As you probably already know,Wayne Szaliniskihas won my heart with their full-length effort "Black Mirror" last year. Since the album's release they have gone through some changes, and now they are headed out on a whopper of a tour! I took a sec to chat with frontman Andy Milad, who doubles as one of my favorite people on earth!
ANDY: First off, thanks for takin' your time to ask us a few questions, I really appreciate it. Second, so glad you're into the record. That means so much comin' from friends I hope you know.
TOPH: Thank you for making such a gorgeous set of songs, man. We go back a lil' ways and it's always been so fun to be around you and the music you create :) So, tell me about this tour... Is this your longest one yet?
ANDY: Yep! This is going to be our longest tour to date. Super excited, I'm sure it'll be a blast.
TOPH: I fucking bet! And since you guys released black mirror(one of my absolute favorite things this past year), I know dudes like Nick Galli and Kurt Roy have moved/are moving away. So, how are you guys adjusting to that? (I really wanted Kurt to record my band so it hurts me, hopefully he can master/mix some stuff for me some day!)
ANDY: It's always a bummer to lose a band member. We've played with, I think, five bass players now... so we've learned to adapt pretty quickly. Drums are another issue entirely. When Nick left to go work at his dream-job, we were very sad. Nick had such a profound impact on the sound of the band through his playing-style, so it took us awhile to get back on track. We love Nick, we miss him, but we're also very happy for him. Check his Instagram, he's livin' lavish.
That being said, we're working with a fantastic new drummer now, Judson Branam. He's got a style all of his own and he's an incredibly positive force to work with. Jud's a really friendly guy and I'm super excited to be touring with him.
TOPH: Good to hear you found a good fit! However, I miss the hell out of Nick. Never got to ride bikes :( And I was broke when it first released, but is "Black Mirror" still available on vinyl?
ANDY: Black Mirror, our debut album, is definitely still available. We sold a bunch when it was released and got more pressed for this upcoming tour. If you can't catch us at a show, you can always get it online, here @ wayneszalinski.bandcamp.com
TOPH: DOPE! I'm snaggin' that shit ASAP! Now, what were your biggest influences on that record? (I mean both musically and "IRL")
ANDY: Black Mirror is our first full-length record, so it compiles a bunch of songs written over several years. In that time our influences were extremely varied, but I think the strongest were Jeff Buckley, The Smiths, and TTNG
TOPH: I can definitely see it. I'm gonna catch you at PJ's on May 7th, can I please sing with you? <3
ANDY: heck yea man, just get up there w/ me. :)
TOPH: Yesssss. You can count on it. See ya then buddy! Tell Andrew Adams I love him!
You can catch them on the kick-off, like I mentioned, at PJ's in detroit. Click here for the FB event, and peep the poster below for the full tour schedule! Dueces!