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Oklahoma indie rock band Wilderado talks about 'Talker'

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Wilderado
Erica Snyder
Wilderado

Tulsa band Wilderado had a whirlwind of a summer. They were featured in blockbuster movie Twisters, both on the soundtrack and on screen. Fresh off the release of their second album, Talker, they headlined a sold-out show at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa.

KOSU's Matthew Viriyapah spoke to singer Max Rainer about the album unintentionally having a more "Oklahoma sound," as well as a band and crew that all call Oklahoma home.

On an Oklahoma crew

We're an all-Oklahoma crew, which is sick. Everybody's coming from Tulsa. Now, I think we're a very uncommon story, especially for a town like this, right? I mean, it's like, maybe everyone goes home to Nashville, but getting seven people to go home to Tulsa. It's not easy.

But everyone kind of on that last day being like, we're going home, and everyone's idea of home is the same place— there's something really tender about that.
Max Rainer

I think as the band grows as we go different places I just hope people don't want to hide the fact that we're from Tulsa, at least can just get behind the people of the band. And it makes you feel good. It makes you feel like you have a family.

On a more Oklahoma sound

I think it wasn't so much intentional as it was when those sorts of decisions started or once those sorts of things started happening, we didn't push them down. I think some of the guitar work really is almost silly that was just from us having fun. And that's what I mean. We would do something silly or something that honestly made us laugh more than anything.

And instead of just kind of throwing it away, I think we took some time to just sit on it, and I think they started becoming hooks, and started becoming things that were actually pleasing to our ear.

And so what started almost as like, well, what would Brooks and Dunn do in a joking manner, it kind of was like, 'Oh, man, this is actually kind of fresh.'

Some of these things just kind of was like well, what would it be like to just explore kind of the outer realms of some country guitar work on some of this stuff, because we're just all huge fans of that.

And I don't think Wilderado will ever be a country band, but I think we just allowed ourselves to kind of go down that path and then making sure we were constantly communicating again about, like, are we pushing the envelope too much?

It just always came back to like, loving it, but it's hard to do.

You know, if you said to me, all right, go write an Oklahoma song, I'm not sure I would know how to do that.
Max Rainer

It was more just like, I think those things kind of live in our heads, and it takes a particular moment for it to work. But I think we were able to make it work in several instances on this record.

I love the idea and the outcome so much more than than I think the idea of trying to set out to do that. I feel like it'd be from a place of hubris that you would be like we can make an Oklahoma sound, cause I don't know what an Oklahoma sound is.

There's so much sound here. It's not just red dirt.

It's such a huge envelope of noise that comes from this city and this town and this state. To have people associate us with Oklahoma for some reason, I take a huge pride in that.
Max Rainer


Wilderado's new album, Talker, is out now.

Music featured in this episode:

  1. Wilderado - Tomorrow
  2. Wilderado - Headright
  3. Wilderado - Simple
  4. Wilderado - Talker
  5. Wilderado - Longstanding Misunderstanding
  6. Wilderado - Sometimes
  7. Wilderado - Higher Than Most
  8. Wilderado - In Between featuring Ken Pomeroy
  9. Wilderado, Ken Pomeroy & James McAlister - Wall of Death
  10. Wilderado - In Between
  11. Mel McDaniel - Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On
  12. Wilderado - Bad Luck
  13. Wilderado - What Were You Waiting For
  14. Wilderado - Coming to Town
Matthew Viriyapah is KOSU's production assistant. He is also the host of the Oklahoma Music Minute and the music podcast Songwriters & Tour Riders.
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