LONE WILD – ARTIST SHOWCASE AND INTERVIEW

Lone Wild is a high energy alt-rock ensemble whose music is full of silky grooves and addictive rhythms. The band released their first full length in 2019 appropriately titled Lone Wild. Recently the band dropped two enticing singles from their upcoming sophomore album. In July  Lone Wild fired off the spicy “Locktup” with its explosive barrage of danceable beats. The tune is a ferocious monster determined to have the listener swaying to its divinely propulsive flow.

“The Dirties” continues the adventurous songwriting and vibrant intensities. The song is a tenacious track with its gutsy intonations and dramatic musical elements. Lead singer, Ashkan Karimi’s vocals are dynamic and bold. “The Dirties”  delivers an effervescent funky cadence which carries the song to another level. Think Young The Giant meets Bruno Mars.

Lone Wild is comprised of Ashkan Karimi (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Ben Blount (Bass), Austin Donoho (Guitar) and Aaron Seale (Drums)

Ashkan Karimi was kind enough to give AMP a cool interview discussing the band’s history and their impressive future.

AMP: Can You give our readers a brief history of the band?

Ashkan: Sure! So, the band and its constant shifting has been a pretty
rigorous event over the years. Some of the guys and I have been
playing together since 2011, but the first line-up under a different
name sort of fell apart after a couple years. Then in 2013/14 myself
and one of the members from our first project decided to start
something up again, that sort of imploded. However, at the tail
end of that in 2015/16 there was a small handful of songs that I had
written that, in my opinion, were something too good to just throw in
the trash and quit. Also, I’m just not a quitter. So, in 2017 I
jumped in the studio, scraping together our former bassist from the
2nd project as well as the drummer (who played drums for this new one
“The Dirties”) and we tracked the first half of what later became
Lone Wild’s debut record that was released in 2019.

Then finally in 2020, amidst the whole pandemic, crazy social climate
surrounding racial injustices and the election year, i started to
really dive into writing the sophomore effort. This past July we
released “Locktup” to kick things off, which is included as a
follow-up track to our release of “The Dirties” single!

AMP:  You had serious immigration problems. How did
that affect the band?

Ashkan: So, for me personally I actually didn’t have immigration
problems but I definitely had some serious issues with the immigration
policy America was facing with our last presidential office.

I’m first generation Persian-American and my dad moved here from
Iran when he was only 15 as a means to flee from the leadership of
Khomeini that was overtaking Iran in 1979.

It really hit me when I realized that had my dad not made it to
America then I probably would not be here, doing what I’m doing,
able to enjoy the freedoms we have in the U.S. That led me to want to
partner with promoting causes like Preemptive Love Coalition who help
refugees in the Middle-East.

It’s a big part of my story so that always comes into play when
I’m writing. Probably not every song, but on the last record and the
next there are a few “social justice” type songs.

AMP:  The pandemic is a major issue in the careers of many artists. How
did the band weather the storm?

Ashkan: Honestly, it was sort of a blessing in disguise. I tend to get
my most busy with creating when there’s conflict. That’s pretty
much what happened, just wrote a ton music!

Touring hasn’t been a big thing as of yet for Lone Wild so it was a
nice window to listen to the world around me and let that affect the
art.

AMP: The Lone Wild’s sound is highly infectious. What’s the songwriting
process like?

Ashkan: The process always slightly changes from song to song, but for
the most part I’ll hear a melody, whether it’s a vocal part or an
instrumental part like a guitar, synth, or bass line. Usually results
in me recording a voice memo or two into my phone, that I’ll take
into the home studio where I’ll start to get the basic structure and
bones. I almost always start with drums and bass taking care to make
sure it works with my other voice memo ideas. Eventually, when the
demo is done, if I’m still feeling it, it’ll get taken to the
studio to re-produce things with our producer.

AMP:  Who are the bands major influences and if you could tour with any
band, past or present, who would it be?

Ashkan: For me, each record’s influences sort of shifts by era (like
70’s/80’s/90’s) or genre. However, my biggest influences that
are always somewhere in my subconscious are artists & bands like U2,
Jeff Buckley, Queen, The Killers, Bowie. I really dove into Talking
Heads recently.

If Lone Wild could tour with any band, I’d have to go with U2 or
newer bands like Colony House or Coin.

AMP:  What’s next for the band?

Ashkan: At this point, Lone Wild is just focused on finishing up the
rest of the sophomore record while releasing the tracks that are done.
With the recent uptick with Covid live shows have taken a back seat
and I’ve been working on planning a live stream show. That should be
fun!

AMP: Favorite ice cream flavor and topping?

Ashkan: Ooo, ok. Gotta be Jeni’s Ice Cream, and the flavor has to be
Coffee with Cream & Sugar!

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To learn more about Lone Wild, check out their website

Follow on Facebook / TicTok / Instagram / YouTube

Stream music:  Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud

Purchase:  Amazon 

 

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