A Wilhelm Scream are about to make their return to Australia next week, and the shows are just about filled.
A couple of sold out signs, with others on track to follow before it all begins. Re-cap all the details below.
This week in The Hotseat, we have Brian from the band answering out questions.
LISTEN
THE BASICS
Name : Brian J. RobinsonBand : A Wilhelm Scream
Job In Band : Bassist / Backing Vocals
Website Address : www.awilhelmscream.com
HOME
Hometown : Oakville, Ontario – Oakville is based in the monotonous, gentrified suburbs just outside of Toronto.Hometown is best known for : Cookie-cutter houses, high-schools that look like malls, over-sized SUV’s, and it’s the home of the PGA Canadian Open (golf). It’s a haven for Toronto executives that *do cocaine and go to “key” parties on the weekends. (*I’ve never confirmed that, I’ve just always assumed that thing that happens in the seedy underbelly of suburban Ontario). On a lighter note, growing up there? I was immersed in an incredible suburban punk rock/hardcore scene that was known as the “905”, with bands like Grade, Moneen, Alexisonfire, Silverstein, Boys Night Out, etc.
Best venue in your hometown : Oakville only had small halls and community centres when I was growing up, but my friends and I were a $5 train ride to Toronto where we’d see all bigger shows come through. There’s a venue on Queen St. in East Toronto called “The Opera House” (not justsaying that to please you Aussies!) – ask any band from North America about The Opera House in Toronto and most of them will tell you it’s one of the best-sounding, well-staffed venues that still exists.
Favourite show you’ve seen in your hometown : Tough-ass question. All in one month in 1997, I saw two shows at The Opera House: Less Than Jake/ALL/The Ataris (w. Derek Plourde on drums) and Lagwagon/Snuff… and later that month snuck into Voodoo Glow Skulls at the El Mocambo (tiny, very historic venue on Spadina in Toronto). All of that in ONE month?! Incredible.
Favourite show you’ve played in your hometown : My first full US/Canada tour with AWS was back in 2006 with Lagwagon and The Lawrence Arms… first off? I was blown away that things were going so well with my just joining the band – secondly? To tour with two of my two favourite bands was almost surreal to me. When we got to Toronto on the tour – I bugged Jesse Buglione if I could play “Give It Back” on bass… as it was my favourite Lagwagon at the time. He asked me if I was sure I could play it – and I had a small jolt of confidence at the moment saying “FUCK YEAH DUDE”… (I’d been playing that song on bass since I first heard it as a teenager). AWS did our set, and we fucking played our butts off… and when it came time for the Lagwagon set, Jesse told me “you’re up for give it back in the set” – I went on played it as close to perfect as I could and was hugged by the AWS and Lagwagon guys afterwards… It’s one of the most cherished moments in my life.
THE BAND
How did the band first come to exist? Trevor, Nuno and Nick have been playing music together since they were in High School down in New Bedford, Massachusetts, about 700 years ago (HA!) – Believe it or not, our guitarist, Trevor was the original drummer of the early incarnations of the band, “Koen” – Nick joined Trev and Nuno after Trevor wanted to make the switch to guitar – that ensemble ended up being the precursor to AWS, “Smackin’ Isaiah”.How long has the band been going? If you do the math of all the phases of the band, it’s been about 15 years now (I’m in my 9th year of being in the band – where does the time go? GAH).
Any particular story behind the name? Ah – this old chestnut! The name is a reference to a movie shot in the 1950’s called “Distant Drums” with a guy named “Wilhelm” being eaten by a crocodile, and has been sampled in thousands of movies that all have you have seen. If you don’t know it – it’s there… look it up. I dare you.
What’s your most recent release? Tell us a little about it… At the ass-end of 2013 we finished up recording our last full length “Partycrasher” – It was the outcome of a lot of practicing, progressing, coffee, education, frustration, enlightenment, laughs, coffee, marijuana, beer, burritos, and coffee. (And I’m only even speaking on behalf of Trevor Reilly, here). It was the first big project that Trevor and Mike [Supina] spearheaded in evolving the studio to sound as close to our previous recordings at the Blasting Room in Colorado. I think they kicked ass at it – I might be jaded, but I think as far as bandmates go? Those are my two favourite people to record with.
