Interviews

Wow, Owls!

By Denise Blaz

Having been together for a little over a year, all of the members of Wow, Owls! have fully ensconced themselves into the Richmond, VA's music scene. PICK YOUR PATTERNS, their first full-length, is a cultivation of meandering, developed lyrics and franticness, all impressively done with the utmost coolness.

Wow, Owls! are: Jeff Byers (vocals), John Hall (guitar), Brandon Peck (guitar & vocals), Tyler Worley (bass), and Brian Turke (drums).

SKRATCH: How did you come up with the name "Wow, Owls!"? I think it's really interesting. It's fun to say, too. Do you think so?
JEFF: I think it's fun to say. Do you want to take this one, Brandon?
BRANDON: Jeff was an English major and he was taking a creative-writing class, right?
JEFF: Yeah: fiction.
BRANDON: So, he had a teacher who was a big jerk to him. He wrote a short story named "Wow, Owls!"-apparently titled that way to put [the teacher] off...and it did so effectively, because his teacher gave him a bad grade on it. He had something called the wall of inspiration, and on it he had pictures of ex-girlfriends, and that story was pinned up. We didn't have a name at the time, and John, our guitarist, saw it on his wall and said, "Why don't we call ourselves this?" History was made.

SKRATCH: Can you say it five times fast?
JEFF: [Tries, then stops at the third try] It's hard to say. We sometimes get billed as "Wow, Ouch!"

SKRATCH: I saw a picture of you guys on Myspace, and I noticed that four of you had New Balance shoes on.
BRANDON: We're sponsored. [Laughs] Not really.

SKRATCH: Yeah.
BRANDON: But if you print that, maybe it'll happen.

SKRATCH: So, you all like New Balance shoes?
JEFF: I think. It wasn't a conscious decision to all wear New Balance. I know my story with New Balance: I was tried of wearing skating shoes-because I didn't skate, for one thing-and I wanted sneakers and running shoes. So, I got some New Balances-and I don't think I'm ever going back to flat-top shoes again.

SKRATCH: I like Pumas.
JEFF: I've never had a pair of Pumas. But I would suggest Saucony for running. And you know, New Balance makes good shoes in different colors with the same design. I have only one pair. That's my New Balance story.

SKRATCH: Your new album is going to come out this Tuesday. How exciting is that?
BRANDON: I know that four of us haven't had anything released, so it's pretty exciting.
JEFF: I think it's very exciting, too.
BRANDON: It's exciting because we always hang out together, and to be able to play music together and actually do something with it is very exciting.

SKRATCH: Your song titles are really interesting, I think. Do you want to...
JEFF: Elaborate.

SKRATCH: Yeah.
BRANDON: They don't mean anything.
JEFF: Yeah, they don't mean much. One of them is a quote from TOMBSTONE, one of them Brian made up, and one of them our friend Josh made up. Do you have any specific one in mind?

SKRATCH: "Houston, We Have a Drinking Problem".
JEFF: Oh, that was a joke because we all drink too much. We were trying to think of album titles, and I came up with that one; but Brian didn't want to give his grandma a CD named "Houston, We Have a Drinking Problem," so that title was nixed.

SKRATCH: What's your alcoholic beverage of choice?
JEFF: I used to drink a lot of Miller Lite and Jack Daniels, but Budweiser Select is pretty good.
BRANDON: That's new on the market.

SKRATCH; Yeah, it is new.
BRANDON: I pretty much drink PBR, High Life, and Yuengling.
JEFF: Yeah, Yuengling is very good, too; and PBR is cheap. We don't drink that much, I swear-[just] every day of my life, [Laughs] when the sun comes up and before I go to work.

SKRATCH: Does the album title "PICK YOUR PATTERNS" mean anything?
JEFF: That comes from one of the songs. That has actual meaning.

SKRATCH: Do you want to go into that?
JEFF: Sure. Basically, everyone chooses their own destiny and their own roles in life; you get to pick it, for the most part.

SKRATCH: What's your guilty pleasure, as far as music?
BRANDON: Vanessa Carlton.
JEFF: The new Kelly Clarkson song is pretty good.
BRANDON: Yeah, that is good.
JEFF: It's got some good beats to it. One Dave Matthews Band song is pretty good: "The Space Between".
BRANDON: Ugh.
JEFF: I'm just saying, man.

