A Wilhelm Scream: Built by Hand, Fueled by Fire
The heat is on for Massachusetts metallic punk-core marvels A Wilhelm Scream. The quintet’s eighth studio album Cheap Heat, arguably one of the hottest punk releases this year, will be unleashed upon the world in a week. The Note had the amazingly good fortune of catching up with guitarist/co-lyricist/producer Trevor Reilly to discuss the full-length release, freezing film clips, their fiery upcoming Australian tour and so much more.
Words Will Oakeshott // Image Joey Senft
“That's what real punk is about - doing it yourself and building a community where people share ideas and share creativity.” – Ad Rock (Beastie Boys).
Whilst New York’s Beastie Boys are better known for their phenomenal ventures into hip hop, especially since they are the biggest-selling rap group from when Billboard first commenced recording sales 35 years ago; their DNA and origins are magically manufactured from the hardcore punk sound and a DIY ethic. Their first EP Polly Wog Stew for example, was co-produced by the band and corresponded in sound with Washington D.C.’s punk luminaries Bad Brains.
The Beastie Boys would go on to build their own studio in LA to pursue their own production undertakings. Bassist/vocalist Adam “MCA” Yauch (Rest In Power) also directed many of the band’s videos, organised the Tibetan Freedom Concert series and achieved so much more in musical production and innovation.
“That's what real punk is about…”
Metallic punk trailblazers A Wilhelm Scream embrace this virtue wholeheartedly. Trevor Reilly (guitarist/songwriter) has emphatically embarked upon this “real punk” motif since the adored outfit began in 1999. More recently though, his endeavours have included the production side of AWS, as well as building his own recording facility called Anchor End Studio in his hometown, located in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Their newest LP Cheap Heat, which Reilly produced and mixed, is due out in a matter of days, and his fiery euphoria for the full-length is above infectious.
“I'm really, really excited. I think our fans are going to be stoked. I think people are going to be like: ‘Whoa!’ Pretty much, right off the bat, you know?” Trevor excitedly discloses from the studio, where he is balancing mixing duties for another release between media duties.
“We're really excited because a lot of the things that end up being sort of difficult about putting an album together, or should I say, getting an album at the finishing stages, where important details like ‘what's the track listing going to be?’ That came together easier on this record compared to any other album we've ever done. I don't know what that means, but it just feels really good. It feels like a good sign, you know? It feels like everything is sort of falling into place. I'm ecstatic for everybody to hear our intro - the opener [especially].”
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In promotion of the scorching Cheap Heat record, the five-piece have released three singles with film clips entitled: ‘Midnight Ghost’, ‘Let It Ride’ and ‘I Got Tunnel Vision’. Curiously, none of these sizzling singles was assigned the “opener” status for the LP, so it plagued this writer to ask about this remarkable approach.
“It was very important for us to not have one of our lead-off singles be the opener, so when the fans hear it for the first time, they get that ‘Whoa… OK!’ Happy surprise, you know?” Trevor explains, highlighting the reaction with widened eyes and a gleaming smile.
“That’s the experience that we want everybody to kind of feel when we're creating the music, and putting the pieces of the puzzle together. With the singles ‘Midnight Ghost, ‘Let It Ride’ and ‘I Got Tunnel Vision’, you can see where they fall into place and why. I can't wait for people to hear all of it – I’m bursting (laughs).”
Whilst Trevor is nearly “bursting” into flames with elation and integrity, the “heat” aspect to this entire project is brilliantly befitting to almost an ironic level. The first two singles feature mostly performance film clips, with the charmingly commonplace backstory that A Wilhelm Scream are gratefully renowned for. Although the conditions for these short movies are extraordinarily arctic.
“(Laughing) It all came together really quickly. It's crazy because we did the ‘Let It Ride’ single first for the video element. So that was like approaching hoodie weather, but it was also kind of like hurricane-y. We had a nor’easter rolling through, so it was sort of like a hurricane vibe. It wasn't freezing cold at that point, but it's definitely uncomfortable. Our original idea was to do the whole thing on the roof, but it just became so windy up there, with so much rain, that it was friggin’ dangerous after a certain point.”
Did the compromises and adjustments alter the direction of the film clip at all?
“No, but I’m really glad we got the shots that we did right off the bat, because it's like epic up there, right at the top of the Cummings building in downtown New Bedford. A huge shoutout to Craig Paiva for always being our biggest supporter and always letting us do videos there. As well as everything else he has helped with.”
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How about the ‘Midnight Ghost’ movie? It gave the appearance of having an underlying frosty Blair Witch horror vibe entailed in that conception.
“At that point, we were officially in winter. But the irony is, a week before that, it was warm out. It was like balmy weather – then when the guys flew out, almost immediately after that, we went into a serious cold snap. It was fucking brutal. We're used to the cold, but we're not used to the cold where it has been warm only four days prior - holy shit!” Reilly exclaims, practically narrating the extreme weather occurrence with a sense of disbelief and enthrallment. After regaining his breath, he continues, “Anyways, we went out to Nick’s (Pasquale Angelini, drummer) home in the drum shop where he builds drums and stuff - he's got woods outback there. Our intention was to work with what was on offer there - let's work with what nature gave us and see what happens. Well, we were fucking freezing our dicks off. After about four playthroughs, the gloves and hats came off. The blood was pumping and stuff like that. Believe it or not, it ended up being a really good experience. The director, Mike Rivkees, was absolutely awesome. He had a great vision of the shots that he wanted. So it wasn't insane, you know? It was mostly one or two takes tops and he was like: ‘AWESOME! That’s great. Let’s move on.’ Fuck yeah – that’s what you want to hear when it’s very fucking cold. We're truly stoked on it though.”
“Very fucking cold” is an understatement. During the video, each band member’s breath discharges smoke condensation that can be visually seen when they exhale during their performance (“When I saw that, I said to the guys: ‘I hope the fans can see what we're going through right now’. So, I'm glad that it showed.” Trev states, in near hysterics). However, this commitment to their art ultimately provides testament to the prior quote from Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock: “That's what real punk is about - doing it yourself and building a community where people share ideas and share creativity.”
Shortly after the release of Cheap Heat, A Wilhelm Scream will be rocketing back to Australia to celebrate the new record. The happy-go-lucky quintet (especially live) have been visiting us Down Under for around two decades, so it seemed necessary to ask Trevor Reilly about his fondest memories of Australia.
“Less Than Jake brought us over there for the first time years and years ago. I just remember how awesome it was and having an amazing feeling when a lot of people were waiting to see you in a place that you've never been,” he recalls with a charismatic viewpoint of positivity.
“I remember saying [to the band]: ‘Wow, these people love punk rock music. They love to rock out. They love to party, and they're all really friendly’. That was our first impression. I love the differences between us, and the wildlife too. I love the burgers with beets on them, getting introduced to shoeys, petting kangaroos, and holding a koala while it is doped up on eucalyptus so he doesn't scratch your face off.”
Hurricanes, cold snaps, and murderous koalas aside, do not miss one of the most illustrious and joyful live music demonstrations of your life when A Wilhelm Scream arrive next month - “That's what real punk is about…”
Cheap Heat by A Wilhelm Scream is out February 27. Pre-order here. Catch A Wilhelm Scream performing at the Ed Castle in Adelaide on Saturday 7 March. Tickets on sale at moshtix.com.au.
