Waxwing: Madmen for the Ride
By Reed Jackson

It's funny how stories don't work out the way they should sometimes. For instance: In a perfect narrative universe, I would have interviewed Waxwing before their show at the Paradox Theatre. The setting would probably be a quietly hip coffee bar, where light would be adequate and seating comfortable. The band would have been fresh from pre-show practice, and energized by the prospects of their upcoming performance.

Instead the evening proceeded thusly: I was stuck in real life's most banal and effective trap-work, and showed up at the Theatre about fifteen minutes too late, to the discouraging sight of Waxwing dismantling their set. After putting forth their usual maximum effort before what the band smilingly estimated as "about 150 people," the five members of Waxwing present were obviously tired and eager to be home, and one-bassist Andrew Hartley- had already called it a night. Compounding these negative circumstances., the interview was held hunched over a dirty sidewalk in one of the seedier areas of the U-District, complete with the interruptions of a drunken bum, a garbage truck collecting the can we were sitting by, and a strolling hippie with a dog. Watching street refuse drift over my notebook, I could not help thinking, "This isn't the way it's supposed to go at all dammit!"

A sentiment Waxwing has probably echoed once or twice. Their particular story goes something like this: In early 1997, a group of friends and musicians,(Rocky Votolato-vocals guitars, Andrew Hartley-bass, and Rudy Gajadhar united by former bands (Runaway Laughing, Lying on Loot,) and common musical passions form a new band. The band's gripping guitar method quickly begins to gel and the process is completed when Rocky's then 15-year old brother Cody joins the band eight months later, bringing his guitar to help realize a "fuller sound." Blazingly heartfelt and remarkably good music, informed by the searing emotion and powerful resoonance of bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Jawbox, immediately results and a 7-inch on Henry's Finest Recordings appears. Passion, youth and inspiration; the elements were all in place. Recognition and relative success ought to lie just a short step away right? Not exactly.

"We were struggling, we couldn't get shows and when we did no one came. It was horribly frustrating" laments Votolato. Fortunately bad stories don't last forever. The rescuing prince in this tale was one Dan Askew, owner of mid-west record label Second Nature. Hearing of the band through a mutual friend, he called and expressed enthusiasm about releasing a full length recording by the band. The call could not have come at any better time. "Before Dan called, we were on the verge of being finished, he really saved our band," says Rocky.

Infused with new fervor, our intrepid heroes embarked on a couple of West Coast tours(one which lacked Cody due to his tender age, with current lights technician Justin Deary substituting) and hooked up with rising upstart producer Matt Bayles. Reworking songs from many of the members old bands, Waxwing hurriedly put together their debut, For Madmen Only, which was released in early 1999. The album consisted of expansive and forceful emo-rock, often messy, but unfailingly intense.

ForMadmen Only incited no immediate fanfare. But the album, along with the band's charismatic live presence at all-ages venues such as the Velvet Elvis, the Old Firehouse in Redmond, and later the Paradox slowly gained the troupe a small and devoted following. "We've always had a problem getting shows, it's because we're not into the networking and the politics," says Rocky. But the band refuses to give in to apathy; "A few small places like the Paradox embraced us, and that's what kept us alive," he continues.

Slowly but surely, word of the band began to increase through word of mouth, and more and more people started showing up at shows bearing Waxwing T-shirts. All in the face of limited press, minimal advertising and few high profile bookings. "Our following is a true one, because we've never been a flavor of the month band," asserts Rocky. "We've worked hard to get where we are and our fans respect that."

Besides the support of fans, it's obvious that Waxwing's near-Puritan work ethic also helped advance the band's grudging ascent. Even merely practicing takes effort, as the members are spread from Bellingham to Bothell. Other bands might quail in the face of traversing such a geographical distance on a regular basis, but the members of Waxwing don't even flinch. "We all have cars," says Rudy while almost simultaneously Cody shrugs "It's not that big a deal, we all have cars and we're committed." Waxwing has already struggled through so much that driving an hour to practice is small potatos. "We've always had to work hard for everything we've got," maintains Rocky. "We're a very working class band."

