An Interview With The Indie-Rock Band THE WRECKS On Touring So Far, Favorite Musicians And Much More!

The Wrecks are a 5-piece indie rock band from Los Angeles, CA. Heavily influenced by groups such as The Pixies, The Strokes, Weezer, and Vampire Weekend, they pair undeniably catchy choruses with meaningful lyrics and vocals, resulting in their young and quirky signature sound.

The Wrecks recorded their debut EP “We Are The Wrecks” on a whim when they heard a friend had been granted access to a professional recording studio for just a few days. With a total budget of $0, limited recording experience, and less than a week as a band under their belts, the group set out to write and record the best songs that they could in 3 days. A few sleepless nights and several cases of Red Bull later, the EP was cut. Little did the band know, they were not even allowed to be in the studio that week. As the owner’s ex-wife was on her way to the studio, they were told they had just minutes to leave without a trace. The band quickly cleaned every bit of evidence from the computer, every crumb of Dominoes from the couch, and they were off with their entire EP on a hard drive in a backpack.

The Wrecks are excited to announce that they will be hitting the road this summer as part of “The Young Renegades Tour,” presented by Rockstar Energy Drink. The band will join All Time Low, SWMRS, Night Riots, and Waterparks on the month-long run.

The band explains, “We’re so stoked that All Time Low asked us to come out with them this summer, and we’re looking forward to playing stages that size for the first time. We can’t wait to get back out on the road again, as we’ve been mostly cramped inside writing new material and working on our set for the past few months. It’s refreshing to see such a good mix of genres in the lineup, as well. We’re gonna bring it 110% every night and we’re confident the crowds will, too.”

Learn more about The Wrecks in the following All Access interview:

Now that 2016 is over, what are some words you would use to describe the year? What were some of the highlights for the band What are you most excited about for 2017?

Nick Anderson: I think I can speak on behalf of all of us when I say it’s been the most exciting year of our lives. We went from playing our first ever gigs together, to touring the country multiple times and seeing cities we never thought we’d see and meetings thousands and thousands of new fans. The two tours we did with Nothing But Thieves were instrumental in our progress and success as a band, and the amount of knowledge we gained from working with them is incredible. In 2017, we look forward to our first release off a major label (Another Century), playing our first ever festival slots, and touring the country again!

How did The Wrecks first form? How did you come up with your band name? What other names were you considering?

Aaron Kelley: It started with Nick Anderson and me. We met on Facebook seven years ago, randomly. I ended up interning for Richard and Stefanie Reines who are now are managers. While I was interning I met Nick for the first time in LA and introduced him to Richard. Nick showed Richard some songs he was working on and Richard knew how talented Nick was and wanted to work with him. A couple years later Nick and I found ourselves living in Richard’s house trying to start a band. That’s were Billy and Nick came into the picture. Richard was working with Billy and Nick on different projects and they happen to be between projects at the time and they were super stoked about the project Nick and I was starting, so they packed their things and drove nonstop from Jersey to California.  Three days later we were tracking our EP.

Nick Anderson: It’s such an important and stressful thing, you know, when you’re starting a project. It is how people are going to be introduced to who you are. We kind of pride ourselves on not being ‘too cool,’ or trying too hard, and we kind of own our imperfections. It all stems from that concept. It’s not like a physical wreck, or a car crash or anything. It’s more like a group of guys who aren’t perfect and are kind of fucked up in our own ways. And that’s what I kind of like to take the band name from. We’re a big mess.

I’d love to know more about what it was like getting into your friend’s studio for free? You recorded an EP in 3 days? How was that done?!

Nick Anderson: Well a friend of ours contacted us about a place that she was house sitting at that had a studio in it. She had a key to the studio, and was wondering if we wanted to come over to mess around and maybe record a cover with her or something. We showed up, and, upon realizing that this studio had a full array of professional and industry standard equipment, we started tracking drums for a few songs we had written shortly before this. We had like three days in there to record the three songs on the EP, all while being kept a secret. On the last day, we had to quickly bail because the homeowner’s ex-wife was apparently coming home earlier than expected. Luckily we had enough recorded and we were able to finish the editing and mixing process at home on our laptops.

