q and also a :: Wing Dam
Sara Autrey, Austin Tally, and Abe Sanders of Baltimore fuzzpop trio Wing Dam sent us these answers to our questions in this next installment of q and also a.
q: What is the last song you (really) heard?
sara: Flesh without Blood by Grimes, the layering in the breakdown is amazing! The fact is she’s an amazing powerhouse who does everything on her own in the studio- she’s an inspiration to me. I was running, this song came on, and I heard the shit out of it. She takes a really simple chord progression and turns it into a lush, complex forest of sound. I hear something new in that song (album, actually) every time I listen to it.
abe: Brenton Wood “I’m The One Who Knows”. This song came on over dinner with my girl friend on some Otis Redding radio. We were just finishing up and both really feeling it. Its got a real nice light attitude with acoustic guitar dancing all over it. Ive never heard of Brenton Wood but the song had my feet going post dinner cutting up the hard wood on a cool San Diego night.
q: Is there an album you wished you knew about when you were younger?
sara: George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass”. I can’t say if I’d appreciate the album as much as I do now, but it would have opened my eyes to a whole new way of playing guitar- I feel so inspired by GH’s guitar solos on this album, and maybe if I’d heard it earlier I would have a whole other idea of playing guitar.
abe: Young Marble Giants “Colossal Youth” I first heard this album in the dessert on a road trip out to Phoenix AZ with William Casion of Future Islands. Immediately was drawn to the simplicity of song writing and production and complexity of guitar and bass and how they all co mingled to create their sound. It painted a perfect Sonic painting of our surroundings. We fell asleep one night listening to “Colossal Youth” in a parking lot with the doors open and woke up the next morning to a dead car battery, queazy tummy and a splitting headache. Pretty silly stuff.
q: What is the last album that you purchased?
sara: Saves the Day “Stay What You Are”. Pop punk and emo are my absolute all time guilty pleasures (besides Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus, obvi), and I had listened to “In Reverie” so many times that I needed to refresh my Saves the Day stash. That kind of music keeps me young at heart, reminds me of the way I used to feel as a young teenager listening to the same stuff, and all the shit I was going through back then. It is kind of a time capsule of feeling that let’s me know how much my life has changed for the better since then.
austin: Stephen Steinbrink “Anagrams”. Such a friendly guy – and he really has a way with words. I went to school for poetry (yeah, cue up all the puffy-shirt jokes and nerd stereotypes) and I really respect the way he makes such wordy songs so catchy. It’s hard to maintain a simple melody that’s strong enough to get stuck in your head while also really digging in deep lyrically / vocabulary-wise. I always aspire to this kind of thing with my writing, so Stephen is an inspiration. Plus his voice is like, pretty angelic.
q: What is one of your favorite memories of experiencing music in a live setting?
sara: Crowd surfing at a Future Islands show in Philly. I think I crowdsurfed like… 6 times that night. Probably rude, but YOLO, I had the most fun EVER. The whole crowd was lit as hell, I had played a killer (I think) set to open up, and I felt on top of the world. Being lifted up by a crowd seething with excitement was incredible – I could literally feel their energy running through me. And, obviously, FI was killlllllling it and I’m number one fan girl so that wasn’t too shabby at all.
austin: My first time seeing Dan Deacon work a crowd (dance-offs, human chain, etc). Most of the shows I’d been to before then were just people standing around — I went to some metal shows in high school, so there would be a little pit but mostly just a static crowd. Dan had everyone riled up and facing each other (not just facing the band) and making actual eye contact and physical connections and just getting so psyched – it was inspiring.
q: What piece(s) of culture are you really really excited about right now?
sara: the Black Lives Matter movement, gay rights, women’s rights- it’s a huge moment in history for groups of people whose rights have been shit on for so long. We have a really long way to go still, but bringing the issues to the public’s attention is such a huge step. I remember growing up when racism, sexism, and homophobia were even MORE socially acceptable and undiscussed than they are now. I know we haven’t made enough progress yet, but I feel the change taking root in people and that is amazing.
q: Anything we should know about your latest project (whatever that might be)?
sara: I’m dyeing a jumpsuit purple today hah
austin: I have a cameo in an upcoming music video, stay tuned!
abe: I make paintings sometimes.
You can purchase Wing Dam’s latest LP, Glow Ahead at friendsrecords.bandcamp.com or you can stream it using the handy widget below.
Further reading…
sheshredsmag.com/premiere-wing-dam-re-move-me
thefader.com/2016/08/19/wing-dam-beached
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Wing Dam is on Friends Records
Wing Dam is on Slow Knife