Wake Up Lucid Interview for Wicked Spins Radio
Wake Up Lucid
Three cousins from LA make up Wake Up Lucid, they have just released Gone With the Night with the aid of The Icarus Line’s Joe Cardamore. Wake Up Lucid chat to Wicked Spins Radio about Gone With the Night giving us a little insight into the album and also Get Fucked 😀
WSR – Thank you for giving Wicked Spins Radio this interview, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourselves?
Ryan: Thanks for the interview, I’m Ryan Baca and I play guitar and sing in Wake Up Lucid.
Jamie: Three-piece band. Loud. Heavy. Trying to put out good records and put on rad shows.
Ian: We’re Wake Up Lucid from Los Angeles CA. We all have the same last name like the Ramones, but our names are real. We all play dirty rock like the Ramones, but with better hair cuts.
WSR – So how has Joe Cardamone helped you?
Ryan: As a band Joe has helped us focus and it feels like he made each of us aware of our part in the band, he showed us how to develop together but also individually. For me it was great to meet someone who I felt had the same connection to music as myself. When we first met I went in kinda weary and with my guard up, I wasn’t sure what to expect and really didn’t even know what a producer did. As we got to talking he started referencing artists and songs that our band reminded him of, at this point I didn’t even want to talk about our band I just wanted to get these records because the songs were so good. It’s really rare that you have someone suggest a band or song and it instantly becomes one of your all time favourites and this guy just went 5 for 5 in half an hour. From then on we became good friends and working together on music just comes really easy. Music is one of the most important things in my life and to have someone say “hey man I wanna help you do this” is a pretty lucky thing.
Jamie: He has produced two of our records. He helped to stylistically realize the direction to pursue in the recording process. He helped trim the fat of some of our songs so as not to waste anyone’s time or ears.
Ian: For the last two albums, he’s been our producer and set of outside ears. Joe takes our raw work and helps shape the songs in a way where they are cohesive as an album, and have the most impact as a rock n’ roll piece; all while maintaining the integrity of the music and the band. As a producer, he’s been great to work with. He is never pushy with suggestions; rather, he plants the seeds of ideas and allows them to
flourish within the band’s efforts. 9 times out of 10 they are spot on.
WSR – What does the music of The Icarus Line mean to you?
Ryan: They just do what they do. If you don’t get it I really don’t know what someone could tell you to make you hear it. They’re the real thing and under it all there is a really deep knowledge and understanding of music. Joe has got an impressive ear so whatever is happening in their songs or what ever vibe it has going is very intentional. That’s at least my take on it.
Jamie: They are new school purveyors of a rock n roll variant with influences from old school grit, like us. They’re our peers, and we love sharing the stage with ‘em.
Ian: Integrity. On the surface, it may look like those guys don’t give a fuck. They play proper, loud, aggressive, noisy rock n’ roll and they perform it really good, and can give a shit whether you like it or not. They craft beautiful, noisy rock n’ roll songs that are intense and complex. They’re not a band, they’re a gang.
WSR – What gives Get Fucked its length of nine minutes?
Ryan: We didn’t go into the studio with the intention of writing a 9 minute song. We had the bones of a song and started running through it, after a couple takes we decided to just let it fall apart and see what happened. The song just came together on its own as we all stood there playing it – that’s the actual take! We tried to recreate it a couple more times but that initial experiment is the one that had the magic, that’s the one we put out.
Jamie: Probably that whole getting fucked business. Just takes a while.
WSR – What are you looking forward to most about the release of Gone With The Night?
Ryan: I like that it’s a teaser for where the band is heading. We have a lot of new music coming and this is a good map of where we are taking it.
Jamie: We’re way excited to showcase some new-found versatility we’ve developed in our song writing. The songs are more fully realized and offer a broader spectrum of dynamic.
Ian: This album is a little bit more raw in its production than our previous efforts. Its raw, yet as a collection of songs, this is probably our most cohesive effort yet. The title track closes out this record. Its a moody, acoustic closing. I’m looking forward to seeing how people respond to this softer side of Wake Up Lucid.
WSR – All of you being cousins is that a good thing or a bad thing being a band, what are the advantages and disadvantages of being in a band being cousins?
Ian: Well, we go way back. All the way back in fact. We are connected by the same musical background and upbringing, but we are all listening to new and different stuff. Its rad to share those musical interests and see how and if those styles can be integrated into what we do. The down side of being related, is when someone calls out “BACA!!” at a show, there’s no telling who their talking to.
WSR – If you do have a disagreement which one of you usually wins and why?
