Cam Parrucci-
The Wrecks are an up-and-coming, Los Angeles based indie pop-rock band of five friends: Nick Anderson on vocals, Nick Schmidt on guitar, Harrison Nussbaum on guitar, Billy Nally on drums and Aaron Kelley on bass. With a week of band practice under their belts and a non-existent budget, the band set off to record their first EP in 2015.
By some miracle, a close friend of the band got them three days of free studio time, and after three long nights, they finished a self-titled three song cut. The breakout single, “Favorite Liar”, (which has already garnered well over a million listens on Spotify) is an exciting, evocative, epic song that cannot be listened to without at least some rhythmic head-nods.
Their songs are fun, pop-punk nostalgic, and demand to be turned up louder with each listen. After just a few plays, anyone can dive deep into their definite catchy choruses, banging chords and drum beats that beg you to dance.
Currently, The Wrecks are on a nationwide tour with indie rock band Nothing but Thieves.
“It’s been crazy, it’s a dream, y’know? I can’t believe that we are actually going on tour, I’ve always wanted to, so it’s really everything I could ask for,” says Aaron Kelley, University of Wisconsin–Stout graduate, especially considering the release of the EP just a few months earlier. “It’s been really busy, playing shows almost every night, but the guys in Nothing But Thieves are great. They draw really huge crowds.”
Aaron Kelley is no stranger to shows at UW-Stout. Kelley was a former music coordinator for Blue Devil Productions, and would get into contact with bands and musical acts to perform on campus. Now on the other side of the same deal, The Wrecks are returning to UW–Stout for another show after a successful concert last year.
“We love Stout, and we are really excited to come back,” said Kelley. “As you know, we got really lucky that our day off on tour just happened to be a Thursday, so it worked out perfectly to play there. It’s a really good time.”
Kelley gave us some insight about playing: “It’s not really about the size of the crowd, it’s all about the energy we get from the crowd, it’s why we perform. As long as the crowd is really excited and has fun, we will have a lot of fun too.”
The Wrecks will be coming to perform a free show at UW–Stout on Thursday, October 13, and look forward to meeting the crowd after the show. If what you hear leaves you wanting more, don’t worry! As soon as the tour ends, the band will be getting back into the studio to record their debut full-length album.