JOEY COOK, KYLE HANGER, JULIAN RUIZ AND RYAN FUSON OF HOLY WAVE
Your sixth studio album and a truly amazing piece of work yet there was a reckoning on sorts that had to be faced before the album could even be conceived. Almost walking away from music and the band, what were the conditions surrounding the dilemma to continue or abandon Holy Wave and conversely, what were the immutable bonds that kept you tethered not only to the band but to music as an artform?
Ryan : I think I was really the only one who was considering calling it quits as far as trying to be a professional musician. I think during the pandemic I had lost sight of the whole thing. It seemed like we might of lost live music and touring for good. So I was rethinking what I wanted to do with my future. We had just signed up on an Asian booking agency before the pandemic and we were gearing up to release Interloper and everything felt really good and then it just kinda all came crashing down. When I was probably at my lowest, a friend read my tarot cards and I got the five of cups card. It really kinda made me realize that I was only thinking of the worst possible scenario and that I had to really think things through before I made any real decisions. So as we always do, we started to write songs together again and it just felt perfect. I think I just decided that no matter what I gotta stay with these guys and we would figure it all out. At the end of the day we have all been more than band mates to each other for a long time and to get to play music together is just icing on the cake.
By throwing yourselves into making this record, can you elaborate on your mindset in terms of how different it was in comparison to your previous albums and how a blinkered and highly focused approach tapped into your creative well?
Julian: Our mindsets were definitely different in that a new beginning was kinda thematic. We had just started working with Suicide Squeeze and also felt like our music had evolved a bit from previous albums. It was the first time we wrote and recorded as a four-piece so bass duties were kinda shared among us. In general, things just felt like they were looking up for the first time in a while and we really wanted to latch onto that, like the clouds were finally parting after a while.
On a technical level can you share with us the instruments and fx that you used across the record which gave it its unique touch but also was in keeping with your signature sound?
Ryan: We normally like to use the things that we are going to use live so it’s easier to transition to playing these songs live but saying that we definitely also added a bunch of new things. We really wanted to only use analog synths and keys on this one so we stuck to a prophet 5, a Juno 60, a Yamaha cs10 , s Yamaha sk-10, and a Hohner string performer. We used a Teisco Teischord for a lot of the organ stuff and we used a Rhodes, Yamaha cp80 for the pianos. We had originally gone in with our Tascam 388 to use on the drums but the day we started recording drums it stopped working. We had just spent a whole day getting it all ready. Other than that, we used our guitars and bass and our drum kit, all the stuff we use live.
What themes would you say consistently run throughout the record and in what ways did you attempt to capture and distil them across the nine tracks on Five of Cups?
Kyle: I’d say there is a theme of reverence that permeates all the songs. Some songs may be more symbolic/story-like and others may be more personal experiences/emotions, but I think we tried to respect each topic brought forward and view them as something we could embrace as a whole. It does a great deal for the feeling of a song if everyone in the songwriting process cares deeply for the theme. There are definitely moments of levity and humor, but I think we tried to place these songs and topics in a more reverential realm than we have on previous records.
There is an honesty and purity of thought in your lyricism. ‘Nothing In The Dark’ is a prime example and of the track you explained it by saying "Nothing in the Dark is about how easy it is to let fear take over and control what you do and don’t do, how distractions can keep you from the things you want or disguise themselves as what you want. But when the light disappears from your life, like shadows, the distractions fade away, and you’re left with just yourself and the darkness. So I guess the song is about moving past the fear of the shadows; you can see in the light so that you don’t end up sitting alone in the dark." Specifically, what were you referring to in this track and musically what approach did you take that you thought would best capture its essential meaning?
Joey: ‘Nothing in the Dark’, more specifically, is about a time in my life that I was struggling to be mentally healthy. The things that I thought were vital to my survival were all suddenly gone, and I didn’t see the possibility of being happy again or the value in living life without the things I had lost. Obviously, none of that shit was important at all. I changed my focus back to sex drugs and rock n roll, and everything has been much better ever since.
Of exceptional note, tracks including ‘Hypervigilance’, ‘The Darkest Timeline’, and ‘Happier’ are musical perfection with the dynamic of the group in harmonious unity. Stylistically, was there a certain something that you were striving for in these tracks and were they an instant connection within the band or tracks that took a great deal of time to flesh out?
