The Wallburds Interview
[+ Show ]
Cesar:
Here’s what happened: We were at a spring break party at Tommy’s house in Downey, Californ...Cesar:
Here’s what happened: We were at a spring break party at Tommy’s house in Downey, California. And there were birds nesting within the walls, they were just there…
Tommy:
My house is ghetto, alright?
Cesar:
We were listening to the sounds. We were just at the party and someone was like “dude what’s that?” Cuz there was like scratching in the walls. Like “Is your house haunted or something?”
Long story short, there were birds nesting and someone just kinda was like “Oh like the wallbirds?”
And Tommy was like “Yeah, The Wallburds.”
Tommy:
It kinda stuck. ’
The first time I saw The Wallburds was at City walk Universal in a somewhat battle of the bands for *98.7…their sound set them apart from every other band that played that night. I was instantly hooked, and trust me, you’ll become addicted too. I can actually say that I’ve played their cd at least once every day since seeing them live. The band consists of singer/guitarist Cesar Saez de Nanclares, Tommy Neubauer on drums, and Trevor Wells playing bass. After being in and out of bands throughout high school Tommy and Cesar finally started their own band. They’ve been playing music together for almost 8 years now. Trevor joined The Wallburds seven years after the band was born. The Wallburds are a three piece band from L.A that have an indie rock feel to them and pull in inspiration from Radiohead to The Kinks, Led Zeppelin to Stone Temple Pilots, The Beatles to Nirvana. Tommy says: “I try to explain to people how it is to be in a band and to make a song. You don’t make the music that you absolutely would make if you did it on your own. Obviously, that makes some sense. When you record with other people it’s like painting a picture. There’s only so much you can do on your own and it’s a lot of give and take. You have to be accepting of what somebody else wants to do with their brush with the colors that they wanna do. And that’s the best picture that you can paint with those two other people that you write music with. And to me I don’t care what direction the song goes in. For me it’s really important that the mood is there. If we’re all in the same idea with how we feel about that song, then good, because then we’re all gonna be driven to do that same thing”. -And they haven’t gone wrong so far. I love every tune they make, the vocals are down-right amazing, and all in all I just can’t get over their sound as a whole. If you’re into The Strokes, Radiohead, or The White Stripes, then you’ll love The Wallburds. That’s me trying to categorize them…which just can’t be done. So here: If you’re into really really great music, LISTEN TO THEM! They currently have an EP out now “With a U” which they plan on having a cd release show for sometime soon. They’re aiming for the end of October or sometime in November. Keep checking thewallburds.com for updates. The Wallburds are currently filming a documentary about the band for bomb TV as well as working on a new music video for the song “Moments before Midnight”.
Do you guys have anything that inspires you outside of music?
Cesar:
Definitely. When it comes to song writing, everything inspires us. I get inspired by waking up every morning, and whatever’s in my mind…and it sounds cheesy, but that’s really kinda how things are. I mean if it pertains to song writing, just whatever relationships, friendships, you know, every day life inspires me. Art…I love art and painting.
Tommy:
You know, life isn’t easy for everybody. But what inspires me are the people that get up every morning, go and do their job and take care of their families. I just feel like a part of a good nitch when I see that. So I can’t really say what inspires me to do something different because I feel like we do a lot of what people do here. I get inspired by seeing other people succeed in life. I mean I just like seeing people get out of life what they deserve. You know what I mean? Some people are just dealt shitty cards, and I just like seeing people get back what they deserve. That’s what I get inspired by.
Trevor:
Well I like my job a lot. I just graduated medical school last year and so I’ve been working at UC Irvine. So I get a lot out of that, it is very rewarding work. You get to make a big difference in people’s lives. That’s very inspirational. I don’t know if it comes through as much in the music, but just sorta in every day life, I get a lot out of it.
There are only three of you. Do you plan on adding more band members or do you wanna keep it like this?
Cesar:
We’ve talked about that actually. Maybe eventually we’d like to have another guitar player and just have it sound a little bit more full. But we feel that where we’re at currently is good enough, you know? If the right person comes along one day we’ll do it. But for now, we can make some good noise with just three of us.
