating Nylon Waves a no-brainer. Through Nylon Waves we want to be able to share our experiences and hope that it will give people something to relate to.

What about you 4 makes you all work so well together as a band?

Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses in certain areas of their lives, but with us, where one person might have an area of weakness another has a great strength to fill in. And I know it might be cliché and a lot of bands say this, but we really are like a family.

How did you come up with your name?

Nylon, or for the purpose of this breakdown NY-Lon (NYLon), is a word often used to represent the frequently travelled transatlantic route that connects New York to London. Richie is heavily influenced by Brit-Pop and felt it was was the perfect representation for what we are doing. I really liked Waves, but felt it was a little too generic so we put the two together and here we are.

What other names were you considering?

The first name that we had was Vanity Claire, but once we told a few people about it, all they heard was something “Eclair” and started jokingly calling us “Chocolate Eclair.” While I love pastries, that was clearly the nail in the coffin for that particular name.

Congrats on releasing your single and video for “Deadly” last month! What was the process of putting that out into the world like?

Putting “Deadly” out into the world was one of the most gratifying things that we have ever done. Most people don’t see all of the hard work that goes into putting music out, so finally seeing all of that hard work pay off is amazing. None of us have kids, but I would imagine it’s like sending your child off to school for the first time, you are extremely proud, but you also hope they don’t get their ass kicked.

How much fun did you all have making the video for “Deadly”? 

It was honestly one of the most amazing things we have ever done. We always have a ton of fun together, but that day was something special. We had the pleasure of working with the tremendously talented Kamell Allaway who directed “Deadly” and he absolutely killed it for us. If we could do it everyday, I’m pretty sure we would.

Your musical influences seem to really span the musical spectrum. Can you talk about some of those influences? 

Like I had previously mentioned before, Richie is really big on Brit-Pop. Two of his all-time favorite bands are Blur and Oasis. Kassie loves new wave music and is heavily influenced by The Talking Heads bass player Tina Weymouth. Eugene has always loved 90’s grunge, with one of his favorite bands being Pearl Jam. I have always been a sucker for all things Top 40 Pop music, but have been influenced on guitar by funk and rhythmic music like Prince and Earth, Wind & Fire. We are all tied together by a mutual love of 90’s R&B and of course Michael Jackson. Take elements from each of those influences and mix it all together and you’ll have Nylon Waves.

What bands have continued to inspire you all?

Funny that you should ask, because we were actually just talking about this the other day. A really big inspiration for us right now is Coldplay. They have been around for almost 20 years and have put out somewhere around seven full-length albums. Despite their longevity in the game, they have always managed to stay current, yet maintain their “Coldplay” sound. It’s nearly impossible for a band to make it in music these days and exponentially more difficult to make it through two or three records, let alone seven. These days, there are next to no bands that can make a life long career from being in the same band, and the fact that Coldplay has done that and remained true to who they are, while being able to adapt and stay relevant, is something that is truly amazing and inspiring. 

Who would you love to work with in the future? 

We would absolutely love to work with producer Ariel Rechtshaid who has worked with and produced such artists such as HAIM, Brandon Flowers, and Vampire Weekend. If we could write, collaborate, or tour with another artist we would love to work with Brandon Flowers (Richie), St. Vincent (Kassie), Dr. Dre (Eugene), and obviously Taylor Swift (Brad).

Can you describe the group’s songwriting process? How do you balance it all? 

Richie typically starts the songs with a chord progression or musical hook, mumbled melody, a few words, and maybe a vocal or lyrical hook. From there we start to build on the concept as a group. Having a groove is really important to us, so after we get Richie’s idea, Eugene will usually create a simple beat so Kassie can write her bass parts. Eugene has been producing for years now, so he will take Richie’s part and Kassie’s bass and create the rest of the song. Once that is done I write and record my guitar parts. Richie writes the majority of our lyrics, yet sometimes we will all collaborate on writing lyrics. After that we record vocals. We try to balance things as much as possible, but Eugene definitely has a big task with our writing and recording since he is producing the tracks.

With so many musicians out in LA trying to make it, how do you think your group stands out from the others?

With our originality. We describe ourselves as Manic Pop, because we push the boundaries of pop in different directions. We aren’t single-minded; we think one way on one song and then another on the next. No matter what direction we are moving in however, we always do it with a ton of energy and feel like everything we do is exciting.

How often are you performing now?

We’re performing a couple of times a month and have a show coming up at The Mint in Los Angeles on December 18th.

Tickets can be found here http://themintla.com/event.cfm?id=225243&cart

What can people expect from one of your shows?

A little bit of crazy and a lot bit of fun.

When do you hope to release more music? 

We are currently working on our debut EP which will be out early 2016. We have also shot a few live performance videos that we will be releasing in the meantime, so if people want keep up with what’s going on with that, they can give us a follow on our any of our social media platforms.

What do you hope listeners take away from your music?

We constantly strive to push the boundaries of pop music because we want something that is new and fresh. We hope that people hear exactly that in our music. We also hope that they hear something that speaks to them and that they can relate to.

Follow Nylon Waves on their Facebook page and Website!