AN INTERVIEW WITH WAX AGE - 21/04/2016

WAX AGE - photo credit to Handwritten Photography
From left to right - James, Luke, Chris and Dan.

WAX AGE are a four-piece band from the suburbs of Epsom.

The band who formed back in the Spring of 2015 consists of Luke Giles (vocals and guitar), Dan Sampayo (guitar), James Throp (bass) and Chris Syder (drums).

Since 2016 commenced the band have been rather busy with the release of their single 'If You See Me Standing There, Don't' as well as doing multiple local gigs as well as a few in London.

It is hoped that in the next few months that they shall have some more songs recorded and released.

I was able to get in interview with the band!

Firstly, how did you all meet each other?

Three of us were all good friends in school and we always talked about forming a band. Luke knew Dan through his sister and it just so happened Dan was dying to play for us.

Where did the name Wax Age come?

Before Wax Age, we were called Koala Klap and it was a genuine struggle to come up with anything else for a while. Then James suggested Wax Age and it just stuck. We try and say there is a deeper meaning behind but it is what it is. Maybe we're currently living in a plastic age and we are about to delve into a "wax age"? Who knows?

At present what would you describe your genre to be?

'Easy, breezy slacker indie rock' 

When did you guys start to realise music was something you wanted to pursue? Was there something which triggered this?

Luke: ' I've always liked music and it just seemed like the right thing and I can't really do much else aside from music."

James: "Probably when I listened to Franz Ferdinand's first album on my CD Walkman when I was around 9. Think it made me pick up a guitar."

Dan: “After I saw Marty McFly playing Johnny B. Goode on Back to the future"

Chris: "Was always interested in percussion. I was hitting pots and pans as a young child and eventually got lessons at the age of 6. Maybe I was just born to be the drummer of Wax Age. It was fate.

Did you play instruments before the idea of the band came about?

We've all been playing our instruments for ages and have been in bands previous to Wax Age. However, I think we can all say that we are having much more fun being in Wax Age, probably due to our similar interests in terms of music. I think we're all on the same wave length when it comes to how want to sound when we record. 

Boys in the band - photo credit to Handwritten Photography
From left to right - Chris, James, Dan and Luke

Who would you say the biggest influences for your band are? Are these influences people in which you grew up listening to or did you find them later in life?

Luke: Blur - "I only starting listening to blur religiously after magic whip but I grew up on the classics, The Beatles, Pink Floyd and rolling Stones etc"

James: Pavement with a tinge of Television - “Television was one of the many bands that my Dad force fed me when I was growing up and I am forever thankful. I'll never forget my first listen of Marquee Moon. 10 minutes of punk gold"

Dan: The Smiths, Real Estate and Mac DeMarco – “I grew up listening to soul music and then heard Oasis and have never looked back.”

Chris: The Cure – “I loved red hot chilli peppers from a young age and my Dad introduced me to Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, the cure, the Ramones etc.

So while reviewing your single I found out that you helped to plan the 'Epsom Music Scene' gig which you played, how did you find not just playing a gig but also helping plan it? Is this something you've done before or would be happy to do again? 

Our group of friends were all in bands and there wasn’t really a venue in our local area. The headline act and fellow comrades, Tsar Bomba and Luke managed to hire out a stable behind a pub, ‘The Albion.’ It ended up being a huge success and has gone down in Epsom’s history. We did another one in December, which also went well and we hope to do it again soon. “The Epsom Scene” has now transformed into a label named, ANKLE SWINGERS. We helped to create this label to promote music that all our friends are making in Epsom. Hopefully Epsom bands like Tsar Bomba will start getting deserved recognition through it.

In terms of this band what is something which you want to fulfil? 

Ultimately to keep on having fun with what we are doing. There’s no point if you’re not enjoying it.  Hopefully getting noticed a bit more and as a result playing bigger and better shows.

What can we expect from Wax Age in 2016?

Selling Out? James finally getting a job? Luke building a studio in his back garden? I think the main aim is to record and release a few more songs, as well as an EP in the summer. We want to be playing live much more regularly too, especially around London.

You can listen to the bands most recent release here:

Written by Sophie.