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| We Are Kings and Queens photo by Drew Reynolds |
WAKAQ apparently performed live January 23, 2015, at The Viper Room, on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood in support of Jimmy Gnecco.
They are, from left to right:
Vincenzo Marranca (bass), Jonathan Mahan (guitar/vocals/keys), Ben Hancock (guitar), and Andrew Smith (drums)
Grammy Award winner Guy Massey apparently mixed their debut E.P. (extended play) titled “Rise and Fall." Guy Massey previously worked on albums by The Beatles, Radiohead, and Ed Sheeran.
WAKAQ's drummer, Andrew Smith, granted us this interview.
La Libertad: Where were you born?
Andrew: Everyone in the band is from a different place and walk of life. Jonathan is from Nashville; I was born in San Francisco, and lived for a while in Boise, Idaho; Ben is from Maine; and Vincenzo is from Sicily, Italy.La Libertad: Where do you currently reside?
Andrew: We all reside in Culver City, Los Angeles.La Libertad: What is your occupation?
Andrew: Most of us work part time as a server/bartender in restaurants. Jon is a graphic designer, and does a fair amount of designing for apps and websites. Andrew also does some P.R. [public relations] work for some start-up companies. La Libertad: What do you love most about your work?
Andrew: Creating something that other people love. I had... moments when I was younger where I was at a concert, and it blew me away; it changed my life. I walked away having had an experience like none other. All I've wanted since then is to be able to create something that can pass that feeling on to others.La Libertad: What talents and hobbies do you have?
Andrew: Vincenzo and [I] love to surf. [I am] big on getting outdoors - camping, fishing, and hiking. Ben is a photographer. Jonathan has [a] new passion for life in general with his sixteen-month-old son. La Libertad: What inspires you?
Andrew: Life. Everything around me. The trees, the wind, the trash in the streets of L.A., relationships, love, lust, living the way we do, sunshine, rain, coffee, other music, and so much more...La Libertad: What is the hardest part of your job?
Andrew: The hardest part about being a musician is sticking with it and keeping motivated. Sometimes it's not an easy life to live. There's a lot of great bands out there, especially in L.A. It's easy to feel lost, like a small drop in a big ocean. But at the end of the day, when someone sends you [a] note about how your song inspired them, or they come up to you after a show with a beaming smile and glow in their eye - it's all worth it.La Libertad: What foreign languages, if any, do you read, write, and/or speak?
Andrew: Vincenzo is fluent in Italian and English. The rest of us speak English and, well, [I am] pretty fluent in Australian.La Libertad: Where have you traveled?
Andrew: I spent some time after college traveling around the world. I left on a one-way ticket to Zimbabwe without a plan. I ended up spending fifteen months abroad and making it through Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Madagascar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, India, Bulgaria, Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary, Belgium, France, Spain, and England. Lots of crazy times and crazy stories! I wouldn't trade that fifteen months of adventures, learning, and experiences for anything.La Libertad: What are your career goals?
Andrew: We are hoping to make this band into a career. As well as bandmates, we are best friends. Three of us live together, and it's much more than a band; it is a way of life. We hope to cut a new path in the music scene that we can call our own. We want to be an incredible band making timeless music. We want to be a band that people make love to, break up with their girlfriends to, go on road trips to, dance around the living room to...La Libertad: What projects are you working on?
Andrew: Right now this is it. We Are Kings and Queens. We all believe in this project one hundred percent, and we have big plans and big goals in sight. La Libertad: What upcoming events, if any, do you intend to participate in?
Andrew: We just submitted a video for N.P.R. [National Public Radio's] tiny desk concert contest. It's a series where bands come in and do stripped down, acoustic performances in an office space. Check it out!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QGYGjmhx4kLa Libertad: What other links would you like to share?
Andrew:
www.wearekingsandqueens.com
www.facebook.com/wearekingsandqueensmusic
www.twitter.com/wakaqmusic
www.instagram.com/wakaqmusic[NOTE: Josh Mitchell also provided these links:
music video for their single "Decide":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJvz8kzAStE
on sale at:
itunes.apple.com/us/album/rise-fall-ep/id808585723 ]
La Libertad: What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers?
Andrew: Authentic connection is what rock fans crave. A quiver in your voice, a bead of sweat while you share your soul, a story they know is true... I hope we can fill that gap. Instead of trying to write the next hit song or being the next big star, be yourself. I want to be We Are Kings and Queens. I want to be us. I want to define who we are, know it, and own it. As a rock band, I hope we can carve a new path and be something different, exciting and interesting. Something that sucks people in and sticks in their bones...
Introduction by Josh Mitchell and William Mortensen Vaughan
Interview by Libertad Green
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