SKRATCH: Do you ever lose your voice from screaming too much?
JEFF: This tour was actually surprising how well it held up. It only gave out one day, but I drank a lot of throat-coat tea. But yeah, it can, and it does.
BRANDON: It did when we were recording the demo.
JEFF: We were in Massachusetts, and we couldn't go back and re-record the last song; but that song is on the record. We recorded vocals in a week-and-a-half span of time. And that was during finals, too!

SKRATCH: Can you tell me a random fact about yourselves?
JEFF: Brandon?
BRANDON: I'm trying to think of one.
JEFF: Do you want us to tell you random fact about one another?

SKRATCH: Sure.
JEFF: Brandon sometimes go by the alias "Old Man Finger."

SKRATCH: Why?
BRANDON: Because I have a tendency to drink too much and role-play.

SKRATCH: Like the guy from Kings of Leon. Are you familiar with them?
BRANDON: I know who they are.
JEFF: Which band?

SKRATCH: Kings of Leon. One of the guys drinks too much and goes by the name Rooster.
JEFF: The Juiceter?
BRANDON: Rooster-like "cock-a-doodle-doo."
JEFF: Like Tim Curry's character in ANNIE?

SKRATCH: I don't know: I've never seen ANNIE.
JEFF: It's a classic. Oh, I could give you a random fact about myself. [Pause] Oh no-I lost it. [Pause] I used to watch LABYRINTH a lot. (I was almost going to tell you [that], but I thought it would be really lame; but then I thought it was going to be weirder if I didn't tell you-so that's it)

SKRATCH: What's a band that you think deserves more attention?
BRANDON: Baroness.
JEFF: The Set Up. I've been listening to this band named Bloc Party.

SKRATCH: Oh, I saw them on Letterman last night.
JEFF: Yeah, I saw it, too. It wasn't mixed well. It was on between AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE. But I had never heard of them until two weeks ago.

SKRATCH: So, you like Adult Swim?
JEFF: I think we all just like comedy and making each other laugh. It's good to laugh. We try to be funny, but sometimes it doesn't work.

SKRATCH: I think ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT is a great show.
BRANDON: Yeah. I was actually watching it on DVD today. It is pretty amazing.
JEFF: Did you guys see the one with Ben Stiller?
BRANDON: No. I've actually never seen the show on TV.
JEFF: It's good. It may get cancelled-or so I've been told.
SKRATCH and BRANDON: Oh, good.

SKRATCH: What's your favorite track off the album?
BRANDON: I like track 2, "Your New Favorite Song".
JEFF: Yeah, I like that song; I think it came out well. I like the last song on the record, too.

SKRATCH: Is there anything else that you would like to add?
JEFF: God bless America, and fuck the bullshit. Ummm...Support your troops. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. I wish that they brought Surge back. [Brandon starts laughing]

SKRATCH: Is that an inside joke?
JEFF: No.

SKRATCH: What are you talking about? I have no clue.
BRANDON: The soda, Surge.

SKRATCH: Was it a red soda?
BRANDON: No, it was green. And while they're at it, they could bring back Crystal Pepsi.
JEFF: Yeah, but not C2. That shit needs to be dead.

SKRATCH: Have you tried the Lemon Coke?
JEFF: No, I haven't had that.

SKRATCH: How about Vanilla Coke?
JEFF: [Do you mean] pre-made or the one that you make it yourself?

SKRATCH: Either.
JEFF: Pre-made: fuck that weak shit. Make it yourself-it's pretty good.
BRANDON: I pretty much have stopped drinking soda. But if they bring back Surge, I would probably drink that.
JEFF: Oh, a random fact about Brandon is that he also really likes Josta. Are you familiar with Josta?

SKRATCH: Yeah.
BRANDON: Fresca is pretty good.

SKRATCH: Clearly Canadian is good. Have you had that?
BRANDON: No.
JEFF: I've heard of it. I've had a couple of bottles.
BRANDON: Orangina is good, too.

More information on the band can be obtained through www.myspace.com/wowowls. And while you're on the Net take some time to visit www.savesurge.org and www.savejosta.com - Websites fully devoted to bringing back the sodas that Brandon and Jeff love.

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