The Wonder Years Band • Page 16

Ha, way back when (09-11) Dan was in this thread quite often.

 

the steinbro made it!

 

yeah that's so wild that you aren't used to this haha, they used to post in the old WNDR thread all the time, even taking place in facebook groups we were in too

 

Random question, but does anyone know if the band's finished their record contract with Hopeless?

 

I swear there was an interview or article where they said NCTH fulfilled their current contract with Hopeless, but there was no indication whether they'd re-sign or move on.

 

Thank you, I distinctly remember there being an interview that mentioned that but couldn't find it for the life of me. In all honesty I kinda hope they go with another label next time around, Hopeless seems like a nice group of people but in my opinion they've been slipping a lot with marketing and release campaigns. Not sure what kind of label would be a good fit for these guys though besides maybe Epitaph.

 

No Closer to Heaven came out a year ago today

 

Time goes by so fast holy shit

 

Has there ever been any update about the 10 Year Anniversary shows & their recordings?

 

I feel like things like this don't turn out how they wanted and it's why you never hear of them again.

 

I'd love to hear what the band thinks of NCTH a year out. How do they feel about the production that everyone was so up in arms about?

 

I'm still very proud of the record. It's some of my favorite material we've written. With Michael living in Seattle, writing had to be broken up into chunks and that process needed to be adjusted to. I wish we had another week or two in rehearsal to work on the songs to before the studio. We made a few changes in pre-pro that maybe I wish we hadn't or we had worked on longer. It's difficult sometimes when you have 6 people offering input.

In regards to production, the core production done by Evetts is great. The raw tracks and tones are great. Very much what we wanted. The mix is where the issue is. We didn't have the budget to revisit it in time for the release date that Hopeless wanted. There were a few other people that we talked to about mixing but we would've been put on the backburner or they just didn't seem excited. Phil was very into the job, within our budget, and we liked that we could just go to the studio and dig in. We wanted a real sounding rock mix, which I feel is what we got, but another day or two of revisions would've made it better. It seriously sounded AWESOME in the control room. People acted like the mix was the worst thing in the world. We didn't necessarily want an ultra modern mix. Also, TGG took 50+ emails to get the mix to that point. It's not easy mixing our band because we're all assholes and play too many guitars most of the time.

 

Very interesting. Is the 3 guitar dynamic hard to manage sometimes? I played in a band where I was the guitarist/keyboardist and it was hard to write and manage around that. Just curious because I've always loved the bands tones and dueling guitar leads, just wondering if it's as big of a pain as it seems to be

 

It's definitely difficult. Sometimes I think we nail it and other times it gets too jumbled. In ways, I think the overwhelming times have kind of become part of our sound, but I want to be way more conscious of it on the next record. I think we all have our moments where we're scared to just stand there and do nothing. Sometimes that results in like all 3 of us playing stupid leads. Ha. That's where that additional week of writing/demoing would've come in handy. We could've been more selective about who was shredding in spots or made sure that all those noodles flowed together in some sort of harmony. We just need more reverb pedals so you can't hear what anyone's playing anyway.

 

Haha, yeah I get that. Moments like the solo on Chaser or the dueling lead lines/rhythm of Me Vs The Highway or different riffs being played on Cigarettes & Saints are jaw dropping to me and are such a unique way of balancing that dynamic, but there's also songs where it's like a beefed up rhythm guitar triple attack and that works really well too. Idk just something I've always wanted to ask ever since you joined the band and I always admired how you guys handled the 3 guitars/bass dynamic since it can be tricky. Thank you for answering my question Nick! And yes more reverb is always the answer

 

Thanks for the insightful, honest thoughts, Nick. Definitely gonna revisit NCTH with fresh ears.

 

Could you scan and upload this? I'm a huge poetry geek and I really enjoyed Paper Boats.

EDIT: hell, even just taking pictures would work.

 

I'm sorry, but I ended up selling it on ebay, so I don't have it anymore.

 

That's okay, thank you though!

 

Just bought tickets for Stroudsburg, NJ, and NY (2nd day.) Can't wait for this tour.
Also, I would have totally been okay if they decided to leave off Patsy Cline and put San Andreas on the album. That song is so good.

 

I really like San Andreas, but wouldn't change it for Patsy Cline. Personally I don't care that much for I Don't Like Who I Was Then, but I understand why they would want a song that sounds more like "traditional pop punk" in the album.

 

Patsy Cline is fine but I hope they don't play it on this tour. I thought it was a weird choice at Riot Fest and I would rather hear a lot of different songs off NCTH

 

Right? I was really surprised when they played it, honestly. Them playing it at Riot makes me think it's probably going to be in the set for this upcoming tour though.

 

Same, kind of a bummer in my opinion. I mean it's much better live than on record but I would just rather hear like Hemmingway, Bluest Things, Brave or Thanks For The Ride

 

Love patsy cline.