The Wandas

the WANDAS are an American rock band based out of Boston Massachusetts composed of Keith McEachern, Brent Battey, Ross Lucivero, William Bierce and Greg Settino.

the WANDAS
the WANDAS Performing at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX. March 2010
Background information
OriginBoston, MA, United States
GenresRock, indie pop, folk rock, psychedelic rock
Years active2002–present
LabelsT.F.M.R.A.
Associated actsThe Dears
Ford & Lopatin
Black Diamond Bay,
Le Roxy Pro
Websitewww.thewandas.com
MembersKeith McEachern
Brent Battey
Ross Lucivero
William Bierce
Greg Settino

New Interface (a design with friends for the future) is the band's follow up to their critically acclaimed self-titled record The Wandas (album). New Interface (a design with friends for the future), released June 25, 2013, was produced by Joel Ford of Ford & Lopatin and mixed by Patrick Krief of The Dears. The Boston Globe stated "The Wandas 'New Interface (A Design with Friends for the Future),' is experimentation done right, as the band's more artistic forays add depth and intrigue to the sound without sacrificing the band's core of solid song craft.[1]

Their self-titled album was released on August 30, 2011. It was featured in USA TODAY[2] and was named one of the "50 best albums of the first half of 2011" by Guitar World Magazine.[3]

History

In 2008, the WANDAS teamed up with Producer Patrick Krief, guitarist of The Dears to record New Wave Blues. The album was tracked in Boston, Massachusetts and mixed and mastered in Montreal, Quebec Canada. New Wave Blues was both produced and mixed by Krief, and was mastered by Ryan Morey (Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade and The Stills).

In 2009 New Wave Blues was released independently and has garnered international acclaim from several media outlets. "[ New Wave Blues is] full of sweet harmonies and music that is unburdened with extravagance" - indie.mp3.co.uk "[This is] some of the best pop I've heard this year" - Mary Leary; [San Diego Entertainer Magazine].[4]"Both poppy and emotional, the [WANDAS] cut straight to the core with gorgeous harmonies, startling earnestness, and a sense of indie pop cool..."Telegram & Gazette[5]

From April 2009-Aug of 2010, the WANDAS spent most of their time touring the United States in their 1992 30 foot RV and building a grass roots fan base.

In 2010-2011 the WANDAS teamed up with Patrick Krief again to work on their latest (Self Titled) studio album. The bulk of the album was tracked live in 6 days at MixArt Studios in Montreal, Quebec. The album was completely funded by their fans using kickstarter[6] and features guest appearances by members of The Dears, The Stills and Stars (Canadian band). The album was mixed by Dave Schiffman who is famous for his work with Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Before its release the album was featured in USA TODAY.[2]

The Wandas was released August 2011 to rave reviews. The Boston Globe said "It's a gorgeously warm and wistful work"[7] and American Songwriter gave it Four Stars, stating "The Boston based quartet’s dreamy pop-rock locks in on a mid-tempo groove and the organic sound captures the effortless strummy melodies and vocal harmonies that recall the days before slick production and too many overdubs robbed music of its magic." [8] Guitar World Magazine named the self-titled record one of the "50 best albums of the first half of 2011" .[3]

Following the release of their Self-Titled album, the band hit the road for an extensive 13-week tour of the US, sponsored by Lands' End Canvas.

The WANDAS have been compared to Wilco,[4]Tom Petty,[9] Elvis Costello,[10] and Bruce Springsteen.[11]

Notable awards and achievements

In December 2010 Time Out (company) Magazine Boston selected The Wandas as Best Live Act of 2010[12] "The Wandas spent the better part of 2010 touring the bejesus out of their third album, New Wave Blues. In the process, they caused a few bloggers’ jaws to hit the floor at South by Southwest and squashed the competition at WBRU’s Rock Hunt battle of the bands."— Barry Thompson Time Out (company) Magazine Boston

In November 2010 the Boston Music Awards nominated The Wandas as Best Pop Act of 2010.

