In the spring of 2000, OC alt-rock hero Brian Coakley (The Cadillac Tramps/Rule 62) and his wife, Jamie Sims Coakley, formed a band. A few years and countless hours later, they are finally ready to unveil their very own special variety of rock-n-r [+]In the spring of 2000, OC alt-rock hero Brian Coakley (The Cadillac Tramps/Rule 62) and his wife, Jamie Sims Coakley, formed a band. A few years and countless hours later, they are finally ready to unveil their very own special variety of rock-n-roll, dubbed WAXAPPLES.
"The type of music is definitely rock...only not straight up, but rather with a twist" says Brian about his latest project. "I took what I loved most about rock music; simple song structures, nasty guitar riffs, and a whole hell of a lot of punk rock energy, and mixed it with the possibilities of expression that modern technology affords. The first songs were recorded by myself and my producer at the time, Chris Furhman (Sparklehorse, Brian Eno). I started with drum loops and samples, over-dubbing guitars and bass. I suppose I got a little high with the possibilities, adding in 60's style keyboard parts and a sprinkling of really cool, moody horn lines. When we went to put a band together to try and duplicate what we had recorded, well...it turned out to be a logistical nightmare. There were eight bodies at our first rehearsal. Drums, bass, two guitars, two female back up voices, (one of whom was Jamie) and keyboards. That lasted all of about three weeks, before I realized we had to simplify."
And simplify they have. When you see WAXAPPLES now, you might, at first, mistake them for a ska band, or maybe rock-a-billy without the pompadours and cuffed jeans. However, once they start to play, the band is unmistakably rock-n-roll. Their style is a bit 1950's glamor mixed with a twenty first century edge. The band is a streamlined version of their first incarnation featuring James Grissom on drums, Marcus Irvin on bass, Brian on guitar and lead vocals, Matt Kalin on saxophone and Jamie on additional vocals. "In the beginning, I was doing much more traditional back ups then what I do now." Says Jamie. "I used to sing mostly tag lines, which was fine. But, as the band began to take on it's own character, I found myself singing more and more. Now, I double Brian's lead on more than half our songs. I sing lead on one song, "I", and do traditional back ups on the rest." This approach tempts one to make comparisons to "X" or The Pixies, and the gritty, nasty saxophone riffs, (many writ
|
 |