Wild Wing at a Highland Park house show 02.04.2017 by Cool-Tite
LA’s Wild Wing releases it’s new record – Doomed II Repeat – today on Mock Records!
For those unfamiliar, Wild Wing are four dudes – David Gantz, Zach Miller, Theo Cohn, and Max Garland – who seem to have known each other for most all of their lives and have been playing music together for nearly as long. It was around 2014 that the four came together and Wild Wing got real. From there Wild Wing has pushed hard on what a band can do with a commitment to the DIY ethos: playing countless gigs, assisting in the release of records for themselves and their homies (i.e. The Paranoyds, SadGirl, and Greaser) via Hard Feelings Records, and teaching themselves how to self-record in their self-built studio. Yeowza!
Doomed II Repeat is a swift slap in the face. A heavy concept record about the inability of society to not repeat past failures. While the subject matter carries a lot of weight, the songs don’t come across as overly anxious like you may expect. Rather, you get very well conceived songs that flux between robotic trashcan rock a la A Frames on tracks like “Decimation,” to a cow punk stomp on “Turning Grey,” and then to a more garage twang in the final two tracks, “The Hole” and “Struck Out.”
We had the chance to have the band answer a few Q’s about the new record, and here’s what they had to say…
Seems like over the last few years y’all just started appearing on every great lineup – So who is Wild Wing? Where are you all from? And how did Wild Wing come about?
Wild Wing: We’ve just been working hard for years – you play a thousand shows, some of them are bound to be good. People are starting to smell what the wing is cooking.
How did the Wing come about? It’s hard to remember that far back…the date was April 29th, 1992 we were all in the Guitar Center in Nothridge,CA on the same day at the same time and all jamming on the same song – Panama by Van Halen (obviously). It was just divine providence and we all just synced up so well we knew we had to start a band. The rest, as they say, is history…
– What can you tell us about Doomed II Repeat? Any specific influences while making the record?
WW: We built a studio in the valley to record this album. We taught ourselves how to use the recording equipment and wrote the songs in the studio. We had this idea for the concept of the album and we wrote most of song titles first and then wrote the music to go with them.
These songs were influenced by a podcast called “Hardcore History” and our environment. And Rock. Also Roll.
– The cover art to Doomed II Repeat feels so eerie and ominous and seems to tie in with an overall theme across the record. Is there a bigger message you were looking to capture with this record?
WW: The cover of the album was illustrated by an awesome artist named Jackson Epstein. The cover just represents the concept of the album – an allegory of the decline and fall of Rome. It’s about human nature and the repetitive patterns of human societies.
– Mock records is releasing the new LP – how did you link up with them?
WW: We met Bert from Mock Records through our friend Misha who played in a band called Walter who had put out a 12” through Mock. We were on tour supporting the album and Bert reached out about putting it on wax – it was a no-brainer.
– Got any shows or tours coming up?
WW: We have a release show September 9th to celebrate the vinyl coming out. We got Pity Party, Traps PS, and Vaguess on the bill. It’s at a secret location so reach out to any of the bands on the bill for the address.
We’re back in our studio recording new music for our next album and we’ll have tours to follow.
All hail the wing, forever…
I was working my first customer service gig at that very Northridge Guitar Center in ’92. Customers had been mucking about as usual, but when these random dudes started riffing off each other, everyone knew something legendary was going down. No one dared disturb the creative apex of the jam session rocking through all of the departments, the person at my register even forgot to sign the receipt! When it was over, the crowd that had gathered roared in ape-esque tones, and the 4 dudes – now known only by their respective monikers Dach, Thatt, Matt, and Zach – literally ascended into the air, their bodies combining into a feathered, uniform being embalmed in a white light. The cheering was deafening until the all powerful screech of the WING silenced us all. Before we knew it, the four had formed a blood pact to continue to bless ear holes of humankind with the most glorious vibrations ever felt in rock and roll, and left the store to realize this ultimate goal.
It was the best day of my life