Mike Thrasher Presents: WATERPARKS 12/13/19 EL CORAZON As they wrote
and recorded their second full-length album Entertainment [Equal
Vision
Records] out January 26, 2018, a wise prophet’s words stuck with
Waterparks…
“Tina-motherfucking-Fey once said, “Everything that’s good comes
from honesty’,” repeats lead
singer and guitarist Awsten Knight. “When you’re being that open,
others connect. We’re not
vague and subtle in our songs. I want everything to feel colorful and
real. This band embodies
that idea.”
Since their emergence in 2015, the Houston trio—Awsten, Otto Wood
[drums], and Geoff
Wigington [guitar, backing vocals]—have kept it real and catapulted
to international renown as
a result of a signature style that seamlessly slips-n-slides between
rock, pop, and alternative.
Their full-length debut, Double Dare, earned a rare 4.5-out-of-5 star
rating from Alternative
Press and spawned the hit “Stupid For You,” which generated over
4.6 million Spotify streams
and counting.
On the road, they tore up venues everywhere alongside All Time Low,
Good Charlotte, Sleeping
With Sirens, State Champs and more in addition to selling out their
first UK jaunt and 14-out-of-
23 dates on a US co-headliner. Among various accolades, Awsten graced
the cover of
Alternative Press for the Warped Tour issue, and the entire band
covered Rock Sound.
Not only did they play the Alternative Press Music Awards, but they
took home the award for
“Breakthrough Artist” and garnered “Best International
Newcomer” from Rock Sound. In the
middle of this whirlwind, they hunkered down and created
Entertainment. For the first time,
they switched up the writing process and traded H-Town for Los
Angeles.
Awsten holed up in a North Hollywood Airbnb, but he wasn’t alone…
“The place was totally fucking haunted,” he recalls. “There
would be random door closings. One
night, I literally heard a couple of female voices whispering in my
ear, ‘It’s okay. Come with us.’
It felt super demonic. Then, it was all quiet when I got up. I was
like, ‘Fuck this.’ I stole some
Holy Water and sage from a catholic church, but I said a prayer and
apologized since I needed
it. It was definitely a different creative process.”
Having exorcised the living quarters, the bandmates hit MDDN Studios
with producers Benji
Madden [Good Charlotte, 5 Seconds of Summer] and Courtney Ballard [5
Seconds of Summer,
All Time Low] behind the board, reuniting the Double Dare team.
“It was nice to get out of that haunted ass Airbnb,” laughs
Awsten. “It worked so well the first
time with Benji and Courtney, so it made sense to do it again. It’s
such an easy process with
them. They trust our songwriting.”
The boys introduce Entertainment with the upbeat, up-tempo, and
undeniable anthem
“Blonde.” Palm-muted guitar kicks off the verse before building
into a stadium-size refrain, “I
think the blondes are done with fun. At least it’s all about you.”
“It’s the closest thing to Double Dare,” he explains. “I
wanted to come out with a fucking
smasher that’s fast. It captures all of the elements fans liked from
Double Dare and puts them
into one song. As far as the lyrics go, they discuss the stresses and
pressures I’ve felt from
touring. I try to disregard them as much as I can as they wear on you.
This is the first release
where anybody is paying attention and watching. I quit looking at
comments online, because I
don’t want to see good or bad mentions. That many opinions one way
or the other never
helps.”
Elsewhere, “Not Warriors” builds from eighties-style synth swells
into a hypnotic and hardhitting
refrain. “Again, it was written around a time of heavy touring,”
he goes on. “My
girlfriend is an actress, so she’s often gone as well. It’s about
having a small amount of time
together and wanting more. It’s bittersweet. I get to do what I
want, but I miss her.”
“Crybaby” embraces more sampling and programming, illuminating the
group’s growth.
Meanwhile, “TANTRUM” (purposefully in all caps “because it’s
loud”) stands out as a full-on
rocker that “borders on hardcore.” At the same time, there’s the
ebullient “Lucky People,”
which Awsten calls “The most Michael Bublé, Jazon Mraz-ass song
ever! If I was a ukulele guy,
that would’ve been a ukulele song…”
They’re not ukulele guys though. They’re just Waterparks, and
that’s more than enough at the
end of the day.
“I want fans to hear Entertainment and know we’re just being
real,” he leaves off. “We don’t
want to be pigeonholed. We can make rock, we can make heavier music,
and we can sound
pop. It’s who we are. Ultimately, it all comes down to the hooks and
songs. These are the
biggest and best we can write. I know every band says that, but fuck
it. I’m being honest.”
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