Where do you both get the inspiration for your sound and the subject matter of your music? In particular, how did your current hit single “Favorite Liar” come together?

Nick Anderson: I’m inspired by the things that I struggle with – relationships, depression, self-doubt, etc. I find it easiest to channel those frustrations into songs, more than anything. In fact, I’m answering this question at 4:48am, because I was having a rough night and spent it writing a new song that I’m actually really excited about. It might even make the album. I think it’s so important to have healthy and creative outlets; I’m lucky enough to have one that also keeps me on the road doing what I love. “Favorite Liar” was written shortly before we all came together as a band, as I was coming to terms with my clouded nostalgia when looking back at my last relationship. The song is about how we tend to look back and only see the good things, when really, we have the most to learn from the rough patches.

Do you have plans to release a full album of new songs soon? How will it different or similar to your already released EP, “We Are The Wrecks”?

Schmizz: Our plan is to release another EP soon this year. The songs will certainly hold certain characteristics of the the old material, but will have a much different flavor as the writing process continues to develop. We are learning a lot more about production, and creativity with our instruments, which we think will lend itself not only to the studio material, but the live show, as well. We are releasing another EP, rather than a full length album, because we are still early on as a band and we want our debut album to be the best it can be. We want it to make a much larger impact than we believe it would if we were to release it next. The writing gets better in time and we will have a lot more material to choose for the album whenever we feel we are ready to record it.

You’ve already toured with Nothing But Thieves, Night Riots and The Shelters. What were these tours like? Can you recall a few memorable experiences from these shows?

Billy: Some of the best memories touring with other bands are honestly just hanging around with everybody after shows. It’s always a really nice feeling when all the bands get along and spend time with each other. The tours with Nothing But Thieves were exceptional in every way; we gelled really quickly and couldn’t have had more fun on and off the stage. We only played a handful of dates with The Hunna, Night Riots, and The Shelters, but each band was unique and incredible live. They each bring high energy and fantastic songwriting to the stage, so you’re forced to stay on your toes and put on a great show.

Who are you all listening to these days? What artists have continued to inspire you and your music? Who would you absolutely love to work with in the future?

Schmizz: The music I listen to these days is broader than it’s ever been. I was raised on classic rock, funk, and grunge which brought me to all of the alternative weird stuff I listen to today. It all has rock roots for the most part but I don’t like to limit myself. Some of the most inspiring bands that have influenced me as a musician are The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kings of Leon, Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zeppelin, James Brown and a ton more.

Billy: I listen to a very wide array of music now that I live with the guys and we all are constantly showing each other music. I grew up going to concerts like Foreigner, Journey, Night Ranger. Now I’m more into bands like Cage The Elephant, Arctic Monkeys, Gary Clark Junior And The Black Keys. I enjoy listening to anything, honestly, we always get down to funk music and or anything with a good vibe.

At the end of the day, what do you hope your fans take away from your music? What do you hope is the message of your songs?

Nick Anderson: I say this time and time again, but the most important thing to me about music is honesty. My goal is to be an open book. I want people to believe the words that I’m singing, and trust that everything we release has depth and substance. I guess that’s why I tend to write lyrics as if they’re a journal entry. I want to encourage others to embrace who they are, live from the heart, and never be ashamed of putting their art or thoughts out into the world in fear of rejection or ridicule. And I’m also sick of hearing songs that don’t mean anything – songs that are just written for the sake of being mass-consumed. And I think the general audience is growing sick of that too. No matter what you believe in, or what you stand for, I think we’re all sick of being lied to. I don’t want to lie to our fans – in any capacity.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourselves and your music?

Thanks for reading this far down. We hope you enjoy our music, and what we had to say.

Join the robot army on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and more @WeAreTheWrecks.