WL//WH Interview WAVES CRASHING
We first met the “Cascadian Shoegaze” trio Waves Crashing, now based in Olympia, WA, during Seattle‘s Tremolo Fest at the end of last year, as Josh is also one of the organizers. Although established in 2019, the band, made of Josh Calisti (guitar, vocals), Bryce Albright (drums) and Zach Olson (bass), has finally reached the long-overdue milestone of their debut album. What better occasion to talk directly with the protagonists about it and their 80s/90s nuanced Alternative Rock sound.
Thanks so much for the interview. The band formed in 2019, the album is like a culmination of everything beforehand, but at the same time, it could also be felt as a starting point… Let’s talk about it and how your ‘Cascadia Shoegaze’ sound found its way and evolved as well…
Josh: The Cascadia Shoegaze sound can be a pretty broad term, but it really just shows how much a region you live in can influence the vibe of the music we write. We have some really gloomy winters but incredibly beautiful summers, so there are dynamics on both sides here that shine through. As well as elements of classic shoegaze, new wave, post-punk and some grunge.
How have the songs been born over time? Here and there or over a few sessions? What has been your criterion about the LP setlist and how do you stitch them all together?
Josh: It comes along pretty quickly. Starts with a bare bones verse and chorus that I bring to the table. Maybe make a demo first and then present it to the band. Then, we get together and mold it into something formidable and work out the structure together. All of these songs with the exception of “In My Head” were written in the last 12 months. ‘Treading Water’ was just written as the last piece this past December.
How much of your creative process is cerebral and how much is instinctive? Are you always lucid and aware of what you’re doing or at times is there an improvisational part that takes over?
Josh: Most of the songs I write are purely spontaneous. I don’t plan writing sessions. I just sit down with my guitar and sometimes things just come to me. That’s how it starts. I try not to force it.
Bryce: For me, once a new idea is brought to the table initially, I can often intuit the rhythms pretty easily. There are usually a few ideas I have right off the bat that I will try out at the moment just to see how they sound with everyone else playing their parts. But a lot of the time, when trying to come up with some of the more standout fills, interesting transitions, or even some of the main grooves, I will come up with my ideas while I’m driving to and from work or practice, or when I’m going to bed and in that in-between state of awake and asleep. Seems like when I allow my conscious mind to sit back a bit, the more creative part of my brain tends to take the wheel and brings with it some pretty great ideas.
What is your approach to composition? Have modern technologies crept into the way you work?
Josh: I still use a rhyming dictionary at times. I have the same little pocketbook for 20 years, but I’ll sometimes look online at a website for something more updated when I am having trouble with a line or phrase. Also, making voice memo demos on an iphone is so important. Just to capture an idea so you can revisit it later. The sound quality is good enough for that and being able to just hit two buttons to lay it out quickly is important for not interrupting the creative process.
Bryce: Personally, the demos recorded on the phone have been a huge help. Being able to actively listen to what everyone else is doing and not focusing so much on what I’m doing, gives me a much better understanding of where the song is going and what it wants to be, and where I can play my part in helping it get there.
Let’s talk about the LP’s title, “Effection”. Is there also a thread that lyrically holds the record together?
Josh: It’s a deeply personal and heartfelt journey, about the effects of life. The title also reflects the dynamic soundscapes that ebb and flow throughout the album, which adds another layer to the emotional experience.
Can you give us insight into the main inspirations, along with the concept and the sound, as a whole, behind the LP?
Josh: Lyrically, it captures the weight of the world and the anxiety that comes with it, while navigating the emotions of love and loss. Sonically, it collectively captures all my influences over the years with a lot of highs and lows. Big spacious guitars and drums while possessing vulnerability with its delicate moments as well.
Which song on the record is your personal favourite?
Josh: “Parts of Me” because it’s very personal to me and different from the rest, but I really love how the new version of “In My Head” turned out.
Zach: It’s a hard choice, but “Treading Water” was the first song I recorded with Waves Crashing, so I’m a little biased in that direction.
