Somewhere in the middle of assigned seating and somewhat caring about gym
class, the ska band, The Waffle Stompers, first emerged. After a lot of
stop and go over a number of years, the band finally set sail into
practicing, writing, and playing shows. Having played with childhood
idols, Reel Big Fish, just this past summer, the band has no intentions
of stopping. "Our goal as a group is to just keep going, because we love
what we do," guitarist Ted Moore confirms.
When asked about the ska genre and where it's going, Moore responded,
"the reason ska kinda declined recently was because the last wave was
just that good. Every band wanted to sound just like Reel Big Fish, Less
Than Jake, or The Mighty Mighty Bosstones...Something that we strive for,
and some of our friends' ska bands too, is to be a bit more aggressive,
edgey, or faster than the traditional ska mold...We're calling the genre
Post-Ska."
If anyone has heard or seen The Waffle Stompers', you would agree they
are certainly heading in the right direction of a fourth-wave of ska.
Even after watching over 300 bands perform in the past myself, I'd have
to say The Waffle Stompers remain one of my favorites to see live;
they're just so much fun. As Moore puts it, "it's the adreneline just
kind of kicking in when we hit the stage and whatever happens happens."
Now that you're dying to see this six-piece in action, all you have to do
is round up some friends and get to Starland Ballroom on February 27 to
catch The Waffle Stompers share the stage with Big D and the Kids Table!
For more shows, check out their myspace:
www.myspace.com/thewafflestompers.
Between going to some shows (because you'll want to see them more than
once), stay tuned for new material and big news when the band is ready to
let the world know!
On a last note, Mr. Moore would like to send this message out: "I just
want to encourage music fans to stay active in their scene! Go to shows,
put on shows, start a band, join a street team, buy a t-shirt, etc. In
the words of hometown idol Richie Knuckles 'Support the scene, we all
succeed'."
And here's the Q&A (we did it over AIM because I can't hear people for
shit over the phone) -
THE WAFFLE STOMPERS INTERVIEW:
1. How did the band start?
The band has a long and complicated history. Adam and Marc were both a
part of a ska band known as The Waffle Stompers when they were in middle
school. However, that group disbanded after one show and the first
incarnation of TWS as we know it today happened by chance between me and
adam. I happened to be singing the song 'Trendy' by Reel Big Fish after
school one day, and Adam approached me saying 'dude, you like ska? I've
got this ska band called The Waffle Stompers, you want to be in it?... Oh
yea, do you play guitar?' fortunately for me, I did play guitar. We
didn't end up actually practicing for about 3 years after that, it was
just kind of our joke of this band we would start one day. Then we did
it, and it was awesome.
2. How did you come up with the name "The Waffle Stompers"
The name was chosen by a member of that original group in middle school.
There's many urban legends about its origin, and we do our best to
confront these head on in The Waffle Stompers Video Log 6 on YouTube.
Long story short, on the classic Vans skate sneaker, there's a part on the
sole that changes from diamonds to what's known as the 'waffle.' I think
the waffle stomper was a skate trick they used to do, and they wrote
'waffle' on their soles right at that part.
3. What are the bands goals?
Our goal as a group is to just keep going, because we love what we do.
The band has become such a huge part of our lives, it's like each of our
second girlfriend (if that make sense). We have to spend time with the
band, take ourselves out to dinner, talk on the phone haha. But really,
we're not going to let life get in the way of doing what we love. We're
looking to make a big splash on some of our new releases coming up and
hopefully get broader regional or national attention with them.
4. What are your thoughts on the ska genre, like the more pop-punk side?
Do you think it's coming back and reaching it's peak?
+
5. Do you think third wave ska is over? (first wave - 60's, second wave-
80's, 90's, third wave- reel big fish, mighty mighty bosstones; Do you
think fourth wave is coming up?
I think we're about to see a new breed of ska bands. The reason ska kinda
declined recently was because the last wave was just that good. EVERY
band wanted to sounds just like RBF, LTJ or The MMB. Now we're starting
to get a wave of us that loved those bands, but are letting tons of other
music influence us. So I guess you could call it the 4th wave!
Something that we strive for, and some of our friends' ska bands too, is
to be a bit more aggressive, edgey, or faster than the traditional ska
mold. It's way fun to play, so I think it's going to start catching on.
We're calling the genre Post-Ska, haha.
6. What's your/the band's most memorable show so far?
July 11, 2009 at Starland Ballroom with Reel Big Fish. It was way badass
to be able to play with our childhood idols. Plus there were close to
2000 people there so we really got a chance to meet a lot of cool new
people. Then RBF dedicated a song to us, so we went absolutely nuts in
the pit.
7. What's your favorite song to play live?
Sex Appeal is so much fun to play. Even if our energy is down becaus
we're having a bad show or bad day, the minute we get to the first little
bridge we're all WAY back into it.
8. What would be your dream tour lineup?
well genre lines would need to be broken, but Reel Big Fish, Less Than
Jake and New Found Glory, with yours truly on the bill. I guess NFG would
have to headline.
9. I've seen you a few times before and wanted to know if the band's
always been so energetic on stage. Do you practice like that during
rehearsals?
umm, believe it or not, no we don't really practice with that much pizzaz.
Part of the problem is because the ceiling is so low we'd hit our heads,
haha. Really, a lot of us have done that. It's the adreneline just kind
of kicking in when we hit the stage and whatever happens happens. It has
a propensity to end up in injuries.
10. Also, when did you decided to get dressed up for shows?
The very first show we played as a band we dressed up like KISS and
Twister Sister, and played We're Not Gonna Take it so we layed the
groundwork early. We used to do elaborate themes like Mario Bros, Slumber
Party, Braveheart, Ghostbusters, everything. If you perooze our Myspace
pics, you'll get an idea of some of the things we did. Eventually we ran
out of themes, and it became so much work to try to put something together
we had to let it go. So a few years later we decided to at least look
more uniform, so we found Sazz Vintage clothing and ended up ordering
green tux jackets for everyone! They're uber suave, so everyone's usually
excited for show days when they can wear them. They get hot in the
summer, though. And under stage lights.
11. Do you have any exciting shows coming up?
We've got bunches of exciting shows coming up! This Friday, Jan 29th with
Chase Long Beach and Outlaw Nation at Soundwaves in Union should be a
really good time. Plus Saturday, Feb 27th we've got another Starland
Ballroom gig, this time with Big D and the Kids Table! And in between
we've got a tour the first week of Feburary with our buddies from
Montreal, The Real Deal. Our schedule is packed and we're amped up to go.
12. What are your other plans for the new year?
When we're not touring this year, we're going to release new material.
We're working on the behind-the-scenes-nitty-gritty right now, but when
it's all sorted our we'll definitely get to put out some new songs. We've
been talking with a couple big-name producers and studios to figure out
where we want to go. There's some REALLY exciting offers out there, so we
can't wait. Of course, I can't really say anything until its finalized,
but there will be some big news soon and we'll let everyone know!
13. Is there anything you'd like to add or want the fans to know?
I just want to encourage music fans to stay active in their scene! Go to
shows, put on shows, start a band, join a street team, buy a t-shirt. In
the words of hometown idol Richie Knuckles 'suppot the scene, we all
succeed.
