Band Spotlight: The Garden

In our latest Band chat thing, we chat to the kings of Vada Vada, Wyatt and Fletcher Shears, about their latest album, ‘Kiss My Super Bowl Ring’, new inspirations and more. S] As a collection, what does ‘Kiss My Super Bowl Ring’ mean to you now? W] To me, it’s our most cohesive record since ‘Paperclip’. There is a strong theme around it and the album title speaks for the entire record . Its overall attitude shows, and you can tell throughout each song. To me, it’s a new step, into a direction that I’ve been inching towards for a while now. F] I definitely agree. It means progress as a unit for me. I truly feel that we have progressed as musicians, and creators in general and I can feel it when I listen to the record. That’s all I can really ask for. We accomplished what we set out to do. S] How do you look back on tracks like ‘Surprise’ now, at this point in your career?  W] I usually have to put myself back into the shoes that I was in at that time to understand why I would’ve made a song like that. I’m not saying that I dislike it, but it’s not what I’d find myself making today. I still have a soft spot for old tracks like that though. F] It represented the time in our lives I think. I don’t know if we were all that great at expressing our feelings through the music in the direct way that we wanted to during that time period. It’s taken a lot of work, but we’re at a point now where I feel like we are more content and sure of what we’re putting out because we’ve taken the time to understand our own selves a bit better. S] What does success mean to you guys as a band now?  W] To me, success is setting goals, and accomplishing them. But making sure that I am living a happy life on the road, to accomplishing them as well. On the other hand, it could be defined as just being privileged enough to be around people you love. F] Success is an interesting word to me. It’s always been more of a subjective thing in my mind. The more I think about it in a subjective way, the better my quality of life is. So as long as I am happy within, the more material successes are less of a goal to me personally, regardless of how much I may need them or not. But it’s all a matter of opinion I think. S] What would you say the biggest challenges you face as a band are now?  W] Right at this very very moment…… probably Coronavirus. For obvious reasons. F] I’m going to go ahead and say Coronavirus. Because that’s all happening right now and affecting us as a band in a negative way. S] How important is the image, and aesthetic of The Garden now?  W] To me personally, even more important than before. I’ve grown to really appreciate The Garden as a whole package, visual/audio etc. It has a lot more growing to do, and needs to be tended to from all different angles. It excites me for the future. F] I agree. S] What tips would you give to emerging artists now, that take inspiration from your work?  W] It is still surreal to me that people are inspired by what we do, because when you’re the one doing it, it just feels normal. But, I’d say the main thing I’d stay away from is directly emulating an artist you enjoy. I think it’s important for people to be inspired and to make it their own, but not to try and become the artist they admire, or try and copy and paste who they’re inspired by. Ive seen this happen from time to time, and it seems to do more harm than good to their projects. F] Come out of the gate bringing something new to the table. If you have got some shit to say, don’t be afraid to say it. Other people’s opinions on you won’t matter in the long run. I had a lot to say and didn’t say it at first. Always speak your truth, or something will always feel off.