Working with members of your family is not always an easy thing. There are four brothers though, who don’t seem to share the same opinion. Jacob, Jeremy, Joe and Johnny Wright, also known as The Wright Brothers, are four of seven siblings who decided to join forces and form the band of their dreams. Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma they grew up in a musical household, with both their parents trying to pass on to their children the love for music they shared.
With their family’s support and the trust on each other’s natural talent, they overcame all the apparent obstacles that every new band faces and released their debut EP with the title You, Me and the Universe on Christmas day in 2012. Self produced -under their own label- and with “love” being the common theme of the six songs included in the album, they managed to receive lots of encouraging words and reviews to keep up the good work. And they never stopped working. Ever since that day, those four talented young boys have done a lot to take their progressive/cinematic/rock tone to a new level. They also “added” a new member to the band, which is none other than Joe’s newly born son, Hans.
Lately they’re working on their new songs for which they are extremely proud of and until the release of a new album, Rock Revolt Magazine speaks with them about music and hopes, and declares The Wright Brothers as INDIE BAND OF THE WEEK.
How did you come up with the idea to start a band?
We grew up playing music together since we were kids. When Jonny and Jacob were young teens, we turned our bedroom into a music room, with guitars and amps, drums and microphones. We played very loudly all the time! Then Joe became interested in the drum kit when he was very little and was just a natural at it. As we got a little older, we started to do other musical projects separately, but we were still always helping each other out… so then at one point, Jacob just suggested that we get together again and make it a band. Not long after, Jeremy joined us- he had been taking classical piano and cello, and he naturally fit in with us. So, even though it was a conscious idea to start a band, it really just seemed like a natural progression.
What does the rest of your family think about it?
Our family is very musical- they are our biggest fans!
Did music always play a big part in your lives?
We were raised in a musical home, our mother played trumpet in school bands and was a music major at her university- our father never played an instrument, but he loves rock n roll, so we had all those elements around us growing up. Our mother gave the older siblings piano lessons when we were young, and almost every sibling was drawn toward music and playing musical instruments- it was always encouraged by our parents.
What are your musical influences?
Between the four of us, there are way too many influences to list specific ones. There is a lot of music that we have in common that we love, but we have all been personally influenced by different music, so it’s a real melting pot of lots of influences and styles. It’s a mix of classical composers, pop, progressive rock, pop rock, nu wave, electronic music, ambient rock, post-rock… the list would go on and on.
Being brothers, does that make your co-operation easier, or not?
It probably depends on what kind of brotherly relationship you have. Some people would hate the idea of being in a band with their brothers. For us, it’s a blessing. Not because we don’t have disagreements (we do) – but when we have arguments, we all know that it’s because we’re all passionate about the music, and we understand that we have different personalities. So we don’t take anything personally. We can have a disagreement, but we know that we love each other, so it doesn’t affect our relationship. We grew up fighting and arguing! So it’s not a big deal… it’s not personal.
What kind of music do you like to write and what genre characterizes you the most?
Our music just naturally leans toward being very uplifting sonically. We describe it as “soaring”. It’s not gloomy or depressing, it’s very joyful, cinematic, and the themes are positive: awe and wonder, romance, nostalgia, love, etc. We call it “space rock/dream pop”.
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS – NEW SCIENCE MUSIC VIDEO
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Where do you draw your inspiration for your songs?
Inspiration comes from everywhere. There is so much beauty in the world and in the universe.
Your first album came out on Christmas 2012 and it is self-produced. What difficulties have you experienced so far in breaking into the business?
There are a lot of things you can do for yourself as an independent artist, but you can also be very hindered by lack of money and connections. We released the album under our own record label, Lightworks Records – and our music is available worldwide digitally. All you can really do is to put it out there using all the resources that are available, try to make connections, and hope that people hear it and connect to it.
You, Me and the Universe is the title you chose for your debut EP. Why did you pick that title?
The title, in very simple words- juxtaposes the romance of two individuals against the vastness of the universe and existence. This imagery is also shown in the cover art, which depicts silhouettes of a young boy and girl, holding hands as they gaze into the grandeur of deep space. It’s the concept of innocence, youth and romance, juxtaposed against the awe and wonder of the vastness of existence. It’s cosmic love, awe and wonder. So it’s a concept record, each song weaving in and out of those topics.
Are you currently working on a new album?
We’re really a studio band more than anything- we focus more on writing and recording music than even playing shows. So we’re always working on ideas, and then the best ideas become something that we fully produce to release. We have some new songs that we’ve been playing at live shows, and we plan to release studio versions of them soon, either in a new album format, or as singles.
Could you tell a few things about it?
We have one song that we’re very excited about, called “Rocketship” and another called “Theophany” – which is a word that means “the manifestation of God”. We’re excited about how those and some other new songs are turning out, and we hope to get some new music released soon. Plus, we’re working on a concept for a new music video for one of them as well!
Apart from the band, what else –each of you- do in your everyday life?
We all stay very active creatively, Jonny and Joe both work in creative fields, Joe in video production and Jonny in television and music production, Jacob is always writing, Jeremy is studying music in school and plays cello in the chamber orchestra and songs in choir. Also family is very important- all of our family except for one sibling lives in the same city, so we spend a lot of time together: meals, parties, any excuse we can to hang out as a family!
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS – HEY UNIVERSE!
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Last year, Joe became a dad. What has changed since then? You have new priorities now?
Joe’s son Hans is everyone’s new favorite person! He’s a very happy baby, and an inspiration- a beautiful example of childlike wonder. It’s amazing to play with him and watch him with wide eyes, just taking in the new world around him! And it brings up very nostalgic feelings, to think that we used to be little kids playing music in our bedroom, and now he’s bringing his son to the studio! And Joe falls asleep a lot more when we’re working in the studio… (laughs)
How do you imagine yourselves in let’s say 10 years from today?
Hopefully just still creating music. If we can make music for a living, that would be amazing, but music has always been our life- almost as important as food. So we will always love creating music.
