Releasing their first EP, Japanese Baseball, not too long ago, newly made Chicagoans Wooden Wing have been playing bars and venues around the city to keep them sharp while working on new material. Amassing some thirty new songs, its just a matter of time until the trio puts out a new record, but for now we’ve got Japanese Baseball joining us in the early morning when we take in the day with a cup of coffee and smile at how we relate to simply strummed songs such as, “Bones N Stones” with its opening line, “Mostly all I need is a patch of warm sun/ and a cup of black coffee first thing in the morning/ yeah, there’s not much more to me”
An earnest account of living life day to day, this acoustic threesome offers up a sweet folksiness and pretty male-female vocals that could calm even the wildest of beasts. Adding just enough jaunt and rhythm to their strumming to keep them from sounding too sleepy or melancholy, Japanese Baseball paints the three as real salt of the earth people just doing what makes them happy and sharing it with whoever will give them a shot.
Coming together through mutual friends roughly a year ago, the band already possesses a very unified sound, no one personality out shining another as they split vocals and lead guitar parts. Clean and simply produced, Wooden Wing is a band that isn’t out to reinvent the wheel, just maybe put some fresh air into its tires. Accompanying vocalist Mel Senftle best summed up the band’s approach in the email interview we conducted with the trio this past month when she said, “Each of us contributes something to the sound of each song, and we are each open to what is contributed. When you leave it open-ended, the potential for each song is unending, which allows us to add new parts to older songs. I think of Junip: they broke the scene with several EP’s and then took all their best songs, filled them out, and created one heck of an LP. I feel like Wooden Wing has a similar approach.” (Mel Senftle) We look forward to following the progression of this group and hope to be hearing some of those new songs with our morning coffee sometime very soon.
Hear more from the band on Reverb Nation
Click to read more of the aforementioned interview we did with Ted Gerstle IV, Mel Senftle and Jay Ziegler here to learn more about Wooden Wing’s influences, favorite records and plans for the future.
Reviewsic: What are your top three musical influences?
Jay: That’s a really hard question to ask, mainly narrowing it down to three, but for the most part, we’re all major fans of Neil Young’s work as well as some modern bands such as Mumford & Sons and Black Moth Super Rainbow. Those three bands seem to really capture the band’s folksy roots and experimental nature.
Ted: This is such a hard question. It’s like saying, pick-your-top-three-albums-of-all-time-in-no-specific-order: go. I love American Analog Set, and perhaps, since their discography is etched into my subconscious, there was that idea that a sound could seem simple and clean but still bear fruit on repeated listenings and from there, along with the pure
serendipity of how we came together, Wooden Wing laid its roots. Two, definitely the Midwest acoustic singer songwriter scene. I didn’t even bring a guitar to Chicago when I moved here four years ago. I started going to the open mics in town just to watch people play and sing about their ex-girlfriends. I eventually picked up a piece of wood with strings for cheap and started playing open e songs and complaining about work. Some of the songs from our EP developed out of playing over and over at open mics, particularly Tokyo and Wooden Wing. A lot of the finger picking sounds are inspired by great locals playing their hearts out over beer specials.
Surprisingly, I think for the band overall, our inspiration comes from a variety of non-folk sources. I love synthesizer sounds and the wave of great synth stuff coming out, bands like Small Black, the Drums, and Neon Indian. They each have a different set-up and approach than we do, but personally, I still would like to achieve the catharsis of those encompassing sounds, but do it in our way.
Mel: I’ll listen to Junip before practicing to get some inspiration. I particularly like their percussion and synthesizer work. Great guitars and vocals too. The Beatles early stuff – really gotten a lot of insight on how to rock out the tambourine. Choir music, a’cappella, duets… really, anything with cool vocal harmonies.
Reviewsic: In your opinion, what are the three worst songs to get stuck in your head?
Jay: That new Willow Smith song “Whip My Hair” is definitely one.
Ted:”With Arms Wide Open” by Creed. I was inundated with that song when it came out. I didn’t even have a chance to like Creed it was in my business so fast. I felt like that song was hunting me.
Mel: Kid Rock, “Picture.” Can’t stand it.
