Rising indie-pop band, Erin & The Wildfire, who are gearing up to release their highly anticipated sophomore album, “Touchy Feely,” arriving April 1st. Check out what they had to say below:
The Vinyl: To those who may not be familiar with you, mind introducing yourself and to break the ice, share a fun fact no one may know about you.
Erin & The Wildfire: Hi we are Erin & The Wildfire, an indie-pop band based in Richmond, Virginia! We love to play music about tearing down the patriarchy, radical self-love, and body acceptance. Fun fact no one knows about us is: We love to play 20 questions to pass time in the band van, but the first question always has to be, “Is it bigger than a breadbox?”
TV: Before you all met, who or what inspired you to start making music?
EWF: I’ve always been inspired by singers and storytellers, coming from bluegrass roots, I feel connected to others through song. Whitney Houston, Donny Hathaway, Dolly Parton are some of my personal favs. One of my biggest vocal inspirations was a DC based artist, Eva Cassidy. I love her control and tone – she could have sung from the phone book and made it meaningful. She took classic pop songs and made them into heartbreaking ballads and she sang the **** out of the blues. The guys all played music either through church, school, or family ties before we all met too.
TV: How did you all come together? What’s a little bit of background story is there of this fabulous band?
EWF: We all came together because we were seeking out more music in our college experience at the University of Virginia. We each joined the student-run record label called O Records and started practicing and playing together. We were just performing for fun back then, but we started arranging some of my songs for the band and we had so much fun and so much cohesion as a group that we kept it rolling. We played together for 7 years in Charlottesville and just moved to Richmond in 2018.
TV: So you all recorded your second full length record and the writing part of this record was practically virtual, what was that like and how did you all manage to adjust from working in person to everything virtual?
EWF: In some ways the virtual process was really freeing because we were able to try totally off the wall sounds and arrangements, but it also made some of the writing process glacially slow because we were depending on people to work independently. The group in-person writing session forces you to focus and make decisions, but it’s not always conducive to our most creative work. With this virtual process we were able to flesh songs out more fully and try some songs multiple ways before landing on the final version. We had 2x as many sketches as we used on the album, so maybe some of those will be reworked for a future project.
TV: What is a typical writing/recording process look like for you? What normally comes first? The lyrics or the actual music?
EWF: Pre 2020/covid awfulness, we almost exclusively arranged songs that I presented to the band via voice and guitar or voice and piano. My songs typically begin with lyrics in the form of a hook (melody + ideally a catchy lyric) and the music comes later. I’d write a song with completed lyrics and a chord structure and present it to the band to be ripped apart and put back together. However, during the pandemic we wrote WAY more collaboratively and sometimes lyrics only came to me after listening to a new sketch from Matt, Nick, Stephen, or Ryan. For this album recording process, we had the sounds and vibes completely fleshed out before entering the studio. There were some last minute changes to arrangement and organization of the songs, but we came in with a very clear idea of feel for this album.
TV: What was your experience like working with Matthew E. White on your upcoming album, and how did you get hooked up with him?
EWF: We know Matthew through the bustling RVA music scene. We opened for Natalie Prass in 2019 and he had produced her most recent record so we connected at the show. We especially loved his production work on Natalie’s record “The Future And The Past” so we sought him out to work with us on our next project. Matthew’s production expertise was flawless and he really kept us in line scheduling-wise in the best way. He’s like your kind-eyed elementary school bus driver who knows you by name, protects you and guides you with the ferocity of a parent, is the only one who knows how to actually get to the school, but still wants you to get off the bus once you arrive.
TV: Who/what are some inspirations to you? And if there were any artist you could collaborate with who would it be and why?
EWF: We collectively love YEBBA, Vulfpeck, D’Angelo, Jamiroquai, Donny Hathaway, Lalah Hathaway, Chaka Khan, Earth Wind and Fire. And so many more. If I could collaborate with anyone right now it’d be YEBBA. Her writing is so unique and her voice is absolutely the elixir the world needs right now.
