The wavegaze of Waves Crashing
Is there a short story behind the song "Wish" on your new EP? I can't put my finger on what it reminds me of, but there is something buried in the 90s college radio slice of my brain being sparked by it.
The track "Wish" is a cluster of random thoughts, honestly. It came together rapidly. Themes such as being built up only for people to tear you down out of jealousy. Or how we as a society are always looking ahead for the next best thing. Always wishing for more. Musically, the song is unique for us because it's the only song at the moment in an alternate guitar tuning called FACGCE, which was popularized by mid-west emo bands.
You've just released the EP Ancora - is there a theme or thread running through the songs on the EP? Why the name? I like the cover image, btw!
Thank you! Ancora is Italian for the word 'still' and I felt it fit the vibe of the EP. "Rose Hue" being about not living in the moment or always looking (especially the past) through rose tinted glasses in a way. "Sleepwalk" obviously fits into that theme as well. "Everything" has the line 'Standing still, life surrounds me'. So I feel like it made sense. I have an Italian heritage background and thought it sounded nice and fluid, so it made sense to me. The cover is by the incredible photographer Shino Yanagawa.
What are some of the musical influences on the band?
It's a mixed bag. Only one of us is a true shoegaze enthusiast, haha. We like a lot of stuff from the 80's and 90's. Anything from new wave & post punk to grunge to 00's rock stuff. One band we all agree was important to us growing up is the Smashing Pumpkins, who early on covered a lot elements of psych rock and pieces of gaze in there while writing pop songs at the core. Personally, I'd credit them, New Order, Swervedriver, The Cure, Pixies and Breeders as big influences for me.
You're based in the Seattle area, right? How would you describe any 'shoegaze' scene there at the moment?
We are mostly Olympia based. Two of us are down here and the other is in Puyallup. The band started in Tacoma originally in 2019. We have a good presence in the whole Seattle area though, so I don't think we are tied to one town's scene. It all feeds off Seattle as the nucleus anyways. The shoegaze scene is alive and well in the Seattle area and they've welcomed us with open arms. A very kind community and one that's always willing to help other bands. Doesn't feel like a competition, which is nice for once since I lived in two other major markets where it didn't have that community feel. There are so many awesome bands here in the Pacific North West like New Age Healers, Fotoform, Black Nite Crash, Guest Directors, Ten Million Lights, Helens, Medejin to name a few. I feel like Portland and Seattle collectively have the most shoegaze bands in the country and new ones keep popping up (Male//Gaze, No Floor, Moderndaze). It's coming back a bit. At the same time though, it doesn't need to be straight up 100% shoegaze or dreampop. There are lots of sub-genres and crossover types that are really interesting too such as emogaze, grungegaze etc.
Is “grungegaze” a big thing there?! How can I not ask if it’s Seattle :)
No, grungegaze is just something I made up to describe us at times. Although, I prefer “wavegaze” as our personal sub genre.
You've just played the Tremolo Festival - how was that?
So much fun! It was organized so nicely and the Central Saloon is a great place to play. I mean, just look at that lineup. How could one not be excited about playing it? I think it was the festival's most successful year yet too. We were honored to be a part of it.
What do you do when you're not doing band stuff?
All three of us work and have day jobs like most folks. I (Josh Calisti, vocals, guitar) also do guitar repair on the side in addition to my day job. Josh Charette (bass, synth) does audio engineering on the side and mixed the last two EPs for us. He also has another band called Hospital Lies in Seattle. Bryce Albright (drums) works in Renton. So, we are always running around all over the place and keeping busy, haha.
What's a release from 2023 that you were excited about?I've been very public about how incredible the new Soft Science album Lines is. Definitely dreampop perfection. Such well crafted dreamy catchy songs. It's a masterpiece.
What's in the works for Waves Crashing in 2024?
Good question! Maybe a single? Maybe a full length? A couple special performances I am hoping for. A lot left to be decided. '23 was such a busy year for us. Two EPs, a vinyl release and a lot of shows in Washington and Oregon. The new EP is doing well, so we will see what the new year brings us :)
Thanks to Josh for talking to me and to Chris of Neon Sigh for connecting us.