Reviewsic: Is there any instrument you don’t play, but wish you did?
Jay: For me, definitely the trombone. That solid brass tone can’t be mistaken for anything else.
Ted: Keytar. I haven’t even had a chance to hold one, let alone play one, but man oh man.
Mel: Full-kit drums (and the trumpet)
Reviewsic: What are the last three albums or bands you listened to?
Jay: Currently I’ve got “Lovedrive” by The Scorpions blaring on my record player. It’s a classic.
Ted: Nujabes – Modal Soul. Mel’s probably going to be mad because I used this one up in my answer and because she gave me the CD. He’s a Japanese hip-hop producer with sexy jazzy beat. The Godfathers – Hit By Hit. Jay sussed out this band from the fleet of killer Brit Rock bands in the 80’s, and we all saw them at Double Door when they came through. I was rocked to a red flush and deafened under glorious waves of guitar noise. PS I Love You – Meet Me At Muster Station. Does listening to the song “Facelove” over and ten times in a row count as listening to the whole album? If it does, I’ve probably listened to that album forty five times last week, if not, just fifteen.
Mel: Nujabes, “Metaphorical Music” (that was a close one, Ted). Can’t help but feel badass when I listen to his stuff. Jonsi has thoroughly wooed my musical soul – I keep Go and Go Live on repeat on my iPod. If I were to be completely honest right now, the third album I (re)listened to the other day was Muse’s Absolution. I dig it.
Reviewsic: If you could work with one person in the music industry (musician, label, producer etc), who would it be and why?
Jay: The three of us are major fans of keeping the recordings as raw and realistic as possible with little to no overdubs. Steve Albini seems to fit so naturally with what we’d like to achieve as a unit. The guy can turn anything into a masterpiece, hands down.
Ted: I used to really want to work with huge producers/geniuses like Nigel Godrich and Brian Eno. To be honest, at this point, I feel like introducing some huge ego into the process would just gum up the works. It’s so corny, but it’s a lot more fun to just play with Mel and Jay than to think about being subjected to someone from the looming entity of “the industry” with aspirations on how to mystically turn the sound into someone’s “vision.” I think part of our thing is that we’re not trying to be one knob crank away from shiny industrial strength perfection. Wait, scratch that. Andrew Bird. Andrew Bird would be really cool to work with.
Mel: I always go with Sufjan Stevens. He pulls together so many elements in his songs in an unexpected and disarming way. And, when the acoustics are awesome, Sufjan live sounds just like his recordings.
Reviewsic: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Jay: Definitely Neil Young. He’s one of those artists who never gets old. He’s always reinventing himself and breaks his own molds. Much like Bob Dylan, he’s been able to transcend generation after generation and I admire that so much.
Ted: ANY bands, eh? I’ve done this in my mind before and it’s hard to settle. … Favorite bands line-up to tour with… We would open, then, after a quick set, Neutral Milk Hotel would take the stage and play “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” then, as the final chords were settling in, M. Ward would rush the stage with a small band and play “Transistor Radio,” finally lights would flash on behind M. Ward to reveal that, the whole time, My Bloody Valentine had been standing behind them emanating a quiet noise hum that is suddenly vaulted to what might be strains from “Loveless,” though it’s too loud to be sure and at the end, two hours later, the audience, in its sweaty, satisfied pile, doesn’t even care.
Mel: Open with smooth-styled M. Ward, crank it up a bit with Junip, get more juice from Wooden Wing, close with some rockin’ Aloha (with those double-mallet bangin’ xylophones).
Reviewsic: Lately we’ve been on this kick of revisiting bands we didn’t pay as much attention to in the past and wondering, “Why didn’t I listen to this 10 years ago?”- If you could go back in time and push 3 bands/records on your younger self, who/what would they be and why?
Jay: For me, there’s a blues/punk band out of the late 80′s from London called The Screaming Blue Messiahs. They’re my favorite band of all time. Especially their song “Sweet Water Pools,” three and a half minutes of heaven. They’re definitely a band I wish I could push on myself when I were still in high school. The band’s songs are all truly great and Bill Carter is one helluva guitar player; no pick either!