Ryan: We’re not on that level so it really doesn’t happen. We’re all pretty humble and are constantly trying to be better every time we get together. If you focus on editing yourself, not overplaying and looking at the overall song as a whole then there isn’t much room to start disagreeing on anything. If someone thinks we should do this part different, then try it, you will know as soon as you do whether it worked or not.
Jamie: We’re adults. We can make compromises among ourselves without throwing shit.
Ian: There are times when we will have disagreements during the writing process. We’ll each be throwing around ideas for musical parts or how the song should progress. The winner in that scenario is usually the song itself. And if you’re idea loses, it only stings long enough to catch a sip off the bottle. Then it’s on to the next one.
WSR – What effects have you used in the production of Gone With The Night?
Ryan: We added some new elements on this one: Jamie played the synth part in “Get Fucked” and mandolin on “Gone with the Night,” Joe played organ on “Let it Roll” and “Don’t Fear” as well as worked the space echo out on “Gone with the Night,” I added keys to the end of “Don’t Fear” and found a great pedal for “Get Fucked.”
Jamie: Probably the most obvious is the Synth parts throughout “Get Fucked”. The rest is Magick conjured up by ourselves and Joe.
Ian: We tried to rent the UFO that Hendrix used on the intro to Axis: Bold as Love, but it was way out of our budget. Instead, we enlisted this vintage Moog synth with broken keys that kind of resembled the smile of a street fighter; teeth broken, one or two missing here and there. You can hear it on “Get Fucked”. We also used an Echoplex on that track as well as on the percussion parts for “Gone With The Night”.
WSR – Did you ever feel limited to the old constraints of album length or did you full embrace the new ideals of the digital age?
Ryan: Nah, I think we approach every studio session with the intent to put it on vinyl but really that’s all an afterthought. We just go in and play the songs we have and see what happens, we try to stay away from anything digital as much as possible. If we had the budget there wouldn’t even be a computer involved in the process.
Jamie: The music dictates its length on its own. We do what the music tells us.
Ian: We tend not to think about either. We took a look at all the new material we have, and picked the songs which we thought would make for the best listening experience. It could have been 15 songs, or it could have been 3. In this case it was these 6 songs that we were most excited about. So that’s what you get.
WSR – If you could send your music back in time then what era would it fit best in and why?
Jamie: 2014, when it was written.
Ian: 1985. Why? Because that’s the time of Marty McFly and the Delorean. Pop your “Gone With The Night” cassette in the tape – deck and now you have an album that transcends the limitations of time and space.
WSR – Which era of music holds the most magic for you and in what way?
Jamie: Every era has its gems.
Ian: For me, there are 2 magical eras. When you talk about classic, rock music icons, I feel like some of their best stuff was put out between 1970 – 1976. There are endless great albums from that time. But I also like the early 90’s. The industry’s last great stand before the digital age uprooted everything.
WSR – Who is your favourite comedian/group of comedians and why do they make you laugh?
Ryan: @BillMurray on twitter
Jamie: Jay and Kanye
Ian: Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. If you don’t know, then you just need to tune into “Tim & Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job!” and see for yourself.
WSR – What is the one thing you feel sets you aside from every other band/musician out there?
Ryan: I think the fact that we’re not too concerned with what anyone else out there is doing sets us apart. We’re not looking to fit in with whatever else is going on, we’ve got our own thing going on and that keeps us busy.
Jamie: Intense live show. We’re usually louder than the rest. Less cheese.
WSR – What’s the worst deal you have ever made?
Wake Up Lucid – Ehh, the past is past.
WSR – Apart from your current partner (If you are not single), who would be you’re ideal dinner date?
Jamie: My phone
Ryan: Not sure I’m more of a breakfast person.
Ian: There would be no dinner involved. It would be me, metal bikini Princess Leah, and a drunk, in their hey-day Lindsey Lohan and Amanda Bynes, all sitting around a fold-up card table drinking 40’s of Old English and playing dominos.
WSR – Thank you so much for giving Wicked Spins Radio this interview, is there anything you would like to add?
Ryan: Thanks for taking the time to listen to the record, giving us a chance to talk about it and sharing that. That’s all we can really ask for. Everything we do is self released, we don’t believe in kickstarter or any of that bullshit, so passing it along if you dig it really helps us.
Jamie: Thanks to anyone who has taken any sort of interest in us. Keep listening. Come to shows. Have fun with us. thnx <3.
Ian: We are now available to be commissioned by uber-wealthy philanthropists who want to fund music and the arts. Every minute we spend working a day job, is one less minute we spend making music. Tragic.
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