We had Rebecca sit down to talk with those lovely gentlemen that are called Wide Awake Club. The band is made up of Rhys as lead singer, Tom as bass guitar, Evan as guitar and vocals then Chris on drums. Have a read of what we got chatting about.
Hey guys, how are we?
All: We are very good thank you.
Firstly, could you tell us the story about how you became Wide Awake Club?
Chris(Drums): Evan’s got this.
Evan(Vocals/Guitar): We (Evan, Tom & Chris) used to be in a punk rock band that split up, and then over lockdown, myself and Tom carried on writing loads of music.
Tom (Bass): (Through laughter) Sad saps
Evan: Then it was a song I put together a while ago called
“Welcome To The Wide Awake Club” and it was such a banger I was like we need to keep this and move forward. Eventually, we had Rhys (Lead Singer) jump on board. Also, me and Chris have always written stuff together
Rhys(Lead Singer): They asked me to play guitar at first and I was like yeah alright and then I was like actually I quite fancy giving vocals a go. That was pretty much it.
Tom: You (Rhys) sent me one vocal cover and I was like Evan why isn’t he singing?!
So you were like actually, I want the spotlight?!
All: Yeah (Laughing)
Rhys: I am who I am
Chris: You (Rhys) can stand at the back, No I think the front suits me.
What sort of drug did you put in “Welcome to the Wide Awake Club”? That song is way too catchy!
Tom: Hell yeah!
Rhys: It’s this man here, it’s all Evan
Tom: You call it a happy little potion
Chris: Evan basically wrote it during the lockdown. I remember him messaging me like you NEED to listen to this. This is the best thing I’ve ever written, I was at work so I told him I couldn’t at the moment. He was like just do it!
Rhys: Didn’t you go home from work early as well? Cause you were saying to your manager “I’ve got this in my head I’ve got to get it down!”
Evan: I used to go into the chiller at work and record my vocal ideas on my phone quickly and come back out
*I used to cry in my chillers at work if I ever go back to retail I might take the Evan approach instead*
Chris: You kinda wrote the intro and chorus and we built it from there really.
It’s always been sung around my house even my husband sings it all the time!
Rhys: That’s good!
Chris: Well the idea was if we just repeated it enough people would just remember it. People will remember the name it’s so catchy because it’s just over and over again!
Is that why you called the band Wide Awake Club?
Evan: Pretty much yeah, we knew when we would come on stage it would be to that song and it would be pretty cool!
Tom: The main thing that started it was just being energetic, I think as our songwriting has progressed with a lot of the stuff we have written and that will come out is a little bit softer. We still want to retain that upbeat energy especially with “Welcome To The Wide Awake Club” I think that “Better with you” are very good parallel to sample what we are going to be making and what we have made.
We should really talk about new material though.
You’ve just released “Better With You”, Could you tell us about the story behind the song?
*Everyone stares at Evan*
Rhys: This is your story mate
Evan: I don’t think it is
Rhys: Yes this is your story
Tom: Evan was telling me earlier he didn’t even drink coffee when he wrote that
*It’s exclusive, it’s all lies*
*All laughing – Clearly we are all hilarious here*
Evan: I came up with it again while I was at work just chilling about *we hope his employer doesn’t see this* It was a really catchy line I came up with, “I’ve been watching TV, drinking all my coffee” and it is true I didn’t drink coffee back then. I just knew people liked coffee and it would catch on
Tom: You do now like coffee so now it’s legit
Evan: Yeah I just put it all together, I come up with loads and loads of melodies and choruses all the time and that’s definitely one that’s stuck really well
Tom: That’s what happens isn’t it, primarily when we have written music it’s me, Evan and Rhys, or Evan and Rhys, or even Chris and Evan. The main goal is can we get a catchy chorus because the rest of the song writes itself so we build it around that really. The main thing we focus on is if I heard this one time would I listen to it 20 times over if it’s not that then it’s going in the bin if it is then we might release it.
So if it’s not an earworm we aren’t having it?
All: Pretty much yeah
Evan: You know our secret
Chris: To answer the actual question, the song is specifically about anything. It’s just catchy, it works and is relevant probably to someone somewhere.