TV: Richmond, VA is where you are based. What is the music scene like there? Are there a lot of opportunities and places to play there? And what is your most memorable hometown show?
EWF: Richmond’s music scene is rich. You’ve got every kind of music, on any given night of the week. We moved from Charlottesville because we were going through personnel changes w/ our keyboardist and seemed to always be pulling players from RVA. Richmond feels very musically collaborative – People are always supporting each other and checking out the local scene. We feel really lucky to have been welcomed into such a vibrant scene in 2018. It’s also got a really great range of venues from your rock solid go-to spots like The Camel, to the big stages like The National, and festivals like Richmond Jazz Fest, Friday Cheers, and Dominion River Rock. My favorite hometown show was in 2021 when we played for a sold out Friday Cheers crowd on Brown’s Island. It was our first show back after a 1.5yr hiatus due to Covid and it was BEAUTIFUL outside on Browns Island in the heart of Richmond. I was sizzling from the energy that night. Then of course we went back into quarantine in the months following because of the Delta variant, but it was a bright spot in an otherwise dreary year.
TV: You guys also recently made your debut on NPR’s Mountain Stage alongside so many incredible acts, what was that like for you? Seems so incredible to be apart of something like that!
EWF: Thank you! We felt so honored to be a part of that bill. I got to sing a song with Amy Helm and the rest of the performers at the end of that show and it was so special. I was fangirling so hard. That experience was really lovely through and through – the staff and crew at Mountain Stage are so supportive and professional and Kathy Mattea was there as a guest host and I grew up listening to her songs. My family was furiously texting me while I was on stage to say hi to Kathy Mattea before I left. We hope to come back soon when they have full capacity for the in-person audience again too!
TV: What are some plans that you can share for 2022?
EWF: We are releasing our new album this week, touring it for several months, and then we are headed back to the studio! We are trying to continue this loosey-goosey virtual writing process and throw in some in-person sessions as well to create the next album. The songs keep coming so we want to get back into the studio and keep the energy moving.
TV: As we conclude this interview, anything you’d like to say to your fans?
EWF: We are so thankful for the fans that have gotten us to this point. We hope you like the new record and we hope you’ll come to a show soon because we miss you! Can’t wait to get out and play again after this maddening Covid quarantine. Xoxo -Erin
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Erin & The Wildlife start their tour 4/1 in Washington DC!
APR 1 FRI Pearl Street Warehouse w/ Ali Thibodeau @ 8:00pm Washington, DC, United States
APR 6 WED Tin Roof @ 9:00pm Myrtle Beach, SC, United States
APR 7 THU Suwanee Rising 2022 @ 12:00pm Live Oak Trailer Park, FL, United States
APR 8 FRI The Evening Muse @ 10:30pm Charlotte, NC, United States
APR 9 SAT Sierra Nevada Brewing @ 2:00pm Mills River, NC, United States
APR 30 SAT Rockwood Music Hall @ 10:00pm New York, NY, United States
MAY 13 FRI Penthouse at Center in the Square @ 8:00pm Roanoke, VA, United States
MAY 20 FRI The Southern w/ Tennishu @ 8:00pm Charlottesville, VA, United States
MAY 21 SAT The Camel w/ Tennishu @ 9:00pm Richmond, VA, United States
JUN 4 SAT Sound Checks – Erin & the Wildfire @ 6:30pm Charleston, WV, United States
JUN 11 SAT Sea Leaf II 2022 @ 6:00pm Avon, NC, United States
JUN 16 THU Rhythm & Brews 2022 @ 5:30pm Hendersonville, NC, United States
JUN 17 FRI Market on Main @ 8:00pm Columbia, SC, United States
JUN 18 SAT Smith’s Olde Bar @ 9:00pm Atlanta, GA, United States
JUN 19 SUN Charleston Pour House @ 6:30pm Charleston, SC, United States