Weep Wave [ Interview # 208 ]

1) When people see my hat and ask what it means I tell them that you're a garage band from Seattle. How do you describe your complex music (which I feel is like songs within songs without sounding too verbose) to other people?

A) I would say that the actual music isn't that complicated but our songs are structured differently then most bands in our scene.We do it for dynamics and to emphasize or focus certain parts of the song. I've always enjoyed bands that can make an album feel like one really long cohesive song. That's what we did with our upcoming album "S.A.D.". 

2) Does the name "Weep Wave" refer to sadcore? 

A) I won't say the name refers to Sadcore, but I hear it.. Haha, It was just a name we came up with and we liked the alliteration. 

3) "S.A.D." stands for "Seasonal Affective Disorder" and it is the title of your new album.  Did you choose this title in a specific way because of how the struggles of mental health are being portrayed in both a positive and negative way more and more these days?

A)This new release is a concept album about Seasonal Affective Disorder. The album is broken up into the 4 seasons and we explore the thoughts and emotions people experience during each season. It starts off wit a bang for Summer, slows down for Fall, gets moody and dark for winter and we are reborn again in Spring, followed by the end of the world with our local volcano erupting.

4) I also feel like "S.A.D." is being self-released-- it doesn't have a label behind it.   How do you feel about the idea that even ten years ago bands were struggling more to get signed and put out an album, go on tour, etc. and you've managed to do all that without a label?

A)  The internet has made unsigned bands just as powerful as signed bands. If you're willing to spending as much time as it takes, you can basically achieve whatever you want as a band.

5) Why isn't "BirdHouse" on the new album?  It just feels like this single floating by itself in 2018, though it does rightfully hold its own.

A) "BirdHouse" is a song we've been playing forever from an old project. We had been playing it for so long that we just wanted to re-record it. We even made a fun music video for it. I think structurally "BirdHouse" was a prototype for a few songs on "S.A.D.".  

6) "S.A.D." is on vinyl and you have released music on cassette before that.   Do you feel that there is an importance for music to be tangible?

A)  I always like to approach a new project as an art-piece. When we write an album we write for the format we are planning to release it on. Once we know how it's being release, I can start designing the artwork and have the artwork reflected in the music. "S.A.D." was written to be released on 12" vinyl from the very start. We wrote each side as two different songs rather than two song lists. I've also always wanted to do a photo/lyric booklet and finally got to do it with this release. When I wrote the lyrics I had certain locations in Seattle in mind. The photos are really important in making that more physical in the songs. I think it's important as an artist to fully visualize and flesh out your piece. It was important to me that this album have a physical release because as a whole "S.A.D." is a visual art-piece and not just an album. I think it's important for music to be tangible if it was design to be experienced in that way. Otherwise don't waste space! 

7) What was the process like creating the two sides of "Amassing a Mess"?  Is there a reason it didn't see a physical release?

A) So we actually did do a physical release for "Amassing a Mess" it just sold out super quick! We wrote that release with the tape format in mind. It seemed like a missed opportunity to just release music on one side so we recorded some ambient/improvised music in our home studio for the B Side.

8) What is the scene like in Seattle, all these years after grunge?

A) Seattle has a lot of micro-scenes that don't really overlap, but they range every spectrum of genre you could think of. 

9) If you could tour with any band, who would you want to tour with?   (I feel like if you were ever on a national tour that came to CT it'd be with Local H)

A) Modest Mouse

10) Final thoughts, shout outs, etc... ??

A)We are excited to get out on the road and finally be able to share "S.A.D." with people! We've been had it finished for a while now and it feels good to have it finally come together physically.