A WILHELM SCREAM interview

by marcs77

The heroes of melodic hardcore punk with the heart into complexity and technique are back with a new album, their sixth in a career spanning over 14 years, entitled “Partycrasher” -well, sure that's nothing new to most of you guys being the record out since last November 5th, 2013.
As far as Italy goes, and it's really a pity pointing this out, A WILHELM SCREAM haven't made it to breaking in the league of the four-horsemen-of-punk-rock-band-to-be-booked-to-headline-major-gig-festivals (and who are these fab four? Nofx, Rancid, Pennywise, Ska-P) but they get either to open for bigger names or headline small sized venues like it's the case tonight here in Milan, in the smaller dive of Forum's building. Again I know that sucks alot! But who's to blame? Organizers who wanna play safe or kids who don't move to go out to a show where no-big-names are headlining?
We set down with Trevor Reilly (guitar and shredding) before the show to talk about “Partycrasher” and a good bunch of other interesting shit.
You'll be reading Trevor mentioning how the new songs are getting through surprisingly well, it was a few months since the release of “Partycrasher” and meanwhile the five-some has followed the European tour up with the usual insane tour routine and surely a few of those new songs have already become a staple of their shows.

gan: Just for the records please introduce yourself.

Hi, my name is Trevor Reilly and I play guitar in A WILHELM SCREAM.

gan: So you're on tour with Astpai guys. How's been the tour going thus far?

Yah, the tour has been awesome so far and all the shows have been really good, like really a good vibe and we've been having a lot of fun. I know everybody in the band is having a lot of fun. The crowds have been making the shows amazing.

gan: And what about the reaction you got with the new songs?

Surprisingly really positive...we didn't know people were gonna know the new stuff but, you know, we've been playing three new ones, actually four, we've been playing “Boat Builders”, “Gut Sick Companion”, “Wiseman” and just added “The Last Laugh”. Usually it would take a good all year for people to really get into the new songs. With songs like “The Last Laugh” we've got a lot of people singing along, you know...which is really rad.

gan: How do you think this record fits among your discography?

I feel like this one, looking at it now objectively, a lot these songs are more on the similar line and side of the band of what we've done in the past but we've also tried to bring the shred whenever we can and try to keep our kind of technical edge to it but also we've tried to make songs as timeless as we can possibly do. I feel like it stands somewhere near “Muteprint” and “Career Suicide”...that kinda mash together perhaps. You know you are always the worst critic of your own stuff...

gan: I've always associated your band to melodic technical driven punk hardcore bands like Propagandhi, Belvedere, Strung Out so your musical prowess got me curious to know which kind of musical background you guys have. Did you as a guitar player get some classic music education or have learned day by day DIY style? Learning by hear?

Yes, a lot of learning by hear but I'm not that good like learning other people's songs...I'm kind of a slow-learner. I started on the drums so a lot of my musical knowledge comes from listening...from arranging songs and stuff like that you know...I always say that the most technical songs that I can probably play as a guitar player are the ones that I wrote. Because I find playing other songs difficult, you know, to do like you can imagine to step it up shred some Propagandhi stuff, the new stuff it's like incredible, I mean, they keeps getting better and better but I definitely take a lot of inspiration from that band and from a lot of bands like Iron Maiden, Bad Religion and a lot of friend's bands too.

gan: And what about the other dudes in the band?

I really don't know...I know that Nick is also self-taught playing in bands, hammering it out but I don't know what kind of musical lesson they had in the past. I'm not really sure. I know they are insane. I'm sure they didn't wake up one day being able to do what they do. It sure took a lot of work and practice and I'm sure they got some tips along the way.

gan: I'm curious to learn something about the cover artwork of “Partycrasher”. Who did it and who came up with the idea behind it?

The art was done by our good friend Dave from California. He came up with the idea and the concept based on where the band is based. New Bedford, MA. They call it the Whales City, you know, it is where Moby Dick was written and it has kind of a dubious fame like, you know, it's kind of big part of our history there. So, yeah, he came up with the idea...and him being from another place...kind of like him having visited New Bedford and everything like that...I think it was just kind of one of those things where, you know, where he tried to put together for the artwork or anything like that and practically the story was a whale crashing the party of like a bunch of whale hunting boats and you know it really fucked up their day.

gan: I'm not a kid anymore and I've born in age when you wanted the full package (music plus cool graphics plus liner notes) while today's kids can live with a bunch of mp3s. What's your view? Am I alone feeling like they're missing something?

I think they will be. I mean they're missing a lot of things...you know, they're missing the whole picture. I got to grow up in a day and age where it was very important like to read the liner notes. I wanted to know who wrote the songs, who produced the record...all that stuff and I wanted to know what the lyrics actually were. All that shit was really important to me. I don't know how it is like to be in the position of a younger kid because I don't really give a shit about any of that, do you know what I mean? I guess the old guys think and feel like “oh yeah, they're missing a lot!” or maybe it is not just as important to them, maybe music in general it's kind of like, you know, try it out, try it out and throw that away...whatever...I don't really know.

gan: Earlier I mentioned you're on tour with Astpai. Do you get along with these Austrian dudes?

Yeah, Astpai are awesome. You know, we've got to play a bunch of shows with them in the past and got to know Zock, the singer, a lot more when he was the guitar tech for the Flatliners, you know, we were in tour in Europe with them last summer. He told us “you know we're going to America for a short tour and we'd love to record some songs in studio and stuff”, and they came out and spent a day with us, you know, recording some songs which they had been playing every night and they got a 7” out there. It's rad! It was great to get to know them and I really appreciate their sound. They're really rock n roll. Like Austrian pop punk AC/DC, you know...their chord progressions are really cool and they're very Malcom Young, very Angus Young...

gan: What other bands are currently listening to these days?

Well, on the first leg of the tour and on the German leg of the tour we brought along a band called Kmpfsprt who are an awesome band. Very like our music with a vibe, you know, really endemic, German vocals and stuff like that. It was awesome to share the stage with them as well. There had been Gnarwolves opening for us in the UK, they're really cool at skate-punk and stuff like that.
As far as other bands go, like in the bunk in the bus, I've personally been listening to Propagandhi, of course, they are one of the masters of it...and let's see...I've been listening to Bodyjar. They're Australian...an Australian punk band. AC/DC I've been listening a lot to AC/DC or Iron Maiden...all kinds of shit...

gan: Did you hear the new Comeback Kid stuff?

No, but I heard their single “Should Know Better” and it's such a rad song. I can't wait for this album to come out (the new album is titled "Die Knowing").

gan: Did you get to share the stage with them in the past?

We toured with them I think twice and we've also run into them on random shows like years ago and then they took us on tour in 2010 on a Canadian tour which was great, you know, since then we run into them in different parts of the world. They're awesome guys and they're like tight friends and that's fucking really cool.

gan: If you weren't a musician what would you do with your life?

If I wasn't a musician I probably would have put all my efforts toward writing. I'd probably writing movies...I'd trying to breaking with that...screenwriting which is something that I'm really into, you know, I would do it anyway...I'd trying even if it was going to be just for myself.

gan: And if you had to chose one movie you love?

I guess it would be The Godfather or Taxidriver or True Romance...that's really a tough one...

gan: Would you be writing screenplays for movie like these?

When I was eleven or twelve that was the movies that got into the movie, you know, I went to school for it and ended up with a degree in literature, movies and stuff like that and studied a lot about movies in college and the best screenplayers. I also like movies like Indiana Jones, Star Wars...

gan: Do you wanna add something before we close this?

It's been awesome talking to you Marco and I want to say “Grazie Mille” to our Italian fans.

gan: Thanks Trevor!

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