I Don’t Belong Here is the final chapter for Provo, Utah pop-punk band, Wired For Havoc, but it feels like the start of something good. The past five years have seen the band release two EPs and now, two full-lengths, making things feel well rounded and giving listeners hope for the future. Even if it’s not with Wired For Havoc, these musicians still have quite a bit up their sleeves.
Read more about I Don’t Belong Here and what’s next for the band and their new projects below!
Interview by Dom Vigil
Can you tell us a little bit about Wired For Havoc for any readers who might not be familiar?
Wired for Havoc is a band out of Utah. We have been a band since 2011, and released 2 full length albums, 2 EPs. The vast majority is very pop punk influenced but the later material sets itself apart from that but maintains a cohesive sound.
You guys just celebrated the release of your new album, I Don’t Belong Here last month! Now that it has been out for a little bit and you’ve had some time to reflect on it, what are some of your favorite things about the album?
“I Don’t Belong Here” means a lot to Andrew and I. Its kind of hard to pick out specific favorite things. Its been the first album that weve really been able to take full control of. From the writing, to the recording. Its been getting a killer response from fans and we’ve been recieving a lot of messages about the record and how its helping some people. That’s always one of my favorite things to hear. I like knowing our music is affecting people and making a difference.
It being your second full-length album, was there anything you wanted to accomplish on I Don’t Belong Here that you weren’t able to do on Roll With The Punches? What goals did you have for this album?
One thing we wanted to accomplish, which we did, was to self-produce it. And really take our music places it has never really been. Roll with the Punches, while we are very proud of it, a lot of the songs were songs we’ve been playing since 2011. So the fact that this record has all new material that we were able to take our time on, we were able to touch on more topics we’ve always wanted to, and write a little more in depth.
How do you feel you’ve grown as a band in the two years between Roll With The Punches and I Don’t Belong Here?
We grew a lot in between the two albums I think. A lot of things happened. Life happened. In that time, many things broke us down, and lifted us up, and inspired us. I think it helped the lyrical content of the record for sure. Because while pop punk songs are all fine and good, we wanted to take it a little deeper than that.
Writers block was a massive problem. We’ve been playing pop punk for a long time, so that’s naturally what I would write on guitar. But I felt like everything I was doing had been played out, and I was regurgitating our old material or just songs you’ve heard from about a thousand different bands. I think the key to getting out of a rut like that, is searching for inspiration in different places. In the music you listen to, or the people you tend to be around. The more experiences you have, the more inspiration you get. Whether those experiences are bad or good, they will make you feel a certain way, and that for me, helps me write.
What was the most rewarding thing about working on it?
The most valuable experience about this, is probably learning how to produce. That’s something I am planning on trying to do full time, so its a valuable skill to have.
With I Don’t Belong Here out now, what’s next for Wired For Havoc?
Now that I Dont Belong Here is out, we have decided to put WFH to rest. Unfortunately, not everyone was in it 100% over the last few months, thats a big part of the reason Andrew and I did this by ourselves. Everyone had different things they wanted to do, and thats fine. But we didn’t feel right just breaking up without one more release. But we are all working on new music regardless. Sean and Devin have a pop punk band called Rejoin The Team. Andrew and I have been writing a lot. So its just a matter of finishing stuff up and figuring out the next steps.
Do you have any other big plans or goals for 2018?
The rest of this year we are working a lot on the more personal aspects of our lives. Jobs, moving, working on producing, recording other bands. We may try to release new material under a new project but thats still in the works.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you so much for having us and talking to us. We are grateful to have had the opportunities and experiences we have in our time as a band. We have met so many amazing people and made lifelong friends. We wouldn’t trade it for the world. Keep your eyes on the WFH page for updates on our new projects.
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