Tuesday, April 22, 2008

The Wahas



TEETH interviewed The Wahas about all things that are good. Here’s what the interview evolved into…

The Wahas became a band “about two years ago, in a car park”, a story kind of hard to grasp considering they’ve played as a support band for The Horrors on their Australian tour and have played at some of Sydney’s finest venues such as the Oxford Art Factory and the Gaelic Theatre and alongside Australia’s favourite new bands, including Ghostwood and Mercy Arms.

The Wahas hail from Sydney’s North Shore and have an average age of seventeen. They list everyone from The Birthday Party to The Pop Group to Gallows (to Kochie) as influences. And they make very good music.

The Wahas are...

Cass (tambourine, vocals) / Jack (bass, vocals) / Rupert (guitars, vocals)
Tom (guitars) / Xavier (drums)

Their debut EP ‘We Love The Wahas’ was released a little while ago and features some very good cover art. It is a very impressive EP, with lyrics by Rupert standing out, on ‘Collide’ especially. ‘Dodge City Showdown’ lasts almost seven minutes, with haunting vocals, deep drums in the background and a sound reminiscent of The Velvet Underground (think ‘Heroin’). The video clip of the single ‘New Suit’ featured on Rage!

However, the sound of The Wahas nowadays is very different to what is heard on the EP. When asked why they don’t play many songs off the EP anymore, they say it’s a mixture of being sick of playing them and trying to step away from that sound. The new songs are certainly a leap forward, with a variety of sounds and styles, but all with a distinct Wahas feel. They range from the fun of ‘Chorus Girl’, all tambourines and “la la la la la la” making it impossible to resist dancing, to the eerie Horrors feel of ‘Anne Frankenstein’, to the shrieking vocals by Jack on ‘Mother in Drag’. Whether a new release is in store is a secret, but considering the amount of amazing new material they’ve put together, it’s hard to imagine a new EP, or perhaps even an album, is too far away.

The Wahas say their best gig so far has been playing with The Horrors and the worst a gig at a skate park which didn’t go down well with the skaters (who pulled the plug on their instruments a few times). The ingredients for a good Wahas gig are “Red Bull, cigarettes, instruments, a crowd and a venue”. Something must have been missing at the skate park…

The dark side of The Wahas features people living in fridges, having strange sexual fetishes and Vegemite beards and can be seen on YouTube – check out “What Would You Do?”.



And now for the remainder of the questions which could not be cleverly incorporated into this article…

TEETH: What would you do if TEETH lived in your fridge?
The Wahas: Sue them for copyright infringement.
(Refer to “What Would You Do?” episode 6)

TEETH: Which members of The Horrors are your favourite?
The Wahas: The ones with the tight jeans.

TEETH: How do you handle being in school and having a music career at the same time?
The Wahas: Well.

TEETH: The Beatles or Elvis?
The Wahas: The Kinks.

TEETH: Do you believe in the tooth fairy?
The Wahas: We regret not keeping our teeth.

TEETH: What are your favourite Sydney bands?
The Wahas: The FolloW, Ghostwood, Bridezilla, Snout Cassette, The Stukas, Wifepunch.

TEETH: Which is superior – toothpaste or hairspray?
The Wahas: Hairpaste.

TEETH: Which bands would you love to play with in the future?
The Wahas: James Chance and The Contortions on Sunrise.

TEETH: Have you made any plans for life after school that don't include music? Eg. uni, nine to five, joining a cult?
The Wahas: Going on Sunrise.



The very best of luck to The Wahas with the Sunrise gig and with other music stuff too.

A big thank you to The Wahas for their TEETH support, interview answers which made us laugh and putting up with the rain during the photo-shoot, and to their lovely manager Natalie for making the interview and photo-shoot happen.

For more Wahas goodness, visit their MySpace or website.
To see all the photos from the shoot, visit the set by ANNIE LY.

No comments: