Wild Light to brighten Brillo
February 20, 2009
‘ ‘ ‘ It takes some guts for a band to start the first song on its first record with, ‘F**k… ‘ ‘ ‘ It takes some guts for a band to start the first song on its first record with, ‘F**k today / F**k San Francisco / F**k California,’ but when the music is as good as Wild Light’s, the lyrics could damn Pittsburgh and I’d still listen up. ‘ ‘ ‘ Wild Light’s debut record Adult Nights mixes plaintive vocals with jangling guitars and more solid hooks than a boxing match for a classic rock-leaning indie-pop sound. The band hits Brillobox this Sunday with blog darling Tapes ‘n’ Tapes and local blues blaster Br’er Fox. ‘ ‘ ‘ Bassist Seth Pitman called The Pitt News while working the front desk in a New Hampshire hospital between legs of the tour ‘mdash; when he’s not rocking, he’s still got to eat. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt News: Adult Nights starts with some harsh words against California. Where’d the song ‘California on my Mind’ come from? ‘ ‘ ‘ Seth Pitman: Our lyricist Jordan [Alexander] wrote that song living in the Bay Area trying to start a band, and he was just frustrated. It’s nothing against California, it’s just a venting song. But it has somehow attracted people way more than ever expected. ‘ ‘ ‘ TPN: Was there much of a scene growing up in New Hampshire? ‘ ‘ ‘ SP: Well … no. In terms of a real music scene there was not and there is not. But there was a do-it-yourself scene and a few clubs that we used to play in ‘mdash; a bunch of basements were turned into clubs. ‘ ‘ ‘ TPN: The record sounds truly timeless. What were you listening to when recording? ‘ ‘ ‘ SP: We have a lot of standbys. We’re always returning to the classics ‘mdash; Dylan, the Beatles, The Clash, Fleetwood Mac. The kind of stuff that never gets old. When you first hear it, it’s the best thing you’ve ever heard. And the most recent time you heard it, you feel the same way. That’s what we aspire to. ‘ ‘ ‘ Check out the full interview and a review of Sunday’s show at www.gravityrideseverythingblog.blogspot.com.