Interview: The Wrecks
The Wrecks
Interview and Words by: Emily May
LA-based alt-rock band The Wrecks, comprised of Nick Anderson (vocalist/producer), Aaron Kelley (bass), Nick “Schmizz” Schmidt (guitar), and Billy Nally (drums), have been steadily gaining fans and releasing music since forming in 2017, with their top five singles on Spotify having over 80 MILLION listens. The band’s initial recordings were done themselves, having no prior experience, when they had the opportunity to sneak into a recording studio where a friend was housesitting. Anderson watched YouTube tutorials and the We Are The Wrecks EP was born. They quickly caught the attention of Jeff Regan at SiriusXM’s top alternative channel AltNation and their first single “Favorite Liar” was added to his playlist, resulting in the #1 spot on the Alt18 Countdown, months of charting in the countdown’s Top 5, and the band’s first Top 40 Alternative radio hit. In 2020, the band released their debut LP Infinitely Ordinary, via Big Noise, which has over 58 million streams on Spotify. The band has been working on their sophomore album, Sonder, which will be released on June 10th. The Wrecks collaborated with producers Westen Weiss (Meek Mill, Camila Cabello, Post Malone) and Dillon Deskin (Flo Rida, Will Sparks, Different Heaven, Myrne) to grow their sound. “They're both such talented producers and put their touch on this record in a very natural way,” says Anderson. “They allowed me to focus more on the songwriting rather than hyper-focusing on minute production details like usual. I also benefited from the lyrical help of Savannah Bleu, with whom I've written in the past, to keep the thematic train on the tracks per se. I think this song is a step in a very natural direction for us, and I'm excited for our fans to hear it.” The band released the album’s first single, “Lone Survivor”, in February, followed by “I Love This Part”.
Regarding “Lone Survivor”, Anderson says, “‘Lone Survivor’ is a testament to feeling empowered by your independence in the aftermath of a breakup. The energy of this song was swimming through my veins for a few days before writing it. So when the time came for me to get in the booth and write the melody and lyrics, a lot of it came out right away.” Regarding “I Love This Part”, Anderson says, “There was a fire in me while making this record that I hadn’t felt in years. I remember the night I wrote the majority of the song and recorded the vocals; I cried, I laughed, I yelled. I let all of my intrusive thoughts in. I let myself be angry, be sad, be spiteful, be free.” Like the earliest Wrecks songs, he says this song means a lot to him because it kept his “head above water and helped [him] cope during a very difficult time. Not only that, but it inspired and set the tone for the rest of the upcoming album." Anderson says the inspiration for “I Love This Part” happened when within days of returning home from tour with three fewer roommates and one less girlfriend than when he left. He had two choices: “lay in bed miserable or make this song. ’I Love This Part’ was liberating for me emotionally and musically," he says. "The chip on my shoulder was my petty co-pilot and I was able to access some repressed angst that I surely thought I abandoned in high school. I rediscovered old parts of myself, melodies and energies that I didn’t think were still at my disposal, while also pushing new boundaries sonically for our band." Excited to release their album and go on tour, make sure to follow and connect with The Wrecks via the following links to stay up-to-date on all upcoming band, album, and tour news! Photo credit: Natalie Hewitt.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | SPOTIFY | SOUNDCLOUD | ITUNES/APPLE MUSIC | YOUTUBE | DEEZER | TIK TOK
You met Aaron when you were 15 and later met Billy and Schmitz, forming The Wrecks in 2017. What can you tell me about the early days of the band and playing together and exploring your sound as a band?
Nick: It was a really exciting time for all of us because I think collectively we knew that this band was gonna be the one that finally worked. We had all spent years and years playing in empty rooms in our own respective local bands, and each of us saw this as an opportunity to make a real push at our dreams of being in a successful band. Billy and Schmizz were graduating high school, Aaron and I were dissolving our old band, and the stars aligned for what would become The Wrecks. I can remember rehearsing in our manager's garage that first month as a band, and feeling like, "This is a real band. We're a real band, I think." We weren't very good yet, but the pieces were there.
You already had a bunch of songs you were sitting on before forming the band, which became the songs on your first EP. What was it like writing music after that moment, once you had your bandmates on board? Do you feel like you guys had a pretty good flow together from the start when it came to writing new material?
Nick: Schmizz and I started spending almost every night writing and recording demos together. During those sessions, Schmizz would introduce me to so much great alternative music I had never heard, and he influenced my taste in a major way. His approach to the guitar is so creative and exciting and was so new to me at that point. I remember watching him use a lighter as a slide to make a percussive layer and realizing that I had so much to learn from him both musically and creatively. That's when I knew we'd make great music together. He has continued to push me out of my comfort zone over the years, and I think I've done the same for him. His pursuit of unique sounds and new ways to use the guitar as a production weapon is so inspiring to me and has had a lasting effect on my writing and production even when I'm going at it alone. A lot of this new record forced me to channel my inner "Nick Schmidt" because we've been living on separate sides of the country and I was tasked with recording the majority of this album in my studio alone.
