Midland band WAVE speak ahead of Birmingham gig - unsigned interview

Ever since their first jam session together in 2015, the two piece have proved that you don't need lots of people to make a lot of sound.

WAVE features Will Stokes on drums and Dave Musson on vocals, guitar and bass. Right from the start, the duo has been driven by two aims: play some riffs and have plenty of fun.

They made their live debut in February 2016 at the Asylum in Birmingham, with a set that saw them, 'torpedo the usual po-faced motif promoted by most guitar/or bass and drums outfits that are out there right now…this was their live debut but you would not have known it' according to critics.

Since then, WAVE has continued to build a reputation for energetic, exciting and humorous performances. Some of the more quirky highlights have included handing out chocolate eggs to the audience mid-set during a gig on Easter weekend, and regularly wandering into the crowd for high-fives midway through songs.

"We don't worry ourselves too much with what bands are 'supposed' to be and do," says Dave.

"Instead we just write songs that we like – which generally means they are fast, heavy and full of riffs – and we have as much fun as possible when we get to play live.

"The only rule we have decided to adhere to is giving our songs names, which is apparently what you're supposed to do. Our songs all have human names – like Brian and Gwen – so our setlists look more like a teacher's register than anything to do with a band. Even then, Will usually doesn't know which song it is until we start playing – winging it is a major part of being in this band."

WAVE signed to Warwickshire independent label This Decay last summer and released their debut EP – The First Wave – last September, marked with a triumphant launch gig at the Flapper.

fusion

The frantic duo – which combines Will's love of death metal with Dave's love of punk and hardcore to create a fusion of all three genres that you won't have heard anything like before – also recorded a charity Christmas single last year. However, it'll never see the light of day.

"We made our own version of 'I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day' by Wizzard, not only because it's a great song but also because of the local connection," Dave explains, "and we wanted to use it to raise funds for Birmingham Children's Hospital. However, we were stopped by major label Scrooges! We went about it the right way and requested permission to release the song, being sure to explain the charitable side, but we were denied permission. It was incredibly disappointing – we're now left with a smoking hot version of a brilliant Christmas song that we're not allowed to do anything with. In many ways, I wish we'd just put it out there, but that could've landed us in a lot of trouble. This year we'll have to record a traditional arrangement instead – or write our own!"

Undeterred, WAVE has started 2017 with a bang, recording a special acoustic session for Brum Radio and already getting a couple of gigs under their belt. Not only that, their second EP is recorded, mixed and ready to go. The five-song release, Just the Two of Us, will be out this spring, again via This Decay.

The EP is also a subtle way of answering the question WAVE get asked at gigs . . . do you need a bass player?

"We created this band specifically to be a duo and have absolutely no desire to change that," Dave says, "if nothing else, because the most popular two piece bands in the world right now – acts such as Twenty One Pilots, Royal Blood and Slaves – are just awful. They're too busy being this hip thing that sells a tonne of T-shirts, rather than writing great music. We're taking back the idea of the two piece and making it louder, faster and heavier. Playing in this band is a load of fun, we love playing the songs we've written and if someone doesn't enjoy what we do then, frankly, we don't care – however, I would challenge that person to come and watch us play live and see if we can't change their mind!"

Dan Earl

Follow WAVE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thatawesomeduowave. Buy their debut EP from this www.thisdecay.com.