DARYL WILSON

photo by Meredith M. Goldberg

DARYL WILSON

The Bollweevils have always had a unique sound that combines traditional melodic punk with a sincere and energetic approach not unlike the Lookout! era of pop punk. How did you begin to develop this sound as songwriting partners?

I think it all stemmed from our general love of many styles of music.  I can say that I believe Ken and I have similar tastes in music.  We love a wide range of things and that helps with finding a catchy hook.  We can be at practice or anyplace for that matter and hear a line from a song and start singing the same tune.  We can see a reference to a topic and think of the song that correlates.  The songs could be a tune from a cartoon, Vaudeville, new wave, punk, pop, soul, rap, you name it and we start singing together.  This broad love of all types of music, I think, helps us write and helped shape our sound.

Are there specific methods or approaches to songwriting that each of you take on as a matter of habit or discipline? How do you usually begin to share a new idea for a song?

So our method of song writing isn't very disciplined, at least in the traditional way of putting music down on a music sheet and coming up with a fully fleshed out piece of work.  Usually Ken comes up with a guitar line that is organized as verse and chorus. He will bring the song to practice or send it via some recording and I will listen trying to pick up the feel of the song and what it's saying.  I write all the lyrics based on what I feel the song is about listening to the cord changes, the "darkness or brightness" of the song, and what topics are in the forefront of my mind at the time.  I usually have multiple themes running through my head and see if they fit to the song. 

I have tons of lyrics written sitting on my computer but I have never had a song work with pre written lyrics.  Those lyrics have a harmony running in my head that Ken hasn't played yet. So for each song Ken brings to the table the lyrics come to me as I hear the song.  Mind you, the first iteration of the song won't always be the final version.  I get a general impression of the Theme, how the cadence of the lyrics should flow, and usually a chorus that hits on the central Theme of the song.  So in thinking about our method, Ken brings the music and I usually start with a chorus.  We then will see how it makes us all feel as we continue to mold the song.  If we don't feel any energy we look at what needs to change, lyrics, the way I sing, the guitar, bass, drums.  If nothing is working the song gets put to rest to either be a work in progress or die and never be seen again.  We usually let songs that aren't working die.

Stick Yer Neck Out has aged well over time, and there seems to be a timelessness to the style of punk that you guys create together. Do you agree? How would you explain the longevity of your own unique brand of punk rock?

I get told this all the time!  I totally agree!  Stick Yet Neck Out has aged well and sounds timely although it could use a remastering and a few touch ups.  That record is over 25 years old! Think it's 27 years old in fact!  I believe because of our love of all things music we write stuff we like to listen to as well.  Hearing songs from our childhoods that still resonate with us today make us work at writing songs that we hope do the same thing.  We play songs that we like.  Our sound is pretty unique due to our many influences.  I may have a love of Bad Religion or The Descendents but find as much of an influence from Prince or Sly and the Family Stone on a song.  I may find that my love of The Circle Jerks and Government Issue mixes well with my love of 80's Pop or Joy Division.  This style of punk that we play has lasted, I think, because we write what we like, which is taken from a deep well of diverse influences.

Are there any modern technologies that you utilize for demos, recording ideas, and so forth? Do you each have any routines associated with songwriting that help you stay motivated and inspired?

The modern technology that helps us most would be the ability to send recorded clips via email or text to everyone.  Ken can plug into his mobile device and record a line.  I will record a vocal Melody on my phone occasionally and see how it fits a song.

The motivation for songwriting for me comes from my everyday experiences and observations of human behavior.  I try and lead a pretty stoic existence and writing down the things that set my mind on fire helps to ameliorate the anxiety causing events that I know are out of my control.  The things I see as an Emergency Physician, what people do to themselves and to others also, is a big motivating force for my song writing.  I try to find the silver lining in most of the dark clouds that seem to permeate people's daily routine.  I know full well that isn't always possible, but writing about it keeps reality rooted in the forefront and at least helps remind me to have realistic expectations in all things.

Good example, the song Bottomless Pit.  Its a love song that let's you realize that love is a trap and you take risk falling in love. You hope that the people you love will always be there for you but there is no guarantee. You may end up getting hurt and say you will never love again but guess what?  You will probably do it all over again and again despite the pain.  It's a never ending cycle, hence the Bottomless Pit. You can fall in love forever but may never hold onto it, or maybe you will.