Bryce: I would say “Comatose” is probably my personal favorite off of this album. I feel like the droning guitars and repetitive drum beat work together to help create the conditions for a trance-like state. If not for listeners, then at least for me every time I play it.
Have you learned anything from bands you’ve played with or producers you’ve worked with down the years?
Josh: I think the things I’ve learned most about bands over the years are more technical things with gear or about show production and being well prepared. Probably the biggest note is “Less is More”. Also, to do what’s best for the song rather than egos get in the way.
Zach: There’s something cool that seems to happen whenever you play around other musicians for a while. The way people interact musically seems to vary almost every time for me, but I pick up new tricks and inspiration with everyone I spend a lot of time around in a band setting. Also some do’s and don’ts on getting your gear stolen. Haha!
Bryce: Both musically and personally, yes, haha. Two big ones are to try and go into everything with an open mind and be open to trying things that are new or outside of your comfort zone. The other is the importance of compromising with your bandmates when necessary and knowing how to properly make your case when you feel strongly about an idea.
With which bands do you feel a particular kinship?
Josh: There is such relief and trust that it’s going to be a great show with your local buds in the community like No Floor, Spacer, Male//Gaze, New Age Healers, Fotoform and Bloococoon. For out of town bands, it’s always a pleasure to share the stage with Ten Million Lights, Darkswoon, Soft Science, Dead Leaf Echo and Ringo Deathstarr. Can’t say enough good things about them all.
Bryce: All of the bands Josh mentioned, but also The Colourflies from Spokane, WA, Naked Society from Seattle, and though I only know him through his music and have never met him before, there’s an artist called AtariMatt from Texas who I feel a kinship to solely from listening to the incredible music he has made.
What excites you the most, besides music?
Josh: Traveling to the coast with my better half and our 3 dogs in the RV. Oh, and the Eagles just winning their 2nd Super Bowl. Go birds.
Zach: I’m a huge nerd. I’ve been gaming my whole life and a good story/ experience can really reel me in.
Bryce: Movies. I absolutely love watching movies, learning about how they were made and what went on during their productions, analyzing them for any kind of possible subtext, discussing the really good ones with friends afterwards, and making jokes about the not-so-good ones while watching with others (think MST3K). I’ve been getting more involved in the various filmmaking communities in and around Seattle, as of late.
Can you remember what the first thing that gave you that sense of excitement and power of what music can do was?
Josh: I was definitely a 90’s grunge kid, so when my brother Jason presented to me “Sixteen Stone” by Bush, that’s when I said to myself – how do I make those thick fuzzy guitar sounds? It wasn’t until adulthood that I dived into the 80’s and fell in love with new wave, post-punk and shoegaze.
Zach: I didn’t really get exposed to much outside of radio at a young age. One of the first albums I heard on my own through a friend was Switchfoot‘s “The Beautiful Letdown”. I started playing guitar around the time I heard this, so finally venturing out while simultaneously learning an instrument was very exciting.
Bryce: When I was a kid in the 90s, my sister introduced me to everything cool under the sun: Nirvana, Pantera, Metallica, Tupac, Biggie, LIVE, Green Day, and the list is endless. My mom instilled my love and appreciation for artists like Fleetwood Mac, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, The Judds, Seals & Crofts, and many others. But it wasn’t until I was a bit older and bought my first cassette tape of The Crow soundtrack and heard the song ‘Burn’ by The Cure that I got that feeling of chills up my spine and goosebumps all over. The whole soundtrack is a great listen, but to me, ‘Burn’ was unlike anything I had ever experienced before and completely blew my mind.
What song most defined the teenage you?
Josh: Oh man, I was obsessed with “Everlong” by the Foo Fighters.
Zach: That’s such a hard one. My music taste is still stuck in the 2006 Emo/Pop Rock scene, so I’m sure you could throw a stone into that setting and land on something close.
Bryce: Anything from Against Me! probably.
You’re now based just south in Olympia, but your roots are grounded in Seattle, as one of you is a co-founder and organizer for the Tremolo Fest, tell us about your relationship with its alternative rock scene.
