ARCHIVES
WRECKED:
Interview and Photos by Mario Salazar.
As we all know and have seen throughout time, changes are a part of life. This is particularly true when it comes to bands and their inner relationships. It's rare to see a lineup remain intact for a period of time regardless of talent or potential. One of these acts is the NW 'burbs-based Wrecked who burst out in the scene in 2008 and as it was starting to create a buzz, internal conflicts changed its course. It has remained relatively quiet until now, when a new lineup, new music and new attitude are ready to reclaim that buzz. I recently had the opportunity to chat with Jeff Kylloe and Tony Faflik for an exclusive interview. Here's what they had to say.
JK: Yeah, it is a lot different. The original way I was writing, with the old singer was more higher agressive range, reminiscent of Badlands, not as vocal as him but with a higher pitch thing. So we were shooting for a 70s riff rock, heavier than Buckcherry in that vein. The thing was the we wanted to do that musically but we had a darker message in the music, which I think creatively is where it started to separate because if you're doing that kind of music, you can't have that dark influence vocally. It should be about partying and chicks. That's just that kind of music, whereas the new Wrecked is written out of anger and depression which me and Tony write better when we're pissed off (laughs). That's my funnel for my anger and I put it into my music. The new stuff instead of it being riffy with bass grooves underneath it, is now heavy, more guitar oriented, y'know, punchy, in-your-face guitar. It's a huge difference and I'm much happier with it. Talking with some of the industry contacts I have, that's more of the direction they wanted to see us in and that's what I'm trying to give them.
Chicago's Rock: Give me a brief history of the band for those who are not familiar with you.
WRECKED 2010
New Blood. New Life.
Jeff Kylloe: Well, the band first started in 2005. I had my friend Mike McCarron who has a recording studio, help me out with drums & doing some production. I also had Tony at that time and we wrote some songs. Tony had some personal things going on and had to take a break from music for a while. Shortly after that I was talking to Dave Shankle [of DSG] and was offered the gig to do that, so I worked with him writing, recording the 'Hellborn' album and getting ready for a tour in Germany. After that was done, I decided to put Wrecked back together, but Tony had already joined another band called Voodoo Head.
Tony Faflik: That band actually didn't last very long. By that time I was actually in the band Selfless.
JK: So then, it was 2008 and I decided to put it back together with the ex-singer for DSG & some other people I knew. Spent 2 years writing a new record, but creative differences completely managed to tear apart the whole core of the band and anything you could possibly imagine creatively and negative went on. So when I came back from the 2010 NAMM show, where I was shopping out the recordings we did, there was a lot of positive and a lot of negative [regarding the band] so at that point, I decided to walk away from those guys. I called Tony near the end of January and as it turned out he was no longer with his other band. We got together and it just went really good. On the 1st night we wrote 3 songs. There was no friction. We have a lot of the same likes and dislikes as far as music. I can write a rhythm and a melody in my head and it's not me singing it, it's him singing it. I think it's pretty special when you have a situation like that. So here we are, near the end of 2010 & we have 9 songs written. We have 7 polished or as polished as you can get with a relatively new lineup. We've been a complete lineup for about 4 months now, we've been rehearsing and we've booked about 3 shows. Our 1st show is Sept. 4th @ the Gasthaus on what we'd like to call 'The Wheels Are Coming Off' Tour. It's only one show -the cherry poppin' show (laughs). My guitarist Paul Kowalik, is playing rhythm guitar in the band, which is like a really awesome thing to have. He's young and wants the experience. It's so cool to have a kid that I can say "hey man try this rhythm over that rhythm" and we're able to do some really cool things like that. So for him, it's really cool to do this.
New Blood. New Life.
CR: So besides yourself, Tony and Paul, who else is in the band?
JK: We've got Dave Rosen on bass. He's a 20-year friend and was in one the bigger bands I was in back in the early 90s, Barricade. He played guitar and bass in that band, y'know switching back and forth as we could never find a dedicated rhythm guitar player or bass player so he carried out both roles. But he's been a friend forever and is nice having him on board. We also have Billy Rios on drums. We call him Timex because he's 'in-the-pocket' a 100% of the time (laughs). He's been a staple in the scene having played in numerous cover bands. I originally met him thru a guy named Jeff Wonderlick who I was writing with at the time, so that's basically where I got Billy.
Jeff Kylloe - Guitars
Dave Rosen - Bass
Paul Kowalik - Guitars
Billy Rios - Drums
Tony Faflik - Vocals
CR: So you not only have a new lineup, but your sound is now somewhat different. Care to elaborate on that?
