If you’re a Jersey native with a passion for a bit of wild in your daily routine, rest assured, because you are no longer California dreaming. Cali-based acoustic duo, This Wild Life, is everything pop punk fans could want in their relentless pursuit for new music. Whether you’re already a pop punk lover or if you’re a simple novice venturing into the pop punk scene, chances are you will all be thrilled when you tune into what this crafty band has to offer. With an edgy twist on traditional acoustic elements, This Wild Life also adds high-spirits and humor to their enticing harmonies. There is so much to like about this band—from the good old raw intensity hiding behind the caressing of strings and soft, carefree melodies, to the mellow voice that reveals the truth behind curious emotions.
It’s a wild life indeed for members Kevin Jordan and Anthony Del Grosso. With a history of making appearances at Warped Tour among quite a few other music festivals and tours, they are now touring alongside Mayday Parade, Real Friends, and As It Is on the Alternative Press Tour as we speak!
Kevin sure had plenty to say about the tour, along with the band’s gradual transition into becoming an acoustic band, and much more. Check out what else he had to say below!
It’s been a few months since your last tour, are you and Anthony anxious to get back out there on the road in October for the AP Tour?
Yeah! I think Warped Tour’s a long one—you’re out there in the heat every day, so you’re pretty anxious to get home. And then once you get home, you’re like, “What is everybody even doing here? Let’s just get back on tour!”
(Laughs) Yeah! Also, one of the most interesting things about This Wild Life, to me, anyway, is that you guys were both originally drummers. Is that correct?
Yep!
Would you mind telling me how that instrumental switch-up happened?
It wasn’t a voluntary choice. My old band, our guitarist quit, and we still had show left to go—our merch guy was on drum line with me in high school, so he filled in on drums while I filled in on guitar, and I never really went back. We started a new band where I was playing lead guitar, but then our singer quit. Anthony was playing drums for This Wild Life when we first started, so I started singing, and then Anthony eventually just picked up an acoustic guitar and started messing around on that a little bit more and more.
We did one cover online that was just acoustic, and it went viral, got like a couple million views and we just kind of decided that, “Oh, we should just do more of this stuff.” So, This Wild Life’s second EP was half acoustic, half old band, and then eventually on the third record, we just made the jump completely.
Oh, wow! Were guys able to use the music you had in your original band in Clouded?
No, we wrote all new songs for it. I think there are good versions like good acoustic versions of full band songs that are already out there, so like, if you approach a new song that you know is going to be acoustic from the get-go, then you’re not making sacrifices. You’re not making compromises for the song to sound like it used to. You’re describing a good song that’s conducive to the style you’re playing with.
Judging by your guys’ incredibly versatile backgrounds, I get the feeling you both are pretty grounded when it comes to songwriting and general punk artistry. But I think what many fans want to know is what caused you to transition from being a pop punk band to becoming an acoustic duo?
I think when Anthony started writing a little more. Initially, it was just me writing all the songs myself. When Anthony started writing some more, we started getting some cool combinations of finger picking style that we use a lot. And then…I don’t know, I felt like the songs were speaking to people more, it felt like they were speaking to us more, and it was kind of exciting to take on kind of a new style that we had never played before.
And we both had listened to a little bit of soft music when we were younger and stuff, but, I don’t know, it was just exciting and it felt like the songs were making a bigger impact with people. We had never even played a show acoustic or anything like that while we were a full, and people really, really enjoyed that stuff.
Most definitely.
And we really loved making the songs, too.
Yeah, also, that in and of itself seems like it would be a risky endeavor, were you nervous about how it would be perceived by a lot of punk fans?
Well, we were never at the cool kids’ table with pop rock anyway, so… (laughs).
(Laughs)
So…it’s not like we had much to lose, to be honest. But you know, it was definitely intimidating to go into it, because we had never made a full-length record in that style before, you know? We kind of spent all the money that we had to make that album, when most bands are unsigned or just making the EPs, or just can’t afford to make a full-length album. We just dove right into it. We kind of said, “This is going to be one last shot at making music for a living.”
Because we both had played in bands, and toured in the past and we’ve both played music for a very, very long time. We were getting really tired and kind of discouraged, so we just said, “Alright, one last shot, let’s try it!” (Laughs)
Well it’s a good thing you guys did!
Yeah (laughs).
So, would you say that it gets difficult to write primarily for acoustic recordings, or do you think it gives you more artistic freedom to express yourselves with voices and guitars?
