SLICE Interview: Holler, Wild Rose!

SLICE got the chance to sit down with New Jersey's Holler, Wild Rose! singer, John, to talk about
the band, their debut album, and performing live.

Read the full Interview here
SM: So I’ve listened to your album and it’s so different. How would you describe your sound?
H,WR!: We have the same problem pinning it down but we would generally call it ambient rock with a groove.

SM: Do you guys write songs together? Can you take me through a bit of your creative process?
H, WR!: Usually, I approach the guys with a song idea that is really bare bones, maybe just the chord progression and the melody but after that it’s free reign! Everybody writes their own parts so the whole thing is pretty fluid and once that happens, the whole framework and feel of the song can change. It’s a fun process to see how it all goes. I also usually write the lyrics, but it’s never just one way.

SM: So it has been a year since you guys were chosen as Filter Magazine’s “Undiscovered Artist of the Month.” How have things changed since then?
H, WR!: Well, with the economy being the way it has been lately, some of us have lost our jobs but have become self-employed in a way through the band. This has allowed us to try to get out as much as we can in New York and do more non-traditional things, like we did in December when we played an art gallery in Brooklyn. The focus for this year is to do things in more non-traditional ways, that way it’s more fun for us and our fans. Also, this year our focus is more tour-based whereas last year our focus was on establishing an online presence. We had a Christmas song, “Born in a Cave”, that was the Amazon free download, which was great online exposure for us. But this year we’d like to get out there while we’re still young (laughs)! We also have another album written and we want to get cracking and recording at the end of this year. For now, we really want to hit home the power of our live shows.

SM: Speaking of live shows, we know you’ll be in Toronto soon. What can people expect when they come to watch you live? How does your album translate on to the stage?
H, WR!: It’s interesting. If you listen to our album on headphones there are sounds that can’t be replicated on stage but our strengths live can’t translate onto the album. We’ve often been told that our shows are like a “wall of sound”, an ambient wall of music but it’s still grounded. There’s a grand aspect sonically [at our live shows] that can’t be replicated on the album. I really encourage people to come out and experience that.

SM: Great! Thanks a lot John. Good luck on everything and congratulations again on the bands growing success.
H, WR!: Thanks a lot!

Holler, Wild Rose! will be performing at The Boat in Toronto on the 15th and we want you to join us at the show, for what's sure to be a fantastic gig, so don’t forget to enter the draw below to win a pair of tickets to the show, their album and their tour EP.

Do it now!
Phoebe

Listen to: Holler, Wild Rose! Our Little Hymnal album
Download: "Sun Vines"
Watch: "Promise Braid" (live)

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