Got a personal stand out achievement of your band to date? I think for me, it’s a bit a bizarre disasterous story. We were in Bilbao, Spain – had a great set… and we were going to end the tour off with our first show ever in Portugal. (As a quick prologue, our singer Nuno is 2nd generation Portuguese, and with the guys growing up in New Bedford, being surrounded by the Portuguese culture in America, I know it was an important/cool experience for them all). Anyway – we had to do an overnight drive to get from Northern Spain to Lisbon in some of the worst torrential downpour I’ve ever experienced. It the midst of us trying to ignore the weather by watching “Prison Break” (which in itself is horrible), we didn’t just blow a tire – we lost an entire wheel… to the point of the rotor scraping the pavement and sparks were flying up the side of the van. We thought we were gonna flip, all grabbing onto each other’s arms. Luckily our driver got us off the side of the road, threw on his neon vest and went looking for our (fucking…) wheel. With no luck on the wheel, we managed to flag down a tow-truck and have them tow us back to Bilbao, where we occupied the lobby of a hotel (that we couldn’t afford) to try and figure out how to get to Lisbon. Nuno was the only one of us that was even minutely versed in Spanish – him and our manager Ray struggled to find ANY flight to Portugal, but after a few hours of deliberation, we finagled our way onto a TINY little TAP Airline flight (10-passenger plane)… got to the show right in time for our set and played an incredible show for kids that were so ecstatic to see us. I always look back on that knowing that I’m in a band full of great people who can perservere in lieu of utter disaster.
OFF THE STAGE
What was your first introduction to music that made you think seriously about playing it? Even though I had started taking lessons at the age of 12, I think my major introduction into really feeling passionate about music was when I got to high school. I had an incredible music teacher that pushed me into learning upright bass, and beginning to appreciate and perform in various Jazz combos and Orchestral groups. Learning to play other genres of music and take it back to the punk rock bands I played in when I was young made me love both performing and enjoying music altogether.Any particular band / album or song that you personally credit as a major influence? With regards to Punk Rock – without a doubt, “Everything Sucks” by Descendents. To me, when you’re just starting out in a band, but you and all members agree “YEAH – let’s try and get GOOD at doing this” – you want to find the artists that are doing things that you haven’t fully grasped yet. Karl Alvarez’s basslines on that record are phenomenal, for me – playing bass as a finger-player, you cannot find a better way to learn bass than going through that record. In terms of other genres – If you happen to ever stumble upon a Jazz bassist named “Rufus Reid” – and his solo album “The Perpetual Stroll”… buy it, and then get it over to me, I can’t seem to find my copy, it’s an incredible record. I’ll pay some solid “loonies” for it. Lastly, Billy Sheehan is a corny motherfucker, but holy crap can he play… youtube any of his live solos and tell me that guy sucks at bass. I absolutely fucking dare you.
Your first band name, and what style did you play? I played in a skate punk band called Jerk Circus, with my best friends Andy (who currently plays in The Fullblast with me), and Shane (who is currently the singer for Silverstein – funny, right?!)… we started that band when we were 13, going through every Fat Wreck record we could get our hands on, and eventually getting good, y’know towards the end. I think Shane put all that stuff on youtube as well – check it out, it’s kind of a trip when I go back and listen to it.
Most prized music related item you own? Easily my old black Ernie Ball Music Man Sting Ray bass – I’ve officially retired her after 17 years of destruction. It was the 2nd bass I bought from my (first) shitty factory job I worked at when I was a teenager.
When you’re not doing band related stuff, what are you usually found doing? Shitty factory jobs like the ones I worked when I was a teenager.
The thing you most look forward to just before a tour is… Not working shitty factory jobs like the ones I worked when I was a teenager.
The thing you least look forward to before a tour is… I don’t care how lame this is – saying goodbye to my cat. She knows too. It fucking sucks.
WATCH
ON THE STAGE
When on offer, what’s your one must have item on the rider? If I can get a new pair of socks, that’s awesome. We always ask and have only got them twice. Nothing – NOTHING beats a fresh pair of socks when you’re on tour.Favourite place you’ve toured… and why? Australia is a favourite for our entire band. I think the beauty of it all is that we have flown to the other side of the map to experience such beautiful places, wonderful people, and incredible shows. It sounds like I’m throwing out a bullshit answer to please you, the reader, but I am 100% serious. If you want me to elaborate, you have Lord of the Fries… there you go, jerks!
Most memorable show you’ve played? and why? I think I already covered this with the Lagwagon show (this happens in every goddamned interview I do, and it’s completely my fault), so I’ll regale you with my *least-memorable show I’ve ever played. Before A Wilhelm Scream, I played in a band from Oakville/Mississauga called The Fullblast. On one of our numerous cross-Canadian tours we did, we booked a show in the little-known town Altona, Manitoba. I remember showing up, shaking the hand of the promoter, loading in, and then next thing I (still to this day) remember is waking up in the hospital the next morning with a splitting headache and some gnarly bruises on my body. No, I didn’t overdose on heroin, or pick a fight with a bouncer, or drink myself stupid – Half-way through the Fullblast set I apparently had gotten up on a monitor that I thought was secured, it slipped out from under me and I fell off a very high stage and landed on the top of my head. Apparently that’s the part of the skull that, when impacted hard upon – can result in temporary amnesia! So there you go, the least-memorable show I ever played. Get it? Because I did something stupid that could have permanently damaged my brain? Reign in your pity, kids – I’m a fucking idiot.