On Sept. 24th, we're at Fontana Blu in West Chicago and then October 16th at PRP in Barrington. We're working with Jay Walsh at Fairview Recording Studios and Mike McCarron at Octagon Studios. They're helping us with pre-production. We're hoping to play the songs out live and get crowd feedback on them before we actually record them. That's pretty much the history and that's where it sits.
CR: The lyrical content is dark and angry. You mentioned that the new material is written out of anger & depression. Are these lyrics written or based on that general theme or are they based on any particular personal experiences?
JK: To be honest with you, a lot of what's going on with those lyrics is based on what happened with the last version of the band. I spent 2 years writing a record and then to have to start over, you end up feeling pretty angry. Then my life hasn't been easy, I work just like anyone else does and you end working for boss after boss after boss so you write song after song after song, plus, y'know the world isn't right at the moment. It's basically angry. The economy blows, so much of that going on so both Tony and I write lyrics so we try to write in certain metaphors so the song means something to anyone that listens versus just point blank here is the story. We actually try to write a storyline and take it somewhere. Definitely gives us cool ideas for videos.
TF: We're definitely stoked about all of that and the possibilities ahead with video.
CR: So when do you expect to have either a demo completed or subsequent album released?
JK: We're working on a demo right now which we hope to have done by the Sept. 24th show. It should have the songs 'Selfish' and 'Broken'. Then we are going to record a 3rd song which will be used on a video. We hope to have that done within the next 3 weeks or so. I'm really trying to not rush on things as it will be a demo that will be given away at shows. I'm a firm believer you have to put something in people's hands and say 'hey, check this out' and if they like it they'll come by see you and buy your record.
CR: What about an actual full-length album?
JK: I'm hoping to have that ready by the middle of 2011. Maybe even sooner. I guess it all depends on how things go. I want to see what the crowds think and their reactions to the new songs. We're not against working with a producer. I have actually spoken to a couple and might end up doing that depending on what the crowds think of what we're delivering live. I'm just waiting to see how all of that plays out, especially with these first few shows and then we'll make a decision on things.
CR: This may be a bit of putting the cart ahead of the horse, but, what kind of plans or hopes do you have beyond the release of an album?
JK: Everyone in the band is in a position that if we can get paid to go on tour, we are going on tour. None of us want to work a day gig (ie. job). Everyone in the band wants to do this for a living. I've got a lot of contacts in the industry that I'll be shopping this record to and we're hoping that we can land some tour spot and if the record does well enough, I don't see any reason why we couldn't be out there touring. So that's the plan for right now.
CR: Any parting words or thoughts?
TF: I just want to add what Jeff has said in that this band is first and foremost a brotherhood. We came together and this is something that we had talked about as we had both come from situations where it was all really difficult. The band is a brotherhood, everyone can bounce ideas off each other, there's never any negativity when we rehearse or write tunes together. It's always positive and we're laughing together and having a good time. It's what we're about. We don't care to impress anyone. All we want to do is share the music that we love to write and perform as Wrecked. We hope it comes across in that manner and that our stage show and performance shows that. Hopefully everyone will pick up on that vibe and have a good time as well, with us. That's what it's about. Doing something you love, 'cause as you know not everyone is blessed to have the opportunity to do something like this. Again, that's what we're about and it's a great time.
JK: Yeah, it's really like y'know there are a lot of guitar player/singer combinations over the years that have been like brothers and we've gotten to experience writing that way with Tony and the entire band. It's such a cool feeling when you say "man, I've got this idea" and the all of a sudden "...yeah I got this idea to go with your idea" and everyone just pushes that whole thing.....
TF: It just makes everything come together so much faster. There's points where we're just riffing over each other and Paul comes in with a riff or something that'll make a part better or we'll stop because Billy had a drum line idea so we run thru a chorus a few times and try it out. Everyone is open to ideas because we all know this is not a one-man operation. It's an entire band influence. There are so many different genres of music that come in, everyone's got bands that they love but we all come together as a whole and it makes things so much easier and fun as opposed to the other scenario where you're not having fun at practice and everything is hard.
JK: I think everyone needs to come out and 'Wreck' a bar with us! (laughs).
TF: Yeah, I think everyone needs to experience Wreck 'N' Roll because it's going to be a great time and you'll enjoy it. If people enjoy it as much as we enjoy writing and playing it, I don't see how this couldn't be a great time. I can't wait.
That concludes our interview. For additonal information on Wrecked, upcoming shows and/or other relevant news, visit them online at www.myspace.com/wreckedmusic
All Photography by: