For starters the guys of Slim Wray agreed to meet me at my favorite bar in Bushwick called Alaska for the interview, so I knew going in these were my type of musicans, real, excited to meet new fans, and open to try just about anything in the name of music. At 1st glance from the research I did online on the band they can ease right by you as your typical indie/rock/blues duo, with more than enough comparisons to ensembles like “The Black Keys, The White Strips, etc”. I asked Howzer (Vocals/Guitar) and Chris (Drums/Vocals) how they felt about the comparison and before I could even say I personally disagreed, Chris beat me to it. “We’re gritter, we like the grime” and I agreed. Howzer made it clear as well, that it’s important for them to not only use the influences of the current bands, but to really trace things back.” Dig into old record crates, jam lost of 60’s rock, and work to rejuvenate the old garage band sound.” I would like to compare them to Arctic Monkeys, because Slim Wray really loves what they do. It should always be a good time.
These guys are not new to Rock & Roll, whatsoever. Iggy Pop, Sex Pistols, The Sonics, Surf music and lots of Punk, is what you’ll find them listening to most days (and of course their favorite band Nirvana). They don’t fail to recogonize either that Rock & Roll is the Blues, and they as Chris put it “really love the blues.” Both guys being from small towns (Chris is from upstate NY, and Howzers from Indiana), I knew that a small town southerner like myself (a whisky/coke later), would get the real deets on the band. The best part is that the two are genuinely best friends, and you can tell after about 5 minutes of sitting in a bar with them. Howzers the introvert, the crate digger, the one who can stay in most of the day and get to the bottom of the music scene and find inspiration. Chris is the fun, class clown type who likes to challenge the norm and lives for excitment and to have moments that he can self reflect. Both good boys, who were raised right, and still make it home to visit their families every once in a while.
With their studio space in Bushwick, they literally jam out together, and co-write all their music, the old fashioned way. The guys understand that Rock & Roll is a lifestyle and they have no problem working their 9-5’s and then sticking it to society every other second they get. They’ve done CBGB, they’ve been scouted while in previous bands, they’ve seen it come and go, and they keep going. They inspired the h*ll out of me to be totally honest. I closed out the interview with Slim Wray on my second whisky coke asking “If you had the power to wake up tomorrow and be anywhere as a band, where would you like to see Slim Wray?” The answer: “A long lasting, real fan having, grimey rock/blues band, that always told their fans to take chances in life, and to let go as often as possible.” They also made it clear that they love having Brooklyn as their target audience because it has enough open ears and is growing just like they are. I left the interview with a copy of their new album “Sack Lunch” which will be released in Novemeber, and a genuine excitement to see what the band does with their talent (and to secretly join the band of course). The gentlemen welcomed me with open arms and you can tell they do the same thing with their fans. Pick up the album, go to a show, trust me. They’re the real deal.