What has it been like for you guys since those early days, learning to produce everything yourself and having your own studio? Do you prefer to have more of a DIY approach with the band?
Nick: I feel like it's been the same process since day one of basically having total creative freedom and taking a DIY approach to everything with the band. It definitely used to be even more DIY than it is today, though. Back then, I was designing our merch, our light show, our artwork, and graphics, on top of running the socials and working on new music, while the other guys were busy with miscellaneous tasks like emailing colleges and venues trying to book us shows, and selling tickets at the mall to people they met on Tinder. There was something new every day for us to tackle, and we learned to almost self-manage and operate as a team while having the oversight of our actual managers to keep everything moving. It was quite a hectic and busy time. Which makes sense I guess as to why we were playing shows just weeks into starting the band and had our first single out just months later.
Since then, we've been able to grow our team and work with lots of talented and creative individuals for all of those non-music-related aspects of the band, but the DIY approach still feels very alive within the band. Currently, I write and record everything out of my home studio in LA, and spent the last 6 months working on this new record with little-to-no input from anyone - relearning to trust my instincts and make something I like.
Everything you write comes straight from your life and songwriting for you has always involved telling the truth. Can you speak a bit about the importance for you of being so honest and authentic in your songwriting? Have you ever found it challenging to be so vulnerable and open with your lyrics?
Nick: It's sort of the opposite, actually. Being honest and vulnerable when writing songs is the easiest way to do it for now. I've found that my best work comes when I'm very sure about what and/or who I'm writing about. I begin to struggle with a track when I've lost sight of its purpose or its emotional authenticity. That's why I think the best songs are written the quickest and are typically honest expressions.
You recorded your debut LP Infinitely Ordinary in May of 2020 and it was primarily recorded in an old barn-turned-studio in Western NY over a 3 month period. What can you tell me about having the luxury of time while recording, to learn and make mistakes? What do you feel you learned and in what ways did that recording experience shape your recording going forward?
Nick: That summer was instrumental in my development as a producer. But we only ended up keeping three songs from that summer in the barn - one of which was mostly re-recorded. I would say I developed more as a producer than a songwriter that summer, because I don't think I wrote my best songs during that time. I spent the majority of studio time messing with new plug-ins and fiddling with arrangements, building up these massive productions for songs that were just okay at their core.
While writing the songs for the LP, you found yourself improvising lyrics and melodies on the spot, tapping into your subconscious. What was that experience like and have you found yourself writing subconsciously since?
Nick: This only works for very specific songs, but yes, I found myself improvising the verses for "Sonder" - the title track of our new album. It wasn't done all at once, but for each line of the verse, I would hit record and hope that something good would come out. There's a broken and scratchy, but emotional, delivery to those verses because they are real thoughts and feelings, felt and heard in real-time.
You have said that you’ve struggled to write much new The Wrecks music between Infinitely Ordinary and now and felt too burnt out to create something that excited you. How did you work through that creative block? What do you guys enjoy doing outside of music to keep the creativity flowing, the burn out at bay, and to try to stay grounded?
Nick: I didn't even realize I was in a creative block until I looked back and noticed how little music I had made since the first album. I don't think I'll ever know the answer to burn out or creative blocks. I got my "mojo" back in the aftermath of a breakup in September 2021. I think it had just been so long since I had something to say and to process and to work through emotionally. I turned to the same outlet that I've been turning to since I was 14 - writing music. Suddenly, I had too many songs to choose from.
In February, you released the single “Lone Survivor” and more recently “I Love This Part”. What can you tell me about “Lone Survivor” and working with Savannah Bleu, who co-wrote the song with you? With regards to “I Love This Part”, you’ve said that the night you wrote and recorded it, you laughed, cried, and yelled and let all of your intrusive thoughts in. How do you feel that writing that song served as a cathartic experience for you?
Nick: Savannah is my favorite person to write with. We don't write together often, but when we do, something very special comes from the session every time. She has such great instincts both lyrically and structurally that perfectly compliment my approach melodically to The Wrecks songs. Sometimes when I'm too zoomed in to the specifics of a story, she'll offer a line that ties it all to her original theme of the chorus, and it feels like magic when she makes those "ah-ha" moments happen. Savannah is so brilliant, and an incredibly talented artist in her own right. This whole album was a cathartic experience. It was my device to feel and express. It was a journey toward closure.
What has it been like working/collaborating with producers Weston Weiss and Dillon Deskin and in what ways have they helped you to grow your sound as a band?
Nick: The only track the three of us worked on together was Lone Survivor. It was a really fun session, and it was refreshing to focus more on melody and lyrics than to hyperfixate on the instrumental. They started building the track based on a chorus progression and vibe that Savannah and I had started on acoustic, and once they had some chords and drums down, I was able to start pacing the room singing ideas until something stuck. That's basically how the whole song was written that night.
What can fans expect from your upcoming tour and album? What else do you have coming up this year?
Nick: I think our fans can expect the best version of The Wrecks yet. I haven't felt this optimistic and excited in years, and I just can't wait to put out this record and go on a sold out headline tour this summer.