So check them out, go to Thewallburds.com, listen to their music, buy a cd and become obsessed like I did.
The Wallburds at AJ&dbs
[+ Show ]
Q. How did the project come into existence?
Tommy and Cesar actually met in high school and playe...Q. How did the project come into existence?
Tommy and Cesar actually met in high school and played in a Spanish rock band together. When Tommy was kicked out of that band, Cesar quit in protest and the two of them formed the Wallburds. They had a couple of bass players who didn't work out before I joined the band in 2009. We've really jelled as a band and we're having a great time playing shows and writing music together.
Q.Who are the members of the band if any and please tell us about it?
A. Cesar Saez de Nanclares - He's the singer, lead guitar-player, and just a natural frontman. He's one of those guys who was just born to be a rock star. Tommy Neubauer - He's the backbone of the band, providing all the percussion and stellar back-up vocals. Myself (Trevor Wells) - I think my particular talent is writing bass lines that really complement Cesar's riffs and Tommy's drum beats. I also do a little bit of back-up singing.
Q How would you describe your sound/genre?
Pure rock and roll. We don't like to overcomplicate things. We think our songs can stand on their own merit without having to be slick and overly-produced.
Q. What formal training or previous experience do any of the members have?
A. None of us has gone through formal music training, but each member had played in several bands prior to the Wallburds so we each bring our own unique experience to the table. We also each have some other musicians we play with outside the band. I think the best way to learn as a musician is by playing with a variety of other people and we all go out of our way to make that happen.
Q. Are you working w/ a producer on your upcoming album?
A. We actually just released our debut EP, (With a U), and it was entirely self-produced. We really want to make sure that each of our albums has a sound that's uniquely ours so we try and limit the outside influence on our work. We certainly like to get feedback on our tracks, but at the end of the day, we want to have the final say to ensure the songs have the sound we're looking for.
Q. Who would you say has been the biggest influence on the bands sound or that you have used as inspiration for your music?
A. We are each have our own unique influences which help create the sound of the band. Cesar is very into the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Radiohead to name a few. Tommy really draws a lot from bands like Circa Survive, Tool, and Nirvana. Personally, I'm very inspired by bands like Led Zeppelin, Stone Temple Pilots, and the Black Keys.
Q.What advice would you give to others starting out?
A. I have to give credit to Tommy for this one, but I think the best advice is to just keep writing songs. It's easy to get caught endlessly working on your first few songs but when you do that, you can really stifle your creativity. Especially in the first couple years of the band, you should write a wide variety of songs in various styles until you find the sound that suits you the best.
Q. Where can people go to learn more about you and hear your music?
A. Our website (www.thewallburds.com) is where you can check out our songs, some videos of our lives shows, and stay up-to-date on all the latest happenings with the band. You can also become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Q. If you could play anywhere in the world or with anyone you wanted where and who would it be with?
A. I think one musician we could all agree we would kill to play with is Paul McCartney. He's such a brilliant musician and a major inspiration for all three of us. And since this is our dream scenario and we can do it wherever we want, I think the only appropriate place to play would be The Cavern in Liverpool.
Q. What has been your greatest experience so far either individually or as a whole?
A. When we went to SXSW 2010, we had an opening in our performance schedule and decided to play a street show. We ended up renting a generator and playing a fully electric, 2-hour set for people gathered around to watch us. It was such a great environment. There was no stage, just us and the audience. People were coming right up to us and taking pictures with us and giving us high-fives while we were playing. The whole experience was just so much fun for everyone involved.
Q. Do you have any upcoming events or news you would like to tell our readers about?
A. We're promoting our EP on college radio so keep an ear open for it on your local college radio station. For those readers who are in the Los Angeles-area, we will be having our official CD release party later this month. We are currently still working on getting a venue confirmed check our website for further details in the next couple weeks.
Q. Where do you see yourselves or hope to be in about 5 years?
A. Ideally in five years, we'll have a couple albums out and be touring regularly but really we just want to enjoy the ride, wherever it takes us.
supersonic
Hourglass