In October 2010 CMJ Music Marathon [13] wrote "With their big shout-along choruses and their classic rock melodies, the band managed to whip the crowd at the Bowery Poetry Club into a sugary frenzy"

In April 2010 theWANDAS won the 95.5 WBRU Rock Hunt, edging out several hundred bands who submitted for the competition.

the WANDAS Performing at The South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin,TX, USA, March 14th 2010

In March 2010 theWANDAS performed several shows at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas USA. The group gained momentum as the week of the festival progressed and were covered by several media outlets:

"...this Boston act is suddenly (only with much hard work and extensive touring, of course,) one of the best bands in America. As it ended up, they were easily one of the best live shows we saw in Austin last week." - Ryan Spaulding (Ryan's Smashing Life) [14]

The Boston Globe was quoted as saying theWANDAS' "...sound is a dreamy lovechild of rock radio and your grandpa’s record collection..."[15]

Both publications featured rave reviews of theWANDAS' performances at South By Southwest in 2010.

theWANDAS were the 92.9 WBOS best of Boston pick for 2008 and numerous other awards.[16]

theWANDAS won first place in the indie pop category for August 2008 from Ourstage.com.[16]

theWANDAS have supported Dawes (band), The Lumineers, The Dears, Justin Townes Earle, The Futureheads, The Duhks, Rustic Overtones, Elizabeth Ziman of Elizabeth & The Catapult, The Jane Shermans: featuring Angelo Petraglia, Grammy Award winning producer of the Kings Of Leon's album Only By The Night, and Eulogies (band).

Story Behind The Name

There have been several stories surrounding the origin of their name. The Boston Herald reported, "They got their name when Brent Battey met a woman named Wanda in a Toronto bar back in 2003 when on spring break."[17] Contrary to The Boston Herald report, guitarist Brent Battey noted on his Twitter page that the band was named after the Neil Young song, "Kinda Fonda Wanda" off of his album Everybody's Rockin'.[18]

Band members

Current members
  • Keith McEachern— Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Organ, Synth
  • Brent Battey– Guitar, Vocals
  • Ross Lucivero — Bass, Backing vocals

Touring Band
  • William Bierce
  • Greg Settino

Past members
  • Brian Carson (2002–2005)
  • Levin Gillespie (2003–2005)
  • Pete McElholm (2002–2009)

Discography

Official releases

Unofficial Releases
  • 2004: …if the accident will
  • 2006: Can't Say Danger on the Radio
  • 2008: You Should Have Listened EP
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References
  1. http://www.boston.com/blogs/ae/music/boston-by-beat/2013/06/wandas_stretch_out_on_new_albu.html
  2. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/post/2011/06/new-podcast-battles-she-38-him-jolie-holland-and-lots-more-new-tunes/1
  3. http://www.guitarworld.com/guitar-worlds-50-best-albums-first-half-2011#slide-42
  4. http://www.sdentertainer.com/music/reviews/music-reviews-rob-bondurant-love-me-nots-wandas/#comments
  5. http://www.telegram.com/article/20090723/COLUMN09/907230828
  6. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thewandas/help-thewandas-make-a-new-album"
  7. http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2011/09/02/the_wandas_take_lessons_from_the_road_and_put_them_on_record"
  8. http://www.americansongwriter.com/2011/08/short-takes-jeff-bridges-eric-claptonwynton-marsalis-mat-kearney-and-more
  9. http://www.myoldkentuckyblog.com/?p=20432
  10. http://boxofboom.com/2009/03/the-wandas/
  11. http://pastaprima.net/?p=1495
  12. http://timeoutboston.com/music-nightlife/music/35229/bostons-best-music-pop-electro?package=35235
  13. http://www.cmj.com/marathon/2010/10/the-wandas-bowery-poetry-club-october-22-2010
  14. http://www.rslblog.com/2010/03/sxsw-wandas.html
  15. http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2010/03/23/boston_area_bands_make_some_noise_at_sxsw/
  16. http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/thewandas
  17. http://news.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1202015
  18. B Dizzz [@batteyman] (19 August 2010). "OK. I've been getting a lot of questions about this and YES. The band did get its name from Neil Young's 'kinda fonda wanda' song" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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