Turn it up to 11, says The Wilderness, an SLC-based rock band with a penchant for loud guitars and even louder vocals. Formed in 2008, the band is ready to thrust themselves into the mainstream with their debut EP Everything is Golden, recently released by indie label Sound VS Silence Records and available on iTunes.
When asked to define the band’s sound, Tyler Osborne, 19, Salt Lake Community College speech communications major and the band’s drummer, simply shrugs. He throws out a few possibilities-“rock,” “hard rock,” “hard core”-before finally deciding to list musical influences instead: Deftones, As Cities Burn and Every Time I Die.
Rounding out the quintet is Chad Pinkey, 21, vocals; Zac Anderson, 28, guitar; Dan Bump, 28, guitar; and Walt Hill, 23, bass.
The Wilderness is a band that refuses to be pigeonholed, employing a style that gets in your face and dares you to attempt to classify it. Sounds run from poppy radio rock to something vaguely akin to metal, with vocalist Pinkey whimsically content to serenade you like you’re his girlfriend one moment and then scream at you the next as if you just gave him a Pepsi when he asked for a Coke.
The group is working hard to get its name out there. They’ve toured as far afield as Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and Denver, and have played up to 50 shows a year, including many in Salt Lake.
“It pretty much comes down to creating something that people like,” says Osborne, regarding what motivates him to create music and get on stage. “It’s the best feeling on earth. It’s so much fun.”
The modern music making process is something the group has strong feelings about. There’s too much over-production, they say, and too much computerized compensation for a lack of talent.
“We want to maintain an artist’s perspective,” asserts Osborne. “We want more of a raw, drop-down sound to get into people’s heads, not just this computerized nowadays music…We are the musicians; the computers are not.”
Being a musician is a subject that Osborne should know something about. He plays a laundry list of instruments, including the drums, guitar, bass, violin and, of course, that old stand-by, the piano. In addition to his work with The Wilderness, he is also working on solo material that he hopes to have recorded by mid-year.
With a growing fan base, the group is happy with the success they have found and what they have been able to accomplish artistically. However, two demos recently posted on the band’s MySpace page, The Natural and Wyld Stallyns, hint at an evolution in the band’s sound and a movement toward heavier material. Osborne confirms the suspicion, stating that they are working on a full-length album that “is going to be a really heavy sound, but extremely catchy…We’re going for the throat on this one. It’s going to be a really rockin’ sound, but something you can sing along to.”
With such obvious talent and a firm work ethic, these boys shouldn’t have any problem finding the success they’re searching for.
To find out more about The Wilderness, including tour dates, visit their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/thewildernesscult.