WAXY – Emerging Artist Spotlight Series NXNE 2013 Editition

WAXY- Emerging Artist Spotlight

In 2012, T-Mak World initiated extensive coverage of NXNE and we saw a total of 51 bands/artists and interviewed the following 15 bands as part of our Emerging Artist Spotlight series:

Our wrap up article from 2012 is here and we are excited to be back in 2013 and to interview more bands to our Emerging Artist Spotlight Series. Today we focus on a band from Palm Springs, California and their NXNE profile reads:

Straight out of Southern California’s desert to a dirty bar near you. The retro-infused musical throwback mixes raw garage rock with a healthy dose of classic psychedelia.

 Here is what they had to say to us:

Hey WAXY, thanks for taking the time out to talk to us. Let’s start off with the obligatory introductions. Who’s in the band and what instrument does everyone rock?

WAXY: Hey there! Robert Waldman plays guitar and vocals , Ehren Groban (also in the psych rock band War Drum) is on bass, and Mike Pygmie (Mondo Generator, In Vitro) is the monster behind the drums.

How about the history of the band, when did you get started and how did it happen?

WAXY: WAXY is from Palm Desert, California, the heart of the desert rock scene. Singer/guitarist Robert Waldman grew up going to the legendary generator parties that took place in the middle of the desert, parties that spawned bands like Kyuss, Fatso Jetson and Queens of the Stone Age. Robert’s dad was in fact Josh Homme’s allergy doctor. In 2007, Robert started looking for a band within the desert music scene…and voila. WAXY toured Europe with Kyuss in March 2011, and is also a close ally of the desert’s leading psych rock band, War Drum.

Who are some of your musical influences?

WAXY: Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Elton John…joke. Actually Elton’s great. But that is a joke. All the British Invasion. 80s punk rock, and all the SST label bands.

Congratulations on being selected to play at North By Northeast, what does the opportunity mean to you?

WAXY: This is WAXY’s first time playing on the East Coast, so it’s very exciting to share our brand of West Coast, desert-rooted rock n roll with a new audience.  The people in Toronto who we have met so far have been so open and curious about where we are from and what we are doing, and it has been an invigorating and warm welcome. We’re very glad to be here.

When and where is your NXNE gig? And more importantly, why do you suggest a music fan come and see your show instead of all the other choices available to them at that time?

WAXY: We are playing at Bovine Sex Club tonight (Thursday) at 11pm, the Garrison  Friday night at 9pm and Cherry Cola’s at 11.30pm on Saturday. You should come see WAXY for many reasons. First, our bass player Ehren Groban is one of the cutest hippies on the West Coast and he loves to give hugs. Second, our lead singer Robbie will probably buy you a drink if you tell him you love his hair. And third, our drummer is hands down one of the most talented musicians in California, who as well as playing drums in WAXY, plays guitar in Mondo Generator and In Vitro, and is a lynchpin of the desert rock scene. We suggest you come if you want to be swept away in the sheer volume, soul and sincerity of the desert sound.

What’s it like being on stage? Do you get nervous or are you thriving on the adrenaline (or somewhere in between)?

WAXY: Robert loves being on stage, as he loves to be the center of attention.  There are rarely any nerves. It’s just a pleasure and an honor to be rocking out in front of people who care, and who get it.

What does 2013 hold for you?

WAXY: Life in the desert involves a lot of pool hopping, so there will be a lot of that in 2013. Also WAXY is recording a new record next month at Unit A studios in Palm Springs, formerly Monkey Studios, where Queens of the Stone Age made their first record. A tour is being planned throughout Europe in September/October. And we are looking for label representation, management and all that good stuff.

Imagine that you were asked to be the opener for any band’s world tour (both current and historical). Which past band’s tour and which current tour would be your dream opening gigs?

WAXY: We would love to open for Queens of the Stone Age, Masters of Reality or the Arctic Monkeys. As far as past bands… we would have been stoked to jam with Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop festival 1967.

How important is the performer/audience connection for you? Can you rock a show as hard for 10 people as if you could playing an 80,000 person festival?

WAXY: There is nothing more important, and there will never be anything as important. But if you’re asking me if a show of ten people versus 80,000, the energy is wildly different, and every musician taps into that energy. We’re down for some 80,000 people shows, that is for sure. But we play our asses off no matter who is there.

Where can people get your music/CD, is it being sold anywhere? 

WAXY: Good independent record stores, or Waxy-music.net and Cobraside distributes our CD also, at www.cobraside.com

At the end of 2012 we published our picks for top 10 albums of 2012. Lists like those are always a reflection of personal tastes so if you were making the list what are some albums you would you have had on it?

WAXY: We are big fans of the Australian band Tame Impala, and we love the Black Angels. Also VolBeat, a Danish rock band, that we are good friends with.

WAXY: Toronto is a great city, thank you for having us, and thanks to John Kastner of Cobraside for making us feel right at home in a faraway land. Also San Dimas high school football rules.

Thanks so much to WAXY. We hope that you can see them live. They are playing NXNE three shows. First, tonight at the Bovine (Thursday) at 11, the Garrison tomorrow (Friday) at 9 and Cherry Cola’s Saturday at 11:30, make sure you get out to at least one of them because these guys will be a guaranteed highlight of this year’s NXNE.

The band’s website is www.waxy-music.com and as you would expect they are on and Facebook at WAXYofficial. In the meantime check out their video below from YouTube.

Slowly Erasing music video on Youtube.

Author: Steve Mallinson