Dedication which was put hard to the test in the creation of their second album, One For the Ride. "That was really tough to record," states Cody. "We all either work or go to school, so we had to record on evenings and weekends, and it ended up taking awhile," says Rocky. The importance of studio time did inadvertantly lead to one of the standouts of Ride: the multi-track piano piece that's interlaced throughout the album. "We were all set for practice and then Rocky suddenly got sick and couldn't come," relates Cody. The rest of us were there and we had to make use of our time, so we just recorded an instrumental track with Andrew on piano."

Ironically, the unplanned song gives the album a more coherent shape, setting a reflective mood that pervades throughout the whole, in sharp contrast to the quick, instinctual leaps of the band's earlier material. "Its definitely a darker and slower album," remarks Justin, and Rocky adds that "it's bigger and deeper, you have to give it more time to set in."It's not a pop record."

This sentiment resonates in the declarative first tracl as Rocky intones, "All my prophets are singers of sad songs." Ride taps into that religious atmosphere of sadness which celebrates the inevitable loss inherent to human life. Yet through tenacity and dedication Waxwing have learned much about coping with the everday let-downs that populate existence. Instead of surrendering to apathy or helplessness, they find redemption in the contemplation and struggle against continual disappointment.

To counteract the looming hopelessness lurking in the subject matter, Waxwing rely on the power brought by their instruments, alternately employing melodic restraint and controlled detonations to hint at the possibility of a solution. Somewhere in the twisting interplay of sound and fury lies a glimmer of hope. A glimmer that is made brighter by the slow-burn of rhythm dynamics which create intricate fuses for such songs as "Industry" and "Laboratory," making the cathartic immolation of release more keenly felt, while the melancholy becomes more tangible in contrast. It's a striking change from the relentless guitar attack of Madmen and one the band feels good about. "It was much more collaborative this time," ROcky says. "We wrote [the new album] as a band whereas the first one was mostly me. This is the first real Waxwing record."

Our conversation winds down as the wee hours descend upon the U-District, and the band has now fallen quiet. A souped-up El Dorado suddenly roars up the street to the accompanying cheers of me and the band, and the night's end is punctuated by a cloud of exhaust spewed from its chrome tailpipe.

As for Waxwing's personal story, they have some views on how they would like it to end, one quite different from the standard tale of generating massive record sales and a a cardboard cut-out at Sam Goody's. "All the bands which meant a lot to me and that I love made music that will last, that was timeless. That's what we want to do, we want to keep people's interest, we want to touch them," Rocky asserts passionately. The rest of the band understatedly agrees, saying they just want to write good songs. By persevering with their own sense of narrative aesthetic, it looks like the band just might take their story in the right direction. Their direction.

Email Reed Jackson

Waxwing Concert Pix!

Waxwing's Official Site

Also at Pandomag.com

Our Little Polly Jean is in Love
Or at least she’s made an album as though she were. Norm Elrod reviews PJ Harvey's Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea

Most Artists Would Kill for a Single Moment of Transcendence
U2 has managed three albums worth. Norm Elrod reviews U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind

Trimmed Down Fat Beats Handcuffed to Wheels of Steel
"Fatboy Slim excels most when he brings it, and brings it hard" - Norm Elrod reviews Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars

Barking Bards Crashes Rockrgrl 2000
"This was the cool mentoring thing that coulda-woulda-shoulda come out of Lilith Fair, had dear Sarah had a real vision minus the commercialization of chick rock." By Sheryl Diane

Peter Murphy Tames Audiences with Intimate "Just For Love" Tour
Candid conversation reveals lighter side of Goth-rock's Dark Prince, by Steve Stav

Vive La Grrrl-Style Revolution!
ROCKRGRL Women in Music Conference Makes Good on Its Promise of Change Through Unity, by Tizzy Asher

Long Live Teen Angst and Rock N' Roll!
Kimberly Reyes examines the imaginative power and raw sex appeal wielded by [The London] Suede

Bring The New Noise
New releases by Radiohead, Madonna, Shellac, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and The Posies are reviewed and reviled by Michael Hukin

A Really, Really Haunted House
A rock critic and four gorgeous coeds are terrorized by Satan himself in Birmingham horror house, by Michael Hukin

The Prom: Bring a Date
Shane Berry reviews In This Way They Found Me, a new disc from Seattle band, The Prom

Lost Empires, Found Memories:
Joel R. L. Phelps and the Downer Trio release a gripping new album, by Dave Liljengren