Wax Fang Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 4th 2010 9:00AM by Megan Koester
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Wax Fang shreds, plain and simple. The Louisville, Kentucky three-piece have been shredding together since 2006, when former solo singer/songwriter/guitarist/theremin-tamer Scott Carney decided to ditch the lonely life and joined forces with drummer Kevin Ratterman and bassist/keyboardist Jacob Heustis. The result was 2008's 'La La Land,' an album that [you guessed it] shreds. The fellows will be shredding at SXSW this year; front man Scott Carney's already packed his flip flops.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Imagine Stephen Malkmus impersonating Neil Diamond covering the Pixies, playing guitar like Chuck Berry one moment and Thurston Moore the next, backed by a thunderous rhythm section a la Bonham and Jones or Moon and Entwistle with the technological savvy of, say, Eno-era Roxy Music and you have, at least, some idea of what we might sound like.

How did your band form?

I had made a solo record and was looking to put together a band to promote it. I had mixed the record with Kevin Ratterman and knew he was an excellent drummer. Over the course of the mixing sessions, he expressed some interest and we began to talk about it. We both decided that my good friend Jacob Heustis, whom Kevin had recently worked with on another project, should play bass. We promptly hijacked him from the band he was then playing in and voila! We were a band.

What are your musical influences?

Well, there are too many to name, really. I listen to all sorts of things. I suppose I take the most influence from '70s European classic and progressive rock, i.e. Pink Floyd, Neu!, Brian Eno, David Bowie, King Crimson and so on and so forth.

How did you come up with your band name?

I had this giant list of potential band names, something like a hundred or so of them. I narrowed those down to thirty or so. Wax Fangs was one of them. Jacob and his then-girlfriend were talking about it one night and thought it should be Wax Fang, singular, which he then proposed to Kevin and I. We decided to go with it because we liked its oxymoronic quality and pop art aesthetic.

What's your biggest vice?

At the moment, it's chocolate and peanut butter. I can't stop eating it! It's so damned delicious!

What's in your festival survival kit?

Let's see. Water, sunglasses, flip flops, cell phone, light jacket, itinerary and drink money.

Who was your first celeb crush?

I can't remember if it was Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles from the 'Eternal Flame' music video or Belinda Carlisle [post-Go Go's] from the 'Heaven Is a Place on Earth' music video. It was certainly one of the two.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Eighties power ballads. They make me get all emotional and s---.

Beatles or Stones?

Beatles. Sorry, Mick.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

Hmm, let's see. Once we drove through the night in a lightning storm, unaware that we were literally surrounded by tornadoes on all sides until we got to our hotel room and saw the local weather on the TV. That was crazy in a scary sort of way.

Megan Koester is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.