Tom: We do have songs that do have a lot of meaning behind them and then there are others where we really want to get them out there. Sometimes I think there’s nothing wrong with that, just having a fun song or being a fun song.
I believe you started writing for this project a while ago right?
Rhys: About two years ago
Evan: Yeah probably about two years ago I reckon
Chris: Yeah basically as we said the old band split up during lockdown.
Tom: August 2020
*This has clearly scarred him*
Rhys: Traumatised
Chris: We basically had all this material that we were already working on and we didn’t want to get rid of it so we just held on to it
Tom: Those early songs which “Welcome To The Wide Awake Club” certainly was. Myself, Evan, and Chris wrote all of that, and then when Rhys came in that’s when we started adding actual lyrics to it. We have about 20 unused demos that have no lyrics to them. That’s all me and Evan did every night in lockdown was write.
How does it feel to finally have some songs out in the public?
Evan: Sooooo good! Two years of having to sit on that song and it’s like come on it’s got to come out at some point!
Tom: I actually was so happy it came out cause Welcome To The Wide Awake Club secretly is so good but it’s then when do we follow it up? It’s so nice that we have followed up a couple of months after, and the next one hopefully a couple of months after that. That’s what I want a constant stream of music I want everyone to be sick of it!
*By the end of it we will be like we hate Wide Awake Club*
*More laughter – I’m killing this interview or we are all awkward laughing*
Chris: Yeah, every song sounds the same!
Tom: Every song is just SO good!
What is your favorite lyric you’ve written in any of your songs?
*Deep thoughts going on here*
Evan: (slaps Rhys’s knee) *sings* it’s on the google drive
*I’m looking forward to this one already I can’t live without google drive*
*Typing out this interview on google docs right now*
Rhys: *singing* “It’s something about your eyes and the way you look at me” but then we came up with “It’s on the Google drive”
Evan: Every single song we write goes on our Google drive
Tom: If Google went down there would be big problems
Evan: So everything goes on the Google drive and one day we were writing that song and someone asked where the song is and Rhys turned around and was like *sings* “It’s on the Google drive”
Rhys: That’s not our favorite lyric though
Chris: It’s our least favorite song as well. We aren’t even sure if we want to release it. It’s just a very funny bit
Rhys: It probably is that line that stems from that Google drive thing “There’s something about your eyes and the way you look at me when you close them tight and dream of all we used to be all the peace and prosperity”
Tom: I’ve got one “You let me down, won’t you let me in”
Evan: God we are just giving everyone all our songs that aren’t released yet
You’ve got your first show booked, how are you feeling about it?
All: so excited!
Rhys: Honestly so excited it’s a good first show as well
Chris: and we are the main support as well
Rhys: yeah main support for Royals now
Evan: We did know about Royals music before this so it’s really lucky that we did get on that show and we are really excited about it.
Chris: Even luckier to be the main support
That must be a good feeling to be the main support and being a new band.
Tom: This is the first time it’s ever happened in any band I’ve been in
Chris: We have had 10 years of doing gigs and this has never happened before so it’s quite weird as our first-ever gig. *they are super stoked and happy about it though*
Rhys: This is the first time being on stage in like 15 years so it’s going to be fun!
*We got an exclusive about an upcoming show so keep your eyes peeled for that announcement *cough* look alive London*
Tom: It’s so good I just can’t wait to get on that stage and smash it!
Where do you get your main source of musical inspiration from?
*loads of exhaling*
Tom: Omg!
Evan: Everywhere, I don’t know. I would say we are all big fans of pop-punk as you know. Like Neek Deep, State Champs, Hot Milk
Tom: I’m really into Hot Mulligan
Evan: As you know we are all metalheads (I work with the guys’ other metal band 7eventh sea) but we like a lot of pop music, Tom loves trap, we are all pop punk boys so I think it stems from everywhere really. That’s where the heavy side comes from and in Welcome To The Wide Awake Club some elements of the metal side. The softer stuff would be our pop influences.