You know, I think any style that you play is going to confine you somewhat, and you can’t be a punk band and expect to play an accordion, or be a death metal band and have a piano. But we’re really lucky that our fans are pretty accepting to whatever we want to try. And playing acoustically is different because, obviously it’s got to be based around acoustic guitar for us to get up on stage and play these songs, but we have a lot of freedom acoustically with different instrument tastes and stuff on the record.
Things on the record, like electric guitar, drums, bass, you can name it and we can do whatever we’d like. So on the next record, we talked about bringing in woodwind instruments like flutes and saxophones and brass instruments and stuff. I think our band has a lot of freedom to move around and try different what we like to call sonic palettes, really, we can experiment that’s on.
Very true. I’m also very happy to hear that you guys are hosting a charity event in your hometown to support breast cancer research and awareness—could you explain a little bit about what prompted that idea?
Yeah! Yeah, “No More Bad Days” I wrote for my mom. It was kind of just me showing support for her in going through some health issues. It just really came to resonate with people. We weren’t really playing it on tour, we never made a music video for it or anything, it organically was one of the more popular songs on the record. People at shows talked to us about it a lot. I don’t know, we wanted to celebrate that song and get that message out to people. Anthony came up with the idea of doing a benefit show for our hometown, and it’s awesome to get support from our local radio station on it. Our label is giving us free shirts for everyone who attends the show.
Wow, that’s fantastic!
Yeah! We’ve depended on fans, friends, and family for support for years, so I think it’s about time that we start doing something to give back, because we’ve been very fortunate in our last couple of years as a band.
How did your mom react to that song being dedicated to her?
Really well. I was kind of nervous to show it to her.
You were?
(Laughs) Yeah, I gave her the CD and I just let her do it on her own. I thought it would be too weird to be there listening to it with her. But she loved it. She’s super proud.
It’s a very beautiful song, so that’s understandable.
Thank you!
I have to ask about this. You guys also have a pretty noticeable humorous streak, judging by your puppet-inspired music video for your song “Stay Up Late,” may I ask why you chose that theme for the song? Being such a beautifully sentimental tune, I have to say, I never really pictured the video involving puppets, so I’m just curious!
(Laughs) I actually made the puppets myself.
You did? That’s awesome.
Yeah! I’m pretty artsy craftsy. Not super talented, as you can tell by my lackluster puppets (laughs).
No worries, I loved the puppets.
A couple of years ago, I watched a documentary called Beauty Is Embarrassing. It’s about an artist named Wayne Wyatt, who used to work on the set for The Pee-wee Herman Show, he did some music videos for Smashing Pumpkins and stuff, but he was really into puppeteering and sculpting and things like that. After watching the documentary, it just really inspired me to kind of get my hands on something. Also, my family—my brother’s a really talented artist, my mother’s an artist as well, and I’m really starting to stick out of the family, that’s for sure! But I enjoyed doing that stuff, so I ended up making the puppets without even telling Anthony about it.
And then (laughs), I was nervous to show him, because I thought he was going to think it was stupid and I showed him the puppets and he just thought they were hilarious. He was like, “We’ve got to use these for sure.” So, I was pretty relieved, because I really didn’t think he was going to want to use them for anything.
Do you still have the puppets, I hope?
Yeah! Actually, we’re going to be auctioning those off for the charity, as well.
That’s really great. Slightly off topic, but I do want to know, since there’s been some gossip that you guys have been getting together and performing with Jeremy McKinnon. Although he’s already on some of the more recent recordings on Clouded, can we expect more collaborations with you guys?
That’s a tough one, because we both have crazy schedules. We only had about three days in the studio with Jeremy, and that was because A Day To Remember wasn’t recording or touring at the time, and we happened to be coming out to California for the Self Help Festival we were playing at. So we were home for a week in between tours, and we were just jamming and recording as well as playing that festival. We’ll see if our schedules permit and everything, but you know, the last record we wrote entirely on our own, so we’re happy with the songs that we did with Jeremy, and we’re happy with the songs we did on our own, so it all just kind of depends.
Do you guys plan on having some downtime once the touring is done?
Well, we’ve just been writing a bunch. Anthony has a girlfriend that lives in Europe, so after this last tour, they have a full month to just spend time together; they don’t get to see each other very often. I’ve been out in Arizona helping my mom out. She’s moving into a new place, so, it’s cool to do just regular stuff that you’re normally doing at home, so we try to make the most of it. These last couple of weeks have just been easier every day, just writing new songs.
This Wild Life will be playing Oct. 15 at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Oct. 16 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, and Oct. 20 at the PlayStation Theater in NYC. For more information, check out the band’s website, thiswildlifeband.com.
