ME: I love that when I first looked you up the first thing that came up was jamming in sticklers grandmas living room - what was the initial jamming days like?
FAZE WAVE: Aha, good question. The original days were very free, we didn't know what we were doing and didn't even go into it with the intention of like, we're going to be a band! We were having a lot of fun and our parents said we were too loud, so Sticklers grandparents welcomed us over!
M: Where did the name faze wave come from
FW: It's such a stupid story! When we arranged our first gig the guy asked for our band name and we realised we hadn't even come up with one! We came up with a bunch of dumb names I don't even remember and then our original drummer said Faze Wave because its a song, one I still to this day haven't listened to, and I thought it was Phase Wave but he was like no it's the cool indie version, Faze Wave.
M: What is Floridas music scene like?
FW: Honestly, it's at a weird stage right now because it's not big like Nashville but it is growing the way it hasn't before. I will say, it's been really lovely people. My friends that are in bands, that I met through the scene, are just amazing.
M: You’ve been formed for almost 10 years - what have you learnt the most on that musical journey?
FW: I know it sounds cringey, but I've truly figured out who I am. There's also been a bunch of random things like how to fix a guitar myself and how to produce a song and travelling alone etc. since we weren't signed before this year we really had to learn a lot but it's been a good thing!
M: You’re going on tour soon! How are you feeling about that coming up?
FW: Mostly excited, but definitely with a mix of nerves! There's a lot more to come and we've been really waiting to do something like this and we can't wait, we've been really hoping to do a Europe one too, we always talk about it!
M: You recently released golden sunshine, how long have you been waiting to release this one?
FW: It was both kind of planned and spontaneous - I'd been writing during the year I was in Montana but when we played for Grouplove, we just immediately got back into the right mindset and recorded everything straight away. We didn't know why we'd taken a small break and so even though I'd written them a while ago, they were just kind of created fully this year.
M: Can we look forward to anything else new coming up soon?
FW: Absolutely! We're finally going to tour the west coast which we've wanted to do for ages. There's loads more tours and music coming up soon, especially next year, we're really getting the ball rolling!
M: You have a set image of surfing, skating etc; how do your other passions and hobbies melt into your music?
FW: I think image wise it kinda bleeds into what we wear and things like that, but it's entirely natural. I live right opposite the water right now, and it's all we know, so it's really just been a part of us. Music wise, I don't think we make music that you would link to the ocean, like you wouldn't think of the ocean and think of us, but we do take inspiration from so many people and things, like the Black Keys, and you will in general hear that inspiration in our music.
M: What do you feel motivates you to continue doing something for a decade?
FW: I've never had the feeling of 'ugh I have to do this now' with music, the way I might with a non-creative job or the gym or something for example. It's my ticket to happiness, you know? Sure, there are days you wanna do other stuff but music has always been there and always been something I've loved.
M: I like to always end on a fun one - if you could fast forward to a time where you achieved something specific with your music that you haven’t yet, what would you hope to achieve and when?
FW: If I can travel the world and meet new people, see new faces, all by tomorrow, I'd do it in a split second!
