Do you have a bad case of despair, sorrow, or misery? Well look no further – lend your ears to the multi-genre band, WOES. Long-time friends, Zac Brewer (guitar and vocals), Seth Huff (bass, vocals, and synth), and Stefan Wright (drums and percussion) blend their many years of their love of music and talents to do what they do best, turn your melancholy into true bliss with their music. This up and coming multi-genre trio will cure your ailments with their lavishing blend of styles from new and old generations, complete with influential bits of classic rock from Fleetwood Mac and the Doobie Brothers, twisted with the soul of Allen Stone and Marvin Gaye.
With dreams of rocking with Michael McDonald and Steve Winwood one day, WOES redirected their misfortunes in life and complied their first EP set to release this weekend. Full of familiar stories, the new EP contains three already released songs including the far-from-depressing Show Me How To Live, the not-so-troubling Love Game Lullaby, and my personal favorite, the hopeful Don’t Let Go. Each song is vocally driven with strong, soulful beats, allowing the music to come alive, at times taking on its own rhythmic heartbeat. Any amount of despondency will be ridden, as the songs of WOES take on new identities, complete with powerful, expressive lyrics, a perfect blend of harmonies, and smooth, energetic, and everything in between beats. The trio meshed their wide array of influences into a new kind of music everyone can appreciate, finding the bright light out the shadows.
In the midst of preparing for the release of their very first EP, Zac from WOES took a break from practicing and writing to chat about how the band met, their musical upbringings, and of course their music.
CB: Two of the members of WOES, Seth and Stefan, got their start in Archer’s Paradox. How did this lead to the formation of WOES? How did you meet?
ZB: Basically kidnapping. They were stolen off the stage one night and that was that. Really, I met Seth through our job in OTR and we developed our friendship that way. Archers was still together then so there wasn’t really any interaction at that time. Through Seth I met Stefan, and it was obvious that we would all be friends. So we started out as friends with a mutual understanding of musicianship. Archers separated. Seth moved to LA for a few months, then moved in with me when he came back. After that Seth and I really started to write a lot of music. Naturally we had to have Stefan. Boom. WOES.
CB: When I first heard of WOES, it immediately made me think your songs were going to be sad and depressing, however, Don’t Let Go, one of your released songs, is not only relatable but is full of optimism, when it comes to the struggles we all face. What is the story behind your band’s name?
ZB: There really wasn’t a formal technique used to come up with the name WOES. We were thinking short, relatable, and recognizable. It does seem a bit sad unfortunately, but on the flip side of that there can be some positive light in all of our woes. We also derive a lot of influence from blues music so we wanted that to reflect in the name. Initially we thought just BLUES. Uhhhh… No.
CB: WOES is a talented trio. Can you tell me a bit about your musical pasts? When did you first learn you had a gift?
ZB: Seth and Stefan are quite literally two of the best musicians on the planet. That’s a worldwide opinion. Seth got his start through a few different outlets. He did musical theater in his younger days and paired that with playing drums professionally in a Worship band alongside a gentleman by the name of Matt McCoy. Stefan has been playing drums for literally twenty years, which is over half of his lifetime. He got his professional start around the age of 18 playing with a band called Ellison. My first glimpses of music came from watching my mother play guitar and sing to me at night and my brother encouraging me to join choir and drama club so “they had more males.”
CB: You are about to release your first EP. What should fans expect? How would you describe your music?
ZB: The shining aspect of our band is that no two songs sound identical. The genre diversity is broad all while keeping the fundamentals - making enjoyable music that moves people. On this first EP the sounds span from slow songs that you can waltz to with your partner, upbeat songs that you can get jiggy with, and also hip-hop rooted songs with bass undertones that you can twerk to (if you’re into that).
Put all your gloom, trials, and tribulations away and check out WOES this Saturday at the Green Lantern Café! This is one show you will not regret!