Got a favourite song to play live? “Me Vs. Morrissey” – because it’s a fucking barn-burner. Need I say more?
Any embarrassing on stage moments come to mind? See? Here’s that thing of me jumping the gun again. Luckily, I’ve embarrassed myself countless times both on and off stage. Here’s another good gem. We were headlining the Pannonian Challenge BMX festival in Osijek, Croatia… those Croatians are very, very “aggressive-hosts” when it comes to drinking. We were all pretty fired up by the time it came to hit the stage… and we going for it hard… I got up front on a subwoofer during our song “Jaws 3, People 0”… and I did not notice and stepped where there was no subwoofer and basically disappeared like that blonde lady at the end of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – I was completely in the dark and still playing the song when a security guard picked me up and launched me back on stage like a piece of luggage being thrown onto a conveyor belt only to see the sheer confusion from the rest of my band “Where the fuck did you go?!” – I banged my shin so badly that I have a scar/gash on it that looks eerily like a vagina. No joke. It’s still like that.
Any pre-show rituals? I can get some pretty severe anxiety before going on stage – so I’ve found that 2 beers is just perfect for me.
What do you find is the hardest aspect of touring in a band today? Nowadays, getting 8 hours of sleep on any tour just seems damn-near impossible. Van/bus-sleep is more like lightless meditation as opposed to actual rest. It sucks. Oh – and gas station coffee. The worst. The WORST.
RIGHT NOW
Last song you listened to? ‘I’m So Happy I Could Cry Myself to Sleep…’ by The FalconLast album you picked up? David Bazan – ‘Strange Negotiations’
Which band or album is currently on high rotation? Sloan – ‘A Sides Win’
Tell us an up and coming band or artist you think we should go and listen to right now? Single Mothers’ newest record “Negative Qualities” is fucking awesome.
What’s on the cards for the next few months for the band? We have a few shows in California with Good Riddance before we head to Australia, Punk Rock Bowling in Vegas, and then Nuno’s getting married! That’s pretty much all we have locked down for the time being!
IF ONLY…
You can pick any one album for your band to cover in full, what would it be and why? Ludacris’ – “Word of Mouf” … basically because it’d be hilarious.You can pick any one band / artist to cover one of your albums in full, what would it be, and why? Iron Maiden doing “Ruiner” – because it’d be hilarious.
One band you wish you were able to see live but never had the chance? Rich Kids on LSD
One venue you have yet to play that you would love to? OH, EASILY the Air Canada Centre singing the Canadian National Anthem for a Toronto Maple Leafs game… mainly because no matter how badly I sang it, it’d be a far better performance than the Leafs’ would put on. (Hockey humour!)
The chance comes up to fill in for a member of a band for one tour, which band would it be, and why? I filled in for Pete from Streetlight Manifesto, that was really awesome/different experience… but it’d be incredible to play bass for Muse – their bassist has some fun basslines… and one… only one cross-Canada tour playing bass for Nickelback, and only for the paycheck…
A headline tour overseas comes up, tell us two bands you’d take along to support your band. 1. Actionmen from Italy – Youtube their video for “Querla” (I think that’s the name) and have your mind blown. 2. Astpai from Austria – silly wonder dudes… even though they smell fucking terrible.
PLUG TIME
Got any final words? NICK ANGELINI, DRUMMER OF A WILHELM SCREAM BUILDS BITCHIN’ FUCK-OFF SNARE DRUMS.WAIL CITY DRUMS.
YOU PLAY DRUMS?
PLAY WAIL CITY DRUMS.
TOUR DATES
A WILHELM SCREAM
APRIL
25th – Riot @ Enigma Bar, Adelaide [18+] w/ Dead Joe and The Lizards. Tix at the door.
26th – Crowbar, Brisbane [18+] w/ Anchors, Friends With The Enemy. Tix from oztix.com.au
27th – Newtown Social Club, Newtown [18+] w/ Anchors, Totally Unicorn. SOLD OUT
29th – Newtown Social Club, Newtown [18+] w/ Anchors, Nerdlinger. Tix from newtownsocialclub.com & oztix.com.au
30th – Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy [18+] w/ Anchors, Tigers. Tix from oztix.com.au
MAY
1st – Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy [18+] w/ Anchors, Postscript. SOLD OUT
2nd – Brisbane Hotel, Hobart [18+] w/ Knife Hands, Speech Patterns. Tix from oztix.com.au
—> Tickets available now.
—> For more information, visit [Here].
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