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WNC MAGAZINE - JULY 2009 issue
The If You Wannas
Raw energy and talent permeate every tongue-in-cheek note played by these musicians, hailing from backgrounds in jazz and roots rock. Funneling their grunge ethic through a satirical lens, The If You Wannas focus is best summed up by their lyric: “Stop being tragic and start being fun.”
online: www.myspace.com/theifuwannas
Sound like: Elvis Costello does Zappa Latest CD: The If You Wannas EP
See them live: August 15, The New French Bar, Asheville
www.wncmagazine.com/feature/music/sound_advice
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MOUNT XPRESS - mountainx.com
Pure pop for now people
by Jason Bugg on 01/18/2008
Another month brings another showcase for some of Asheville’s most exciting local bands at The Orange Peel. While last month’s show displayed the softer and more psychedelic sides of Asheville’s rock scene, January’s offering serves up some of the best and most humable artists that Asheville has to offer. Here’s a look at the groups playing this month’s offering.
If You Wannas: When listening to the If You Wannas, the most immediately noticeable thing isn’t what they do well, but how they manage to click all cylinders at once. This band is a tight rock ‘n’ roll machine which takes its nods from both Fugazi and My Morning Jacket, the rhythm section of Trevor Stoia and Jacob Baumann create a level of tension and terseness that simultaneously grates against and gels with guitarists Ryan Cox and Gavin Conner’s laconic country infused strum and whine. It’s a cacophony that you can sing and dance along with, and it’s all by design.
“We go for hooks,” says Cox. “I try to write what I would want to listen to, and that’s a three-minute-long song. We want people to go home and remember something on the way home.”
Erika Jane & Remember the Bees: At first listen, Erika Jane may be the odd girl out at the showcase. With a sound that is both more quiet and more stylistically refined than the others on the ticket, Jane’s gorgeous take on pop music is the perfect stuff for a rainy day. The stories that Erika songs tell are relatable, accessible and—most importantly—humable. It may be easy to ignore the quiet girl with her guitar and the big voice, but to do so would be a crime.
“I think every song should tell a story,” Jane says. “Sometimes they tell stories through music, and sometimes they tell stories with words. A hook is a good thing if it’s done the right way.”
The Broomstars: The Broomstars have a sound that is instantly recognizable and yet not derivative, representing the sum of their collective influences: the stomp and volume of ‘90s rock with the Moog infused whimsy of the ‘80s, all wrapped in some of the most endearing boy/girl harmonies this side of Frankie and Annette. But don’t expect The Broomstars to be leaving town chasing that perfect wave anytime soon. Instead, they are more focused on refining their songs and leading Asheville’s music scene into a pop utopia of sorts.
“This town is really saturated in progressive thought, and pure pop music is a really easy way of bridging the gap of all genres and all types of music to get your message out,” says bassist Jared White.
The Goodies: The Goodies are an Asheville institution. Fronted by the incomparable Holiday Childress, the band has spent the last 15 years walking the tightrope between Judy Garland–by-the-way-of-Tom Waits-influenced caberet pop and a muscular Van Halen-influenced rock.
“We grew up on [rock and roll],” says Childress. “We love Van Halen. Whenever I get together with Mike [Allen, drummer] he just lays it down because he’s such a hard hitter. It’s such a definitive sound of the Goodies’ career, and over the years I’ve tried to rein it in and refine it. The Goodies are an athletic kind of rock show.”
— Jason Bugg is a writer based in Asheville.
Click here for ticket and show information.
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2008
Thorn Sawyer the Merry Music Scene Roustabout Presents: ASHEVILLE GOES POP!
-POP ASHEVILLE (formerly known as ID FEST), Asheville's only strictly local and independent music festival, happened last weekend with markedly better results then their first year. What was different? How'd they do it?
