Interview: Wishkicker
Interview by Dillon Gray
Photography by Katrin Braga
I asked Vancouver based band Wishkicker to describe the vibe of their recently released debut EP “POR QUE, Y?”, recorded at Little Red Sounds with Felix Fung on Cherry Tapes, which they described as “something you can pop in the tape deck in a shitty car and listen to on your way to the beach.” Check out the full interview below with band members Megan Magdalena (bass/harmony) and Kyle Schick (vocals/guitar) as we chatted about cheap wine, punk rock hot dogs, what inspires them, and the young vagabond desire to stay youthful at heart and tour "forever and ever."
POND: So, how did you guys meet?
MEGAN: I met these guys a year ago, fell madly in love with them both, and we've been inseparable ever since.
KYLE: Alex and I have been playing music together for a few years, in a few different projects. He’s one of my closest friends and we’ve got a pretty natural musical chemistry. I met Kaeden in high school and we grew up playing in bands together. His guitar playing was always a big influence on me, so it only made sense for him to be a part of this.
POND: What are some of your favorite memories together?
M: When we first met, Kyle and Alex were living out in the valley (about an hour and a half out of the city) so I would take a greyhound out to visit them and we'd sit on Alex’s patio and smoke and drink cheap wine.
POND: I love cheap wine. What’s your go to?
M: The cheapest *laughter*. Actually, we recently stopped drinking and smoking...it's weird. But really nice. I don't think we could've afforded to record our album if we were still doing that stuff. Anyway, we'd play "the YouTube game" where one of us would pick a song and then the next person would have to pick the next song from the related videos that came up, and so on and so on. We'd have to listen to a lot of shitty songs until we finally found a good one, but it was always so much fun. Those are some of the best memories ever. We'd also go to "castle fun park" which is this literal castle filled with arcade games and mini golf and go carts and a bowling alley. It's meant for kids. But it's incredible.
POND: Childhood is a social construct it’s fine *laughter*. So as a visual artist yourself, how do you think that has influenced you musically?
M: I’ve always loved photographing musicians, making music videos, and designing album art… so obviously it’s super fun for me to get to do all that stuff for myself. It just makes sense, and I’m happy I can merge those worlds together so organically with these guys. We all have the same aesthetic. It’s pretty magical.
POND: What music inspires you all?
M: We all are nerds over the same bands…Weezer, The Strokes, Pavement etc. Super 90s/early 2000's influence.
K: Interpol, Elliott Smith, early Arctic Monkeys, its all sort of jumbled in there in one way or another.
POND: The early 2000’s were the golden years!
K: I love a lot of“classic” pop/pop-rock sort of stuff. I grew up listening to my dad’s CD collection at first, so I’ve got a lot of Paul McCartney and Wings songs somewhere in the back of my mind. I love the Strokes for their refined minimalistic approach and their ability to conjure a feeling or bring me back to a moment in time. I really love a lot of different sorts of music in different situations in my life. I listen to a lot of MF DOOM at work, Chet Baker when we’re making dinner, Elvis Costello on the turntable late at night after a session or a gig, Miles Davis on a rainy afternoon, Nick Drake on summer nights.
POND: Speaking of your favorite bands, I hear you have a funny story about Dead Soft.
M: One of our favorite local bands is Dead Soft. I took their promo pictures last year and afterwards we went to 7/11 with Nathaniel (singer/guitarist) and he got 2 giant hot dogs but they didn't have any condiments for some reason… so he stole a cookie from behind the counter and said "retribution!" And walked out. Then, whilst holding 2 hot dogs and shoving a cookie into his mouth, he walked through a field of dandelions and started kicking them. I drunkenly mumbled "easy there, wish kicker" and that's how we got our name. *Laughter* He'll probably kill me for telling that story but I don't care. Dead Soft is the band ever, though.
POND: That’s awesome! Eating 7/11 hot dogs definitely earns him street cred in my book. You work at a hot dog joint right?
M: Yeah, I work at a punk rock hot dog joint owned by one of my best friends!
POND: What is a punk rock hot dog?
M: You’re a punk rock hot dog.
POND: You just released your debut EP, tell us about it!
M: We recorded our debut EP, "POR QUE, Y?", at Little Red Sounds with Felix Fung. It's out now on Cherry Tapes. The video we made is for the track of the same name. It's super cheesy and campy and we filmed it/edited it all ourselves in one night ‘cause we're crazy *laughter*
POND: What’s the vibe of the tape? Was there any appeal to a specific emotion that you wanted to convey?
K: I think it sounds pretty fun. We had a really great time recording it and I think it comes thru. I hope it’s something you can pop in the tape deck in a shitty car and listen to on your way to the beach or something.
POND: Are you guys going on any sort of tour?
K: Ideally we’d like to make a jaunt out to Vancouver Island this summer. There are some rad bands and people over there. Hopefully something longer after that: head across the prairies or down the coast into the states.
M: I want to tour forever and ever.