RP Wigs

The members of RP Wigs enjoy muddying the waters of metal – performing a high-wire act between rockist and arty. Their music is aggressive yet ambitious, a blunt slab of metallic guitars and hammering drums, nicely tempered by layers of atmospheric musicianship and a dash of spit and crackle. More metal-ish than metal. More progressive than prog.

“It’s the full spectrum of rock,” vocalist Korey Zehr says. “From mellow to screaming heavy.”

In short, RP Wigs – Zehr, bassist DJ Riley, drummer Landon Hapner, guitarist Cory Johnston and guitarist Kip Bolton – has transcended the idea of being nicely boxed and tied into one genre, choosing instead to pull regularly from diverse source material and influences.

“It helps that we’re not totally like-minded,” Zehr says. “We all have different taste in music. But when it comes to our music and what we want out of a band, we’re definitely on the same level.”

Although together for just a year, the Wigs have achieved the kind of synergy most bands dream about. Disciplined sonically, the band plays with tension, never teetering on the edge of boring.

“When we play, it’s just a good time,” Riley says. “It’s like when kids play – when you’re 16, 17 years old playing music in someone’s basement. It’s collective. No one person does everything. It’s not about ego.”

“We were always looking for the right people to be in this band,” Bolton says. “So we could play music and be the band we wanted to be.”

The band will release “Moustache of Sorrow,” its first album, in June. And within its nine songs, the band is able to effortlessly bleed one rock style into another with visceral force and immediacy, alternating heavy riffs and yawping vocals with hushed singing and soft and sophisticated musicianship.

“I always said I didn’t want to be just a screamer,” Zehr says. “So I mix a lot of singing in with the screaming. But I’m still angry.”

“Yeah,” Bolton says. “He’s got issues.”

Culled from the ashes of several local bands – both Bolton and Riley were members of Vomitron and Opaque – the members are witnesses to the evolution of the local music scene, from a small collection of musicians to a multi-faceted organic collective of bands and venues. The opportunity to perform at different venues has brought the band in contact with fans of other genres, Bolton says.

“When we started, you couldn’t play at a bar unless you were a cover band – or unless you were playing at Legends,” he says. “Now, there are venues I’ve never even heard of. So being a part of that growing music scene allows us to avoid being pigeonholed. Because we’re never just going to be one thing.”

- The Journal Gazette