Ryan: It’s hard to know exactly what separates some songs from others because we, I believe, genuinely try and give each song the same TLC but I think it’s one of those things where maybe some songs are easier to grasp as a whole. These songs really came together as a whole, specifically “The Darkest Timeline” that song we wrote all together with our friend Dillion Fernandez who was playing bass with us at the time. We started just working on the main riff and it happened really organically. Once we had the music we passed it along to our friends in Lorelle Meets The Obsolete and they literally sent us their parts in a day or two. I think the song is just a really inviting song. ‘Hypervigilance’ was a little riff I was working on for a couple of weeks mainly just the chords and lyrics and as soon as I showed it to the band we had a song within a couple hours. Everyone just kind of knew exactly what it needed. It kind of revealed itself to us as a whole. ‘Happier’ in contrast was a slow burner. Julian wrote the two main riffs and I was actually playing drums on it originally singing it. They were at the time two different songs and right before we went into the studio we joined them together and it just felt perfect. We didn’t have any idea what to do on the end so we sent it to Estrella and she went off and sent this vocal masterpiece to us a week later.
In some ways, is this a record you couldn’t have only made up until now? That is to say, given your previous works, experiences, maturity, and life journey, that it truly embodies where you are all at emotionally, spiritually, and musically in 2023?
Julian: Absolutely. Just like most people, there’s aspects of ourselves that are constantly evolving. We’re always getting into new music and trying to discover new stuff, that inevitably has somewhat of an effect on our taste and perception. This record feels so different, but I know that it also sounds like a Holy Wave record in a way I can’t really describe. I think it’s safe to say that we all feel a bit more mature in general in life and as songwriters. We are constantly trying to do things we didn’t quite nail on previous albums and trying to push boundaries that we know we will have to perfect on future albums.
Having worked with so many amazing artists over the years, during that time have any words of wisdom been spoken to you that really resonated with you and in turn altered the way you approach your craft?
Kyle: Our good friend Lorena from Lorelle Meets the Obsolete once told us that she often uses a song as a prayer. Almost like a spell or an incantation, each song represents an opportunity to manifest hopes, dreams, desires, curses, etc. It’s something that’s helped make us aware of the power that can be wielded as an artist. Not only is this helpful in the creative process, but it’s a reminder to realize the impact and influence that a piece of art can have. It’s not something to be taken lightly, and we have a responsibility to use this power wisely.
Ryan: One other experience I wanted to add was a conversation we had with Jason Pierce in France. It was after Levitation France and we were fortunate enough to run into him after their show and as we were all leaving the fest he kinda just told us to really embrace these times on the road because it’s where a musician reaches his fullest potential. Playing shows every night makes you the best version of yourself, it’s tough and it’s hard but it makes you strong and capable of anything you encounter on the road and stage. He went as far as to say it’s even more beneficial than recording. His words were definitely sweet that night, as we were all knee deep into tour and needing such words.
Currently on tour across North America and Europe, can you share with us a performance during your career that really stands out as being particularly special and the reasons why it was so memorable?
Ryan: This is a tough one because we have been fortunate enough to play many wonderful shows in many wonderful places with many wonderful people and bands but the first one that comes to mind is a show we played in Lille France in 2016. The show itself wasn’t really too unusual (besides the fact that it was on a boat) but the thing that sticks out to me is the turn it took. We had had a really long drive the day of the show and we were all pretty tired and starting to kinda feel the tour at that point and also still not quite in sync with each other, the way you eventually become on tour. I remember we had started off a bit sloppy and were struggling to connect with the audience, I think we had probably had a beverage or two too much, maybe trying to grease the wheels with a little too much effort, and I think there was starting to be a little bit of tension growing between us because we couldn’t figure it out. The whole set pretty much went this way, we still kept trying though, what else can you do? I remember starting the last song a little defeated but still ready to try and give it my all, we were playing Buddhist Pete and it was actually going pretty well I could feel the audience starting to really latch on to this one and I remember at one point before a change in the song I looked at everyone and I could tell we just clicked, it had finally happened, I couldn’t explain how much it meant at that moment and it’s like as soon as we did I could feel the crowd right there with us, like they had been patiently waiting for us to make it work and as soon as we did we all just let it out and really went for it for that last song. It was really special; it changed the rest of that tour for me. It was beautiful to realize how the audience was there to help us along the whole time and they were routing for us lifting us the whole way and how much they also wanted us to connect and experience the beauty of a show with them.
