Wilson
An interview with lead singer Chad Nicefield
by Tommy Rage
November 2018
Wilson
If you thought that the blend of rock and scratch Nu-metal music died in the 90’s, then you are in for a pleasant surprise. Bands like Korn, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit pioneered a new sound which faded over the last decade. Wilson, a young five piece band out of Detroit, has brought back that fun rock-rap mix and it’s just as delicious as we remember it. Wilson’s Tasty Nasty is 11 perfectly blended songs, topped with young raw talent and robust zeal. Chad Nicefield (vocals), Jason Spencer (lead guitar), Kyle Landry (guitar, vocals), James Lascu (bass), and Matt Puhy (drums) have combined their natural loveable, silly and energetic power on their latest release Tasty Nasty. Out on tour with Steel Panther, I was able to catch up with frontman, Chad Nicefield, before their December 7th show at the Sylvee in Madison, WI.
With two previous albums under their belt (Full Blast Fuckery 2013 and Right To Rise 2015) Chad Nicefield notes how the band changed their sound a little when they went into record their 2018 release Tasty Nasty, “The short answer is yes. We wanted to make a record that felt different from our previous efforts for sure. There wasn’t an idea of exactly what the record was going to be. When we started to make it, we just started to follow our hearts, our sense of humor, our humanity, and just let that guide the ship, if you will.”
“Like A Baller”, the first single from Tasty Nasty, is a song which is dubbed a “reflective introspection” of the adventures of a parking valet, and was written with a sense of humor. Laughs Nicefield, “Yeah, if you don’t [get] that, then there is something wrong with your brain hole [laughter]. Our band, in general, has always had a sense of humor; and with this record we’ve been able to expose that part of our DNA and a little bit more. Someone told me once, that ‘To know Wilson is to love Wilson’ so we decide to put more of who we are on this record and see if it’s true or not.”
This ‘true’ sense of Wilson is a combination of a hip-hop mix smashed with guitar riffs and Nu-metal humor. Tasty Nasty clearly reflects what the band grew up listening to. “We are products of the 90’s”, explains Nicefield, “we were born in the 80’s and we came to our musical discovery in the 90’s and the 90’s music. I grew up listening to Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy and Nazareth. In the 90’s, it was great shit like Beastie Boys and Wu-Tang, Korn and Limp Bizkit for Nu-metal. I graduated high school in 2001, with bands like Sugar Ray and Rage Against The Machine. There wasn’t a conscious decision about what we wanted to achieve with this album. It was just about bringing out that attitude that we had when we were young and we started picking up our guitars and playing music on our own. It was a curiosity and bewilderment and not holding anything back. It’s a modern version of us growing up again in 2018. All of us can say this is our best work to date, as it’s the most honest work to date.”
That ‘young-rocker’ mentality shows through on songs likes “Everyone Gets A Round On Me”, “Summertime Treat” and “Act My Age”, which has a Top-40-feel with a carefree reference to Star Wars and a fake IDs. Having a strong unity amongst all five band members is highlighted with their collaborative song writing process, explains Nicefield, “As a full band, we do it many different ways. There are some songs which are written by all five guys as an ethos, in a practice space, hashing out songs. ‘Money’ is a perfect example of that version of writing songs like that. Then there are other songs, like ‘House of Fuckery’, which I wrote in my home and brought to the group and it got attention when we’re listening to our demos. When it comes to recording, we all lay down our best version of what works for each song in its entirety. There isn’t any selfishness in the creative process, it’s for a piece of art.”
Art may not be exactly what you think about the first song on Tasty Nasty, “Dumptruck”. Surprised about the success of “Dumptruck”, Nicefield gleams, “It’s crazy you mention that song. Over the weekend, that song surpassed 2 million digital streams. It’s crazy because it wasn’t the first single. The success of the song on a grass-roots level, without any radio play is pretty outstanding. We can’t really fathom how to feel really. It’s about shit that sucks, and it was literally put together at the studio with our Producer Scott Stevens (Papa Roach, Sixx A.M.) , with a sick riff and an idea in a huddle-area. We followed our hearts, and knew that this song had to open the album.”
Having spent the last year plus out on tour as both a headliner and support for Steel Panther, Nicefield recalls getting the call about going out on tour with Steel Panther. “Stix (Zadinia) called me personally. I think that’s an awesome way for a headlining man to tell their support [band]. For them to call to speak to me personally about going out on tour, I think is a pretty righteous move.”
Opening for Steel Panther on December 7th at the Sylvee in Madison for the JJO Yellow Snow Ball, Wilson fascinates audiences with their high intensity performances. Even Nicefield has been shocked at some of the stage antics of guitarist Kyle Landry. Climbing over two stories of scaffolding and hung up-side down while playing guitar during a song, Nicefield laughs, “That’s our in-house ‘monkey-boy Kyle’ [laughter]. For a long time, we tried to one-up each other, and we would do different shit. Then Kyle, who loves climbing all things that are awkward, did this crazy shit from an outdoor show. He climbed the scaffolding and he went all the way up. When he got down, he looked at me on stage and said, “Oh fuck, why’d I do that?” I don’t think he knew how high up he was [laughter].”
There is no doubt that these young Detroit rockers have embraced their newfound selves and have taken us all back to the 90’s when a good mix of metal and hip-hop dominated the radio airwaves. With zero Tasty Nasty left in your mouth, Wilson will leave you with a craving for more great music and sweet party tunes.
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CD: Tasty Nasty Record Label: Sony RED
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