The Wildbirds
- Location: Fox Valley, WI
- Website:
- Bio: In the backwoods of Wisconsin, in a small cabin 20 miles from even the nearest logging road, 4 lads found a way to escape the city. Unsatisfied with any prior ... (more)
- Bio: In the backwoods of Wisconsin, in a small cabin 20 miles from even the nearest logging road, 4 lads found a way to escape the city. Unsatisfied with any prior attempts at creating the music that stirred them, they finally found it here. "We spent months in that place, it was our sanctuary," says frontman Nicholas Stuart. "There was a certain moment I recall, after spending the day hunting and fishing for food, we gathered at our instruments and played until the sun came up. It was that moment we knew The Wildbirds had begun."
Shortly after in 2006, after sending a slew of uncut, live demos to industry folks, they found the man for the job. The remainder of that year was spent tidying up their debut record "Golden Daze" with acclaimed producer Greg Fidelman (U2, Green Day, Tom Petty, Red Hot Chili Peppers), and engineer Greg Gordon (Oasis, Hot Hot Heat, JET) in Los Angeles.
Then they took a few months off to contemplate their next move.
"We're horribly impatient, and the idea of playing the waiting game was killing us," mentions Stuart.
So they did as any young band would do (not quite). They sold everything they owned, converted a small short bus to run on used fryer grease, and made the bus their home. "It’s quite the foreign feeling to be without the average household luxuries," says Stuart. "No proper bed, no couch, no T.V., and definitely no shower. But it's incredibly freeing as well."
This has been the everyday life for these four quasi-gentlemen (and one lady, Emily, who is lovingly called "the fifth member"), for about 35,000 miles & five months time... so far. "It all started as a diligent way to promote the record, to play as many cities as frequently as possible. But now it's simply the way we live."
Although five months may seem like an eternity to spend in the tiny confines of the bus, they're not nearly ready to hang their hats. "This is only the beginning," says guitarist Matthew Reetz. "Our first record just came out and we've accomplished incredible things so far."
Since the release of Golden Daze in August, they've done three full U.S. tours, a trek from Eastern to Western Canada, and will continue at this pace through mid-2008, including a venture early next year across the pond.
"Rock and roll is freedom to us, we won't quit, we can't. And we're a bit excited to see what tomorrow will bring."
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