Alarmingly First off ticket prices dropped from 25 dollars for an all access wristband to 15 dollars. The line up was outrageously improved this year. More local bands with a few "regional" groups to fill out the roster while skimping on the GODAWFUL ROCKABILLY FRONTED BY A MIDDLE AGED DUDE WITH A POOR MAN'S YELLOW MOHAWK. Fortunately some pretty great local bands have sprung up, or at least been noticed, this past year to make Asheville seem like it had a musical community worth supporting. Performers of note were "The if you wanna's" which is a sort of songwriting vehicle for Ryan Cox the red haired rocker, they have steady dance groove-ability while still maintaining a stricter "roots rock" sound. Kings of Prussia, Asheville'sfloridian hypergrunge band, performed in the newly opened rocket club (whose environment gave me a creepy "orange peel west" vibe.)to a thick crowd. The real standout of the line-up happened backtoback Saturday night at the grey eagle. EARPWR and FUTURE ISLANDS; two recent acts to adopt the name local (1/2 of ear pwr still lives in winston salem and only 1 member of future islands ever lived in town) are by far the two shining-est examples of DANCEFUNPARTYTILLUPUKEORDANCE bands in the area if not on the whole coast. Other performers of note were the psychedelic love fest that is SUTTREE, and the nerd rock pioneers ON THE TAKE. Advertising was present in the city and on the net but not suffocatingly so. The venues were well picked, one of which is "sort of" all ages. From what I've discerned from most of the people I know that went, POP Asheville was a success. Let's all wait and see what happens NEXT YEAR!
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POSTED BY THOM SAWYER AT 11:17 AM
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SoundTrack
The If You Wannas with the Royal Bangs
by Hunter Pope in Vol. 14 / Iss. 52 on 07/23/2008
Ambushes can be vastly underrated. Worthy waylays include surprise birthdays (sans the weak heart), a shot of whiskey in coffee and occasional opening-act rock bands.
I headed to the Grey Eagle on Saturday, July 5, to review local upstarts The If You Wannas, with supporting acts The Baker Family Band and The Royal Bangs. The festive vibe of the show came complete with projection screens emitting dysfunctional Japanese anime, black-and-white buffaloes and assorted psychedelic-fueled art.
The ensnarement came early, courtesy of the Royal Bangs, a band based out of Knoxville. The octopi-tasking quintet rode into town fresh off Bonnaroo and rave reviews from Rolling Stone ("Royal Bangs, our new favorite rockers ...”) and Spin (“Though only one day in at Bonnaroo—rates as the best show I’ve yet to see”).
I ambled into the Royal Bangs’ set lacking familiarity with their sound. Running on sitcom time, the quintet delivered more punch in 30 minutes than a factory time clock. Lead bearded beast, Ryan Schaffer (percussion, guitar, synth etc.), summoned Stephen Malkmus vocals while hammering away on a lone percussive skin. Instrument-switching between members highlighted each number. Categorization seemed futile—punk leanings, New Wave synths, dance beats ala LCD Soundsystem and gut-kicking rock ‘n’ roll all found their way into the set. With so much expended energy, concern rose that all the members collapse from fatigue after the set.
The If You Wannas rose admirably to the challenge of following a musical tornado. Their set, pulled from their self-titled debut EP, chugged with locomotive intensity, leaving influential steam trails of The Cars, Gang Of Four, The Clash and any number of ska bands.
The resumé reads well: Ryan Cox (vocals, guitar) returned to Asheville to work at Moog Music after employment at Mixmaster, an Australian record label. Cox’s Aussie stint molded his musical direction and soon drew the attention of drummer Jason Baumann (The Trainwreks). Bassist Trevor Stoia (leader of Trevor Trio as well as a member of Ashes In Order with the Ahleuchatistas’ Shane Perlowin) joined soon thereafter. The quartet solidified in summer 2007 when Gavin Conner added his Moog Synth and guitar.
Rationed on genre inbreeding, the If You Wannas shed labels in favor of making the crowd guess the next time signature or genre. They also come complete with the segues and false endings to which numerous jam bands aspire. Fortunately, the group does it well by encapsulating all the madness into three-minute songs. At one point, the band managed to incorporate riffs from “Stray Cat Strut” and Kansas’ anthem “Carry On” into one tune. If someone told me beforehand I would enjoy a group that melded two songs on high-cheese alert, I’d have considered more meds.
“She’s So Mean,” the song highlight of the set, was characteristic of the band’s forays into label shredding, using hints of ska with an Ennio Morricone spaghetti-western twang. Equally entertaining was bassist Stoia, who bounced around the stage with little regard to bodily or equipment injury.
Despite their creative power, the If You Wannas sometimes suffer from venturing in too many directions, the songs sometimes evoking a soundtrack beset by ADD. The hooks are plentiful, but rarely catch for a song’s entirety. The quartet’s identity seems hidden as they search for a permanent muse—a common trait with groups just coming out of the crawling stages. Their shared enthusiasm and sheer love of music helps to eclipse these shortcomings, however.
If commitment remains, the If You Wannas should find that elusive epoxy that some bands obtain in creating a whole show. Hopefully, they’ll be the next group veiled in the shadows, ready to ambush an unsuspecting crowd.
