I had the immense pleasure of talking with Maxim Rainer of the band Wilderado, and it was one of the best conversations I have had. After seeing them perform live, I knew I had to interview them. Any band who performs with so much passion and emotional vulnerability automatically has my heart. Consisting of Maxim Rainer, Colton Dearing, Tyler Wimpee and Justin Kila, this Tulsa-based group has created an alternative sound, which is something special.
Five minutes into my conversation with Rainer, I could immediately tell I was talking to a guy who truly loved music.
“I wanted to start a band with people who wanted to sing songs, not so much be professional musicians,” Rainer said.
This comment alone perfectly describes what Wilderado is about. They put so much work into each individual song to the point where each one has a special meaning.
“My inspiration when writing songs is wanting to reveal something to myself,” Rainer said.
Each song he writes is so introspective, he must be alone when writing. He even admitted he is not “strong enough” to write around other people.
“It’s hard to be introspective and honest with myself when someone else is listening,” Rainer said.
This shows you just how personal his lyrics get. He pours himself out into his lyrics. He does not want to even have the risk of not being truthful in his songs.
“It’s too hard to not tilt toward whoever is listening to you [when writing],” Rainer said.
To give you even a deeper look into what the band is truly about, I asked Rainer if he could choose one band to tour with who would it be.
“Opening for Coldplay would be pretty crazy,” Rainer said. “I don’t think we would say no, but opening for The National would be just so tight. After getting off with [Rainbow Kitten Surprise], there is something about playing to a crowd who is there to see a band who they know all of their songs, as opposed to playing arenas where most of the people there are there because they know a hit.”
This is one reason why they are so excited about playing Austin City Limits (ACL), Rainer said. To be surrounded by people who are there to appreciate the music and to hear bands is their dream. As a listener, I know how amazing this is, and I can only imagine how it feels being a band in an atmosphere like ACL. On top of this, having it so close to home for them makes it so much more special.
“Being Oklahoma and Texas boys, that’s the cool thing in the music industry—in our region,” Rainer said.
A big thing Rainer said he realized on this tour was people did not know their name on the bill but when they started their performance, people knew their songs. Rainer said the main goal of having people listen to and like their songs is being accomplished but wondering now how to have their name register within people.
“I wonder now what’s the translation from hearing a tune, to understanding and knowing the band,” Maxim said.
I know this happens to me a lot—when I love a song but do not necessarily pay attention to who is singing it until I happen to see them live one day. This is the next challenge for them—to get people to automatically recognize Wilderado when a song of theirs is played.
“The only way to get there is to just keep making music,” Rainer said. “That’s what was cool about being out with Rainbow Kitten—that’s what they’ve done. They’ve just so abided to this philosophy of ‘put out music and tour it.’ After six years and now this year, every place we went with them, they were filling out venues with rabid fans who knew their songs.”
Seeing someone else—who they are now close with—get to where they are by doing it this way gives Rainer hope it can be done.
In my opinion, Wilderado is not far from blowing up. If they keep on the path they are on, it will not be long before they are the headlining shows with their own rabid fans.
Reese Gorman is a sophomore journalism major from Schertz, TX. He is passionate about music because he believes it has a unique way of bringing people together and it brings him joy. Reese’s favorite artist is The 1975 and his favorite genre of music is Indie/Alternative. In his free time, Reese enjoys golfing, climbing, camping and reading.
0
0
Be First to Comment