In their own words today, we have Ten Miles Wide. I’d tell you a bit about them in this introduction but you can read it all below in this quick-fire set of questions and answers! Drummer Will Andrews took the time to fill in the gaps in our knowledge.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Ryan is from Washington state, Jake has been all over the place but grew up in Virginia, John was born in Texas, grew up in Oregon and has resided in Seattle for a while, and I was born and raised in Massachusetts and moved to Seattle when I was 19.
How did you meet?
In the music scene in Seattle over the last ten years.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Ten Miles Wide is two years old, but John, Ryan and myself have been playing together for about 6-7 years.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
We stole the name from an old song lyric, which was also the debut album of our previous band.
What are your influences?
All of us bring different influences to the table. John is into bluesy rock and grew up on a lot of Nirvana, Ryan listens to Queens Of The Stone Age and lots of heavier stuff, Jake is well-versed in lots of styles of music and his favorite band is Guns N’ Roses and I listen to everything from Brian Eno, to Miles Davis, to Gustav Holst, to Meshuggah, Killing Joke, King Crimson, The Police and all kinds of other stuff. We all like bits and pieces of each other’s influences and dig the same qualities about music.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We only work on music that gives us a feeling. If it doesn’t conjure some sort of emotion, then we’re pretty much not interested. What you’re hearing is this collective’s best effort to translate a feeling to the listener, and with us being our quirky selves, we’re probably not going to sound like anybody else.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
So far, debauchery, demons, aliens, fucked up relationships… and did I mention debauchery?
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
It’s like our record, but with more energy and intensity. We want to make sure that we convey the songs properly and inject them with spontaneity. We’ve done of plenty of shows over the last few years.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
I’ve thrown my drums, Ryan has puked into a trash bin, and we’ve all gotten wasted on stage countless times over the years.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
I use a Tama Artstar II in big sizes with Paiste cymbals. John plays a Gibson SG with P-90 pickups with a modded Mesa Dual Rectifier. Jake uses a Gibson Les Paul Custom with a Budda head and cab. Ryan is currently using a Japanese Fender P J with an Ampeg SVT II Pro head with an 8×10. His other axe is a Gibson Thunderbird.
What are your plans for 2017?
Write, record and tour. We’re stoked on the new music we’re coming up with and we can’t wait to share it with everybody!
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
We’d love to open Helms Alee, and we’d like to have Devils Hunt Me Down before us.
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