It seems to me that your later and more recent material never got a proper push for publicity and distro - was there a shared approach do how to release your newest material? Do you find it more challenging to connect with today’s audience of shorter attention spans and fleeting interest in the particulars of a constantly flowing sea of content?

Yeah, didn't really push out the last material with a publicist.  We used our good friend Justin at Underground Communique records to help get the record made.  The Attack Scene was released in 2015 and we really like the songs!  Its up on our Bandcamp page and we sold some records locally and took them with us to California when we played out West in 2015.  I am not so good at the moving parts when it comes to marketing our band.  I sometimes don't think that anyone really knows who we are and that makes me think, why bother with the public display?  Those that want it will seek out the product right?  I understand that this is a horrible way of thinking and need to work a little bit harder at that aspect of the band.  It's a little difficult with my other responsibilities like family and my medical professional responsibilities.

That being said, it is a bit more difficult to capture the new listener because of the way music is accessed.  We get more interest when we get out and play live.  That's when we have a better opportunity to get more people into our camp but it's still hard to get them to go and take in your content.  There are so many choices for people and content changes so quickly that it's hard to garner new followers that stay loyal.

The energy that you guys display on stage does your songs justice, and your live show has continued to be a sought-after experience. Do you write songs with the live show in mind?

Definitely the way we write reflects the energy we want to display on stage.  Like I said, we like the songs that we write and play.  I love seeing a band that truly enjoys what they are doing. That's the point isn't it?  To play live and transfer that energy back and forth from the stage to the crowd and back again.  When we write, the song has to make us feel good or it won't become a song of ours.  If the song live hits you and gets you moving, or invokes some semblance of emotion, you are more likely to become a fan and seek out our recorded material. That's how we discovered so many bands we like to this day.  By seeing them play live  we then got their recorded material after the show and became fans.

One of the early Dr. Strange bands that later became famous was Face to Face. I find that your early sound was similar in some ways - did you guys have much interaction with them being on the same label at that time? On a similar note, have you maintained contact with bands from the 90s who would later achieve higher levels of fame than The Bollweevils?

Love the guys in Face to Face.  Trever is a good friend.  We just talked about the time they were going to Fat Records leaving Dr. Strange.  They asked if we were going to leave as well and we were not even considering that as an option.  We are loyal to the end.  I find out years later why they left Dr. Strange.  It had to do with the bass player at the time and some crazy stuff he was doing.  It's a story for another time and it's wild.  I was unaware that the stuff that was happening was happening.  So yeah we had all kinds of interaction with our label mates.  Rhythm Collision, The Tank, Guttermouth, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Whatever, all the bands back then and so many other bands.  Youth Brigade, Screw 32, Rancid, 88 Fingers Louie, Naked Raygun, The Smoking Popes, hell I could keep naming bands.  Still in contact with people from these bands as well.  The guys in Rise Against are all good friends as well as many of the guys in all these bands. It's all about relationships you build with people and being genuine.  No pretentiousness, just honest people to people time.  Still get to meet many people because of my life in a band.  Most times we talk about stuff that isn't band related.  I prefer those interactions.

Being a Chicago band, what were your feelings about some of the more prominent bands that came out of your scene? Screeching Weasel and The Vindictives in particular? Was there any mutual acknowledgement among the bands as sources of inspiration and community?

Chicago scene is like the city.  We unify on some stuff and completely segregate ourselves on other things.  Weasel and The Vindictives were one faction and The Bollweevils and 88 Fingers Louie was another faction.  Initially all bands played with one another and then we got labeled as West coast wannabe punk bands and we started doing our own thing. Looking back on the petty stuff as an adult, it was all ridiculous.  We all drew our inspiration from different places.  We would go to shows of the bands and even played shows together despite the factions but I would never say we took any inspiration from those two bands. Listen to the song Icon off of Heavyweight.  That sums up some of our feelings at the time.  I guess you could say there was some influence coming from the other faction on our song writing at the time. Hahah.

Do you feel that punk rock is something that the young generation today can appreciate and embrace the way that we have? Do you feel that its relevance is waning at all? 

