It will be a, well, “Wild,” time when up and coming Kelowna rock band The Wild rock Scores with One Bad Son, June 30 for a pre-Canada Day party at Scores.
The band, which has only been together as the Wild for less than tw
o years, scored an instant hit with their gritty AC CD meets ZZ top blues rocker “Roadhouse,” which is getting play on a lot of Top 40 radio stations on Alberta and B.C. “Party Till you’re Dead” is also getting airplay.
Frontman/ lead guitarist Dylan Villain hadn’t expected “Roadhouse” to be an immediate success, but Jason Ellis started playing it on his radio show, then mainstream radio stations started picking it up.
“We just appreciate all of the love we’ve been getting,” Villain said.
“ We didn’t expect it. We just love what we’re doing and would be doing it regardless,” he said.
He always enjoys the live show.
“We didn’t name ourselves the Wild to sit down and not be entertaining. We very much live up to our name. We sort of sound like a motorcycle gang but we’re a band. We like to have a good time and hope that everyone comes and has a good time with us. We all know you have the day off the next day,” said Villain.
He, bassist/ vocalist “Boozus” Jancikic and Rowdy “ Rick Riegs,” have been playing together for 10 years in successful indie-rock band Buck Knife.
They added guitarist “Pistol” Pete to the fold in the winter.
“He’s been a friend of ours for years. When we were thinking of getting a fourth member we wondered about it. We wanted to have a person who would fit in with us as people because we’ve been playing together for 10 years.
“ We love him. Having him on guitar lets me stand back and be a frontman while he carries the weight of the guitar,” he said.
They are putting the final touches on a new full length album who they recorded with Mike Fraser, who has worked with people like Dave Grohl, Aerosmith and AC DC.
“He’s worked on all of the AC DC albums from the last 20 years. Mike approached us and we were really humbled. It was great to meet him. He really got a feel for what we were trying to do,” he continued. While the Wild often gets compared to AC DC, it isn’t a sound they were trying to emulate.
“I love AC DC and my dad loved AC DC and still does, but I really love the blues. Our sound is a combination of everything we’ve ever heard,” he continued.
“When I was kid, I really paid attention. I’d listen to guys who I idolized and listen to the guys they praised. So I listen to the old blues guys like Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, John Lee Hooker, those are my guys,” he said adding his dad also turned him onto blues music.
He said the band is still working on the new CD, so they don’t know when it will be released.
“It’s really great,” he said.
They are excited about touring with their good friends, One Bad Son again.
“It’s awesome. It’s one thing being on the road and another to be in a van with other guys who are doing what you do. And when it‘s your friends that's just great,” he said.
The show begins at 9 p.m., June 30. Tickets cost $20.