Chris: I think we were like we are going to do pop punk but all bands do this very generic very well done pop punk music but we just want to add loads of synths and some weird stuff. Do a bit of heavy now and again it just makes it a bit more exciting
Tom: Unique, yeah
Chris: We have even got bits that are dancy to be fair. Evan does a little guitar solo and its really poppy
*I went on a tangent about boy bands and head mics we expect nothing less from me*
What’s next for Wide awake club?
Evan: We have a new recording session booked in for a new track that will come out asap I reckon
Chris: About May time we think
Evan: Just expect singles coming out throughout the year trying to stay consistent and whatever shows we get.
Tom: I think the biggest thing for us at the moment is just getting our footprint out there. Showing people that this is us and this is what we are about. I don’t know about you boys but I just literally wanna play a 1000 gigs
Evan: *laughs* Mate calm down will you
Tom: You all know what I’m like, I live for the live performances
Chris: You get to hide behind a bass guitar
Rhys: It’s alright for you (Tom) fucking hell *laughs* I honestly think it would end up in divorce, to be honest. I’ve got two kids one on the way so I don’t think it would be very good if I was like yeah I’m going on tour for a month
*Massive congratulations from us at Hardbeat to Rhys and his wife on expecting a baby*
*If it’s a girl I hear the name Rebecca is pretty cool*
Can we be expecting an EP from you guys soon?
Rhys: I don’t know it’s not really something we have spoken about to be fair. We albums and stuff now everything is on Spotify and everything is on shuffle or on playlists
Evan: We might do a b side or something but there’s no immediate plan to be looking at an EP
Chris: I think it’s widely because of things like TikTok and YouTube shorts becoming popular so that if people aren’t entertained in five seconds they move on and it’s the same with music. If you bring out an EP they might be like I’ll give this a listen but only listen to the first song that’s cool but they will just move on. That means the rest of the ep just doesn’t get heard
Rhys: If it’s not like immediately catchy they are just like skip
Tom: I think with us we would make an ep when it makes sense to do so the thing is that in our message a lot of our songs are quite varied. I think if those two thing match we would decide on a collection of four or five of our songs that would deserve to be grouped together. They would all have to be out of this world
Chris: We also have experience in our previous bands with releasing eps and we know you have that one that you push but the rest gets overlooked. We could be like one of our best songs is in there.
Rhys: I think if you are recording a single at a time you can push more money into that single to get it out there as well.
Tom: Doing eps is just so expensive 100% and that upfront cost of everything that you have to put into it is mega. We are very much about the DIY like artwork, music videos everything
Chris: Have you seen the music video?
*Clears throat. My time to shine, I have indeed seen the video and as much as I bullied them about the one-camera set up I thoroughly enjoyed it. You can tell they are all having fun and loving this journey they are starting as a band*
Finally for our readers can you explain your band in 3 little words?
Evan: Fun, energy, and excitement
*Everyone is in agreement*
*We did talk cancel culture, screw those bands*
*We also spoke about Chris’s new neighbors – a glitter ball is a great house-warming gift*
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Evan: Abba
*We broke Rhys, rumors say he’s still awake to this day thinking about it*
Chris: Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA
Tom: Crazy Frog
*We all heavily judged him*
Do you ever feel like throwing in the normal microphones and going for Britney mics?
Chris: I don’t have a microphone *I’m taking it as a yes*
Tom: I’m not allowed a microphone *Also a yes in my eyes*
Evan: I’m definitely behind the idea because I am sick of smacking my mouth on the mic when I quickly run up to the microphone
Rhys: I wouldn’t know what to do with my hands *does the robot*
Evan: Have the headset mic on and have a real mic
Rhys: Then it’s pointless
*Thanks for joining me on the headset mics Evan, appreciated*
*Tangent about wearing Crocs on stage but the boys shut Rhys down rapid*
Can you give us your best “Where are you?” Tom Delonge impression?
*If I can find a way to clip it, it will be in here*
Tom won at the impression, you have to let the bass player have something.
Evan was too in tune and automatically failed.
Chris was a 7/10
Rhys was a 9/10
Thanks for chatting with us today
Band Socials:
Facebook – Instagram – Spotify