Ted: Uncle Tupelo. I never really listened to them when they were around. Some years ago, there was a person in my life trying to get me to listen to them while, at the same time, frustrating me to no end. Word to the wise, don’t spurn off band recommendations, even if they’re from people who are pissing you off. Greg Brown – I think I would’ve needed a push and a couple Neil Young CD’s to bridge me in. Some of his songs have made my life a better place to be. I’m adding Tom Waits to this answer to since I sort of think of them as a bass pair, like God and the Devil, though which one is which I’ll leave to them to decide. MC5 – I know would’ve loved this band, the punch, the waves of guitar noise, the yelling. I wouldn’t have to push this on myself as much as just leave an unmarked disk near my locker, old me would’ve done the rest.
Mel: Appleseed Cast, “Low Level Owl”, for sure. Where the heck was I? (on the east coast, that’s where) Ted opened my eyes to these guys a couple of years ago. Saw them live = changed my life. Boards of Canada, “Twoism” & “In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country.” I love any music that creates space, and B of C definitely does that. Mu-Ziq, “Lunatic Harness” and “Brace Yourself” EP. Totally fun and energizing. I would have had these guys on my headphones while I was walking to class.
Reviewsic: Tell us about your Japanese Baseball- where did the inspiration for it come from? Did you set out with the specific intention to make the kind of record you made/is there any particular theme or concept behind it?
Jay: The title stems from a couple of things. The song “Tokyo” is based on some of Ted’s personal observations in his own life with people and places and what not, whereas the song “Ballad Of Steve Tomasetti” is based on a true story. It’s a tale of this guy who went to high school with my mother up in Massachusetts. He was an all-star baseball athlete who got drafted and on his way out West he got into a bad motorcycle crash and nearly passed away. With that in mind, both of those songs seems to shape the other elements of the album regarding themes of human determination, loss, hope and what truly matters in this lifetime. Plus we thought it just seemed too good a name to pass up.
Ted: I see Japanese Baseball as this idea of something that’s quintessentially American, but viewed from a different angle, like baseball in Japan. We have something of a traditional folk set up in our band, with two acoustic guitars and layered vocals. I think our approach, in terms of how we build and play the songs, is somewhat different from a traditional folk band. Going into the initial recording process, I remember the goal was to try and replicate the live sound as much as possible. To prepare for recording, we treated it like a show, just practicing as much as possible. What we ended up
finding was that the recording mics were much more sensitive than what comes blaring through at live shows, so we found we were able to listen very closely and dial in the tone. It also means that every nuance is picked up, so the record is very expressive. We weren’t looking for a flawless recording, rather something that illustrated the actual successes we achieved when we play together.
Mel: Jay and Ted pretty much nailed this one.
Reviewsic: How would you compare yourselves as musicians at this point as opposed to when you first began playing together?
Jay: Like Cinderella with soot all over her clothes to that big gigantic pumpkin carriage carrying her down the street. Haha, just kidding. We’ve definitely grown a whole lot since we started. More and more ideas have been bubbling to the surface. We’re all brutally honest with each other in terms of our musical abilities as well as our expectations and by pushing each other to be more creative, it just goes like clockwork. It’s scary sometimes how easy it is for us to come up with stuff.
Ted: We’ve practiced a lot since we started. I wouldn’t say the nerves are gone when playing larger shows, but the shaking in the leg has subsided. I can definitely play guitar better than when we started, though I think the simplicity and the focus on what the song is about, from the first tunes we started with, is still something worth maintaining. As a crew, I feel like we’re a lot tighter and more in tune with each other. When we started, it was mostly about hitting the notes at the same time, which was exciting when it happened, now I feel like we’re working more to communicate something together as a group.
Mel: Yeah, there were some nerves to get over in the beginning, but there’s a pretty great aura to our live shows, and that’s built up more over time. When we nail a show, it’s pretty much the best feeling ever – I just wanna dance the rest of the night. And as I said earlier, I like how we are all open to each other’s contributions – that’s something that hasn’t changed since the beginning. That’s what I believe makes our sound unique.