My feelings are probably irrelevant to the younger generation.  They will experience what they define as punk in their own way.  Every generation wants to say what they did was more genuine than what this new generation is doing.  It's all bullshit.  We keep evolving and things change.  Experiences change as well.  Yeah, it was different when you had to read the liner notes on a record you bought to see who the band you liked thanked.  Then you took a chance on buying the band you heard about without having a chance to sample the songs before buying, unless your buddy made you a mix tape. But now your electronic devices will suggest what you may like based on your streaming data.  The political climate changes but stays the same.  We had punk that was against the status quo but also had those that didn't necessarily March to the drum beats of that kind of resistance. The motivations that keep human interactions the way they are don't change, just the way the interactions occur.  We break up by text, no longer look people in the eye, and end up in virtual places instead of going to real places.  Punk shows still happen.  Kids still put on house shows but also get to go to big festival events.  Did the punk we listened to bring about some utopian society or bring about some big social change? Nah.  It didn't.  There are people we all know that will tell you they used to be punk whatever that means.  I couldn't even define what punk is to you, only what I believe punk happens to be to me.  I guess it's like pornography.  I will know punk when I see it. And everyone will experience punk in a different way.

There’ve been many features on The Bollweevils that pay particular attention to your respective careers, which to many fall outside the norm of what outsiders would consider “punk rock”. How have your career decisions impacted your musical lives? Have their been songs inspired by your experiences in the classroom or the operating room? Do you feel that the educational and medical systems are prime topics to write about?

Yeah, people get a kick out of me being a physician and Ken being a Principal.  I still get to do some pretty crazy stuff as an emergency physician.  It's an adrenaline junkies dream profession.  I get to also make a difference in the lives of the people I care for on a daily basis.  My profession is a performance with the highest stakes involved in some cases. 

My pursuit of medicine did put a damper on taking our musical careers in certain directions, but let's face it, punk rock won't pay the bills.  My profession is ripe with inspiration for our songs.  John Doe came out of my medical school days in the cadaver lab. Dysomnia by Design came out of my insomnia and sleep deprivation during my medical training.  The basics of human interaction in the setting of the emergency department is ripe for the frantic scrawling of musical ideas.  The struggle as people deal with mortality and morbidity is a great place to pick themes for songs.  These are classic story telling tropes fleshed out in real life.  Never would use a true case but can look at the global shared things we all experience with fear and finding willpower to overcome fear as we look at our own mortality. As well as looking at how we experience the fullness of life and should never take it for granted.  I love being a physician but The profession and the practice of medicine is changing and that is also a topic I explore in my lyrics.

Something else worth pointing out is that you guys have always carried yourselves as a very down to earth, approachable band. Do you see that as being a priority? Do you feel that your roles as members of the punk rock community extend into ambassador roles given the respect and influence you have as professionals, husbands, fathers, etcetera?

I pride myself on being approachable because what you see is what you get.  I am just a guy who got lucky enough to be on stage jumping around. We are just regular guys who have the same hangups, worries, triumphs, humor, interests, etc as you.  Yes I can act as a bridge to help some of those I interact with outside of the music, like some of my medical colleagues, feel comfortable with what they think Punk Rock is all about. I can act as a bridge for many things because I am a 6 '4 dude with dreadlocks who happens to be a physician, husband, father of 3, and a punk rock singer.  I have a whole bunch of conversation starters! Haha.

I do think it's important to show good will to others because that's what I would want meeting a new person.  Let's break the ice and get rid of the prejudgements. That's all we have in the end right?  Our interactions with the people we meet and those that remember us.  I try to teach my kids this dictum.  We may not end up being best friends but I appreciate having a good conversation, a smile, an acknowledgement that we are all on this planet together in a big universe still interacting as pleasant individuals.  It's emotional currency that people spend way too easily on frivolous stuff.  I'd rather bank the good Will and save it up for the rainy day you run into that person who is an anchor that wants to draw everyone down.  Build up a good will buffer against joy killers.

What does the future hold in store for The Bollweevils? How does this musical outlet fit into your daily lives, and how do you foresee the next chapters to come?

We are heading to the studio at the end of July with some great new stuff!  Still playing shows and getting a kick out of doing what we do.  Music is such a great release for me and the stressors of the ER and even daily life.  I try to stress the importance of having a creative outlet in your arsenal of well being.  It's a key to being balanced in life.

The future is unwritten.  I plan on doing this till I just can't do it anymore.  I keep myself in shape so I don't see any end in the near future.  David Yow is my hero.  He still kicks major ass as a front man so I've got years to go before I even consider hanging it up.  My kids love that I play in a band so I have a home grown fan club that keeps me motivated.  Wife still supports my crazy hobby, so horray for me!  The future may be unwritten but it's awfully bright in my eyes.