Band of the Day: The Wild & Free

Any time we get a band from St. Louis, I’m reminded of that moment Steven Tyler addresses Moe’s as there, rather than Springfield (when The Simpsons used to be good).

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

We are from the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri.

How did you meet?

Mike and Dan played in an old band before this and when that ended we decided to start The Wild & Free. Dan knew Rachel from high school and we had her come audition and she killed it! Then we needed to find a drummer and Mike was friends with Marc’s older brother who introduced us to Marc. And then about a year after being a 4 piece we added Zach on bass. Mike and Dan knew Zach from the local band scene and we all had played together before so it was a natural fit!

How long have you been playing as a band?

October 2019 will be 2 years as a band!

Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?

So we did not have a band name for the longest time before we went public with the project. We could not think of anything to save our lives. We threw around other names like “Karaoke Kids” and another that started off as a joke “Chocolate-covered Strawberries” but when it came time to release the name we decided on The Wild & Free which is named after one of Mike and Dan’s favourite bands albums Wild & Free by a band called A Rocket to the Moon.

What are your influences?

  • Dan, Mike and Zach love 2000s pop rock and pop punk: The All American Rejects and All Time Low
  • Rachel loves EDM
  • Marc likes classic rock

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

We like to blend that old school pop rock sound with the new wave EDM elements. It’s typically fun upbeat music but if you dive into the lyrics there’s an underlying important message or darker meaning.

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

We write about real life experiences that we all have gone through and hope it helps others who may be in the same spot that we were.

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

Our live show is a ball of energy. You better be ready to jump, dance and shake your booty! In the past 2 years we have spent a lot of our time in the studio writing our first EP and then a full length album so we’ve probably only done about 30 shows but we are gearing up to spend a lot of time gigging in 2020.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?

Oh boy… a few things come to mind. One time we were in Cape Girardeau and Dan asked Mike to go check the trailer lights before we drove to the next city and when Mike got out, a huge guy gets out of his car and offers Mike a hooker.

Zach likes to climb on things and he got up on the bar in the back of the venue and starts running around and jumping on top of it and the bar tender was pissed.

What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?

  • Marc uses either his DW drum set or his Pearl set
  • Mike uses Gibson. Either his Firebird or ES339
  • Dan it kinda depends on the night but he also plays a lot of Gibson and Fender
  • Zach plays a Fender P Bass

We all use SIT strings and Savage Custom Picks. And Marc uses Scorpion Percussion drum sticks.

What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?

We are constantly plugging new material. We release a new song and video every 6-8 weeks. Our last release was a song called “Smoke & Mirrors” but we have a new single called “Band-Aid” coming out September 18th.

What are your plans for 2019?

Play as many shows and cities as possible, meet all of you amazing fans and create some dope memories.

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 would love to open for Paramore, Shinedown, All time low, The All-American Rejects. Man, to open for us… there’s so many friends we’ve made. Maybe our friends in Bleach another awesome St. Louis band. Or our friends in Discrepancies.

Header image by Ryan Philips

The Wild & Free: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube

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