Reviewsic: What are some of your favorite cities/venues to play? Any places you haven’t gotten to that you’re dying to play at?
Jay: Since we formed back in late May of last year, we’re still relatively young, but have quickly grown due to our large group of dedicated friends and band colleagues. We’ve solely performed in Chicago, with both Gallery Cabaret and The Horseshoe as our top favorite venues, but we’re definitely looking forward to playing up in Milwaukee.
Ted: My favorite place to play is the Gallery Cabaret. It’s free shows, cheap beer, easy to get to, and the perfect dive for hearing music. I always have a good time there. In terms of places I’d like to play, I’ve spent a good amount of the Chicago winter holed up in my apartment fantasizing about a tour through the Southwest. I’m tired of character building in the cold, give me some flip-flops, an Eegee’s slushy, and a nice saloon with flapping doors.
Mel: Gallery Cab is pretty great, probably because everyone that goes to Gallery Cab is ready to have a smashing good time. The Abbey Pub has a great set-up and the sound resonates. I’d like to play at the Aragon. Love their space.
Reviewsic: What are the best and worst band moments so far in your career?
Jay: Our best moment so far was receiving airplay at a radio station in Westchester County New York. There’s a great music show out there called Next Music and recently they played our song “Wooden Wing” on their station. To hear our music here in Chicago being streamed online from a station out of NY is pretty exhilarating. Anytime really when it’s heard on the radio is always great. Our worst moment? We really haven’t hit a bad moment so far *fingers crossed*. Every band we’ve played with and every show we’ve performed at this point has always been a great and consistent success. All the bands have been pretty cool to us and vice versa for the clubs too.
Ted: For me, my best moment came out of one of the worst. We were at a show where, mid-song, my microphone turned into a blast of noise, then died. It was one of the first shows I’d played and for a moment everything froze, then I realized I could just sort of sing over the sound of the speakers, kind of yelling the words to the crowd. Everyone started cheering; it was very exciting. It’s happened a couple times with equipment failure or something going out, and each time, it’s like, oh, yeah, we’re pretty much acoustic, we can just keep going.
Mel: Like Ted, my best moment came from the worst. I had surgery on my knee three days before we recorded Japanese Baseball, so I was pretty much a bloody mess (no pun intended). I would lay in a bed heavily medicated, listening to the guys laying down their tracks, then have myself hoisted into a stifling hot room with no air conditioning, and then have to belt out the songs as if I was skipping in a field of daisies. Yeah, it sucked, but getting the chance to record was well worth it.
Reviewsic: What does each member bring to the table to make Wooden Wing what it is?
Jay: I’ve been playing guitar since I was 12, so almost 14 years now. I had extensive training in jazz guitar in high school and classical in college, so by clashing guitar techniques over the years, its certainly added a unique dynamic to my lead playing. Ted brings a beautifully raw and honest approach in his rhythms and melodies. He doesn’t play with a pick, and he’s one madman rhythm player. His strumming and unorthodox technique adds to the timbre and overall tone of the music too and vocally he’s pretty gnarly too. Mel is a truly gifted musician. Not only does she supply great co-lead vocals with Ted, she’s got one of the best set of ears around. By adding keyboard parts, percussion and overall musical tones that always feel right, Mel’s role in the band completes the music sandwich we aspire to prepare. You guessed it, if Ted and I are the bread, Mel’s definitely the lettuce, turkey and Grey Poupon.
Ted: I am definitely the turkey.
Mel: And I’d say I’m more like Jack Daniel’s honey mustard.
Reviewsic: What are your plans for your music in the next year?
Jay: We are in the process of recording more music and getting it out there. We definitely want to push forward with Japanese Baseball and perform at as many venues as possible, get more fans, that old aspiring band chestnut. Hell maybe play a festival or two, that never hurts!
Ted: I think the main goal I have, if you can call it a goal even, is to keep having fun playing music. The more you play, the easier it is to just enjoy the experience. It’s like you trade the adrenaline from nerves with the adrenaline from kicking ass. I’d like to kick at least ten percent more ass this year.
Mel: I just want to keep on singing, rocking the tamb, and maybe gin up some synth sounds for twenty eleven.
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