INTERVIEW: The Wrecks

Following the release of their debut EP, We Are the Wrecks, Los Angeles’s band The Wrecks are in the middle of a headlining tour. They recently met up with WTBU’s Catherine Massie before a show at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, Mass.

“We’ve been playing instruments all tour long. It’s crazy—it’s been working,” said vocalist Nick Anderson. “It’s been working… this time. Who knows what we’ll do next tour.”

While The Wrecks are currently selling out concert venues across the country, the band faced a difficult journey while recording We Are the Wrecks.

“Oh man—it’s a tale,” said Anderson. “We were broke. This is the point. We had no money. And we had no way to record the EP or music. We didn’t know what we were going to do.”

Fortunately, the band connected with a woman on Facebook who was housesitting for someone with an entire home studio in his backyard. The catch? The owner had no idea they were ever there.

“We could only go in at night, because during the day and afternoon, the ex-wife of the owner of the house would come and give the diabetic cat its shots,” said Anderson. “So we literally couldn’t be there, or we would get busted.”

Against all odds, the band successfully released their debut EP, featuring the popular single “Favorite Liar.”

“It’s just about a breakup,” Anderson said. “And it’s about looking back on a relationship. I think a lot of people look back on relationships and they only see the good things, you know? When you reminisce. And I think that’s a dangerous thing when you’re trying to move on from someone.”

Their next EP will hopefully have a single released early next year, with the full EP out soon after. The band had attempted to record their new songs at an LA studio, but soon realized it was not everything they had hoped it to be and began looking for other options. Luckily for the Wrecks, Anderson had a family friend living in New York with a recording studio built inside his barn.

“So we were just like, ‘Hey—let’s do the EP in the barn,’” said guitarist Nick Schmidt. “It was a great experience and it was a learning process with no pressure. That’s what I loved about it the most.”

Unlike the pressures of a traditional recording experience, The Wrecks had time to learn and make mistakes in the studio. And, as an added plus, they had the opportunity to enjoy the middle-of-nowhere town where they set up shop.

“There was literally one stoplight and one gas station in the whole town,” said guitarist Westen Weiss. “And since it was in the middle of the woods, we could do things like drive our friend Pat’s tractor around his yard when we were on breaks.”

The Wrecks hope one day to “become the greatest band in the world,” according to bassist Aaron Kelley.

As he said this, everyone laughed.

“That’s it,” said Anderson. “That’s the answer!”

When asked what else they want WTBU listeners to know, Anderson said the following:

“Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and stuff because we are really stupid online. Probably actually don’t. Actually don’t. Follow us, but actually don’t. That’s what I want you to put. Follow us, but then don’t. Can you put that like ten times in a row? Follow us, but then don’t. And then just paste it like ten times.”