Photo by Alexander Jawfox
Interview by Megan Langley
Virginia-based rock band Wild Truth kicked off the month of April by releasing their brilliant debut EP, titled “Drift.” We spoke with bassist and producer Will Beasley about that EP and what the band has in store for the rest of the year!
Megan Langley: You dropped “No Filter” prior to the release of your debut EP, “Drift.” What made you choose that particular track to be the lead single for this EP?
Will Beasley: So that one… we just all felt like it was the most dance-y, the most energetic and upbeat one. We all just felt like it was a good first show for the EP.
We were also really stoked for the video, too. We had some cool ideas for that that we were excited about, so it seemed like a good one to go for first.
ML: What was the writing process like for “Drift”? Has your songwriting process changed at all since the band initially formed and you released your first few singles?
WB: Yeah. Pretty much all of our songwriting has been in my studio - I’m a producer as well and I’ve recorded all of our stuff.
We do a lot of writing in the studio, recording the demos. Some of it might stay as a final product.
For this one, one thing we did (versus the singles) that we thought was cool was we purposely split up the demoing process and the recording process rather than doing it all at once. We did demos not feeling super worried about the tones and sounds and stuff, but more of, like, the songwriting and getting the ideas down.
We all came back and jammed them as a full band when we set up a week to record the EP. That was really cool, to just split it up that way versus when we did the singles, where it was kind of writing and doing final products at the same time.
ML: As a whole, “Drift” has running themes of self-reflection and individuality. What tracks or lyrics in particular from the EP do you think touch on that the most?
WB: I would say probably the chorus of “Drift.”
ML: Is there any correlation between the title of the EP and those themes?
WB: Yeah, there is, a little bit...“Drift” just kind of felt good because we had some growing pains starting out, and, as corny as it sounds, we kind of “drifted” away from people. It was a word that really stuck with us and we decided to make it the album title.
ML: As far as the music goes, how would you describe the overall sound of this EP, and which song(s) would you say are the best examples of that sound?
WB: What we were really going for was the sound of us just playing in the room. The singles have some more electronic sounds going on.
With this one, we really wanted it to be just organic and raw, and I think the best example of that would probably be “Drift” or “Pressure.” I feel like those really captured that “live” sound.
ML: Who were some of your primary musical influences when writing and composing this EP?
WB: Kings Of Leon has been a huge influence on us for a long time. That’s been one of Nick [Garguilo, our vocalist and guitarist] and I’s favorite bands since high school.
We were also looking at a lot of three-pieces like Red Hot Chili Peppers, even old-school stuff like The Police… a lot of British indie-rock as well, like Catfish and the Bottlemen and Foals. We love a lot of music, so we kind of just try to make music that’s everything we like, just all in one.
ML: What else do you have planned in support of this release, what are you currently working on now, and what can people expect from you next?
WB: We actually have a live video coming out! We recorded everything in a studio to tape for our song “Pressure” and did a video while we were there.
That should be coming out within the next month or so. We’ve been writing a ton of songs, we have a lot in store, and hopefully, we’ll have some singles out later in the year, or maybe even a full album!
Thank you so much to Will Beasley from Wild Truth for taking the time to chat with us! You can support Wild Truth by following them on Twitter @WildTruthBand, and be sure to pick up something from their merch store!
The band’s entire discography, including “Drift,” is available on all streaming platforms. Let us know who you want us to interview next by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw!
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