Josh: I moved to the area in 2019 and six months later Waves Crashing was born. So, I act fast and I love being involved in things I am passionate about. The folks at “Tremolo Fest” saw that and asked me to join the community a few years back and it’s led to so many great friendships and shows, while also learning a lot along the way. We also partnered with friends in Portland’s “Dreamgaze” festival, so collectively we have a great beat on the whole PNW alternative scene. It’s been a lot of fun!
Lately, in the tide of weekly releases, we are increasingly coming across music created with A.I. Some people ‘honestly’ admit using it, but most are not as forthcoming to disclose it; many don’t seem to notice and believe it is human made. What’s your take on the matter?
Josh: I personally don’t know anyone who has used AI as part of their music production and I’ve never used it either. I believe you can use elements of it in post-production. Like there are some pretty useful AI equalizer plugins that you can use as a good starting point for certain things, but I wouldn’t rely on any of it. I feel it might be infringing on the question of whether or not it is art? Because art is organic, messy and imperfectly beautiful..and that’s a good thing.
Zach: I’ll start by saying I think AI has proper uses as well as places where it goes too far or is not sustainable right now. I’ve seen coworkers and people I know that are going through school start to rely on all that and it’s a little crazy to watch. With that out of the way, people need an artistic outlet. As far as music goes, Some people just enjoy it. Others can pick up the skills to learn instruments and create their own. I suppose stepping back and looking at it from another perspective, you could say that someone who may not have those skills (but want to make music still) prompting AI with what the listener would like to hear or create can be its own artistic outlet. It’s a really controversial topic these days. Personally the valuable place I see AI working is in the medical field or for helpful scientific advances. I prefer my music and other art without AI. I want to feel the love and emotion that people put into their work and be able to support artists that are throwing their all at their passion. Some of the AI works can be pretty convincing and admittedly very cool… but there’s something about it that lacks soul for me. Support local artists!
Bryce: I hesitate to make a judgement one way or another because part of me understands and agrees with those out there creating their own personal art from their own passions, imaginations, skills, viewpoints, etc. and I think that having something that they’ve created downloaded indiscriminately, then synthesized and put out into the world without their permission probably feels pretty violating, and I can understand their anger about it. On the other hand, it is very hard to put the genie back in the bottle once it’s been let out, and with how quickly AI has seemed to permeate most every form of art out there, I don’t think it would be easy to shut all of that down now and detangle the human-created and the AI-created from one another. I think that like most new forms of art or expression, or with technologies that upset the status quo, there seems to be a lot of initial pushback and outrage, especially if it challenges the fundamental way of doing things. But, collectively as a society we will either learn to live with it and adapt to it, or we will destroy it all together. I think that some creative people out there will learn to utilize AI in some interesting ways that don’t end up replacing human-made art, but instead have it as another tool to be used to enhance what they are doing. I think there are a lot of opportunities for what AI is churning out now to potentially inspire many people all over the world to do something, or create something that they may have never considered before.
Which record/band are you most excited about lately?
Josh: I absorb new albums very slowly, but recently my friend (shout out to another Josh) showed me the new album by Cryogeyser, that is really awesome.
Zach: Sleep Token JUST released their new track “Emergence” for their upcoming album. I’m a fan and there’s a lot of buzz around the lore and the way they market themselves. Also looking forward to (hopefully) some new Dayseeker this year.
Bryce: I’m really looking forward to the new Callous Daoboys album, as well as hearing the new Mars Volta album that they’ve apparently been playing in full on their current tour with Deftones. I have been really into the band Loathe for a few years now, and I’m excited to see them live again in May. Honestly, I feel like I find so many artists and bands that are new to me and get excited about, it is too hard to pick just one.
What are your plans for the future and for promoting the album?
Josh: We are doing local shows and two mini tours with a lot of really killer bands. One kicks off next month (April 24-27) in the Northeast hitting Portsmouth, Portland (ME), Boston and NYC. Then on August 14-16 we play down in SF, LA and Sacramento. I can’t wait.
Waves Crashing‘s debut studio album, “Effection“, is out now, on CD /Vinyl 12″ /Cassette & Digital, via Neon Sigh and Pleasure Tapes labels.
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