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The Wandas

the WANDAS
the WANDAS Performing at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX. March 2010
Background information
Origin	Boston, MA, USA
Genres	Rock Music
Years active	2002–present
Associated acts	The Dears Black Diamond Bay
Website	www.thewandas.com
Members
Brent Battey William Bierce Ross Lucivero Keith McEachern
Past members
Brian Carson Levin Gillespie Pete McElholm

the WANDAS are an American rock band based out of Boston Massachusetts composed of Keith McEachern, Brent Battey, Ross Lucivero, and William Bierce. the WANDAS have been compared to Wilco, Elvis Costello, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and The Strokes.

There have been several stories surrounding the origin of their name. The Boston Herald reported, "They got their name when Brent Battey met a woman named Wanda in a Toronto bar back in 2003 when on spring break." Contrary to The Boston Herald report, guitarist Brent Battey noted on his Twitter page that the band was named after the Neil Young song, "Kinda Fonda Wanda" off of his album Everybody's Rockin'.

Their highly anticipated self-titled album was released on August 30, 2011. It was featured in USA TODAY and has already been named one of the "50 best albums of the first half of 2011" by Guitar World Magazine.

Notable awards & achievements

In December 2010 Time Out (company) Magazine Boston selected The Wandas as Best Live Act of 2010 "The Wandas spent the better part of 2010 touring the bejesus out of their third album, New Wave Blues. In the process, they caused a few bloggers’ jaws to hit the floor at South by Southwest and squashed the competition at WBRU’s Rock Hunt battle of the bands. The retro rock charms found on New Wave Blues should mollify anyone put off by the fact that none of these four dudes are actually named Wanda. The catchy and heartfelt “Thank You Note” exemplifies what a hit single should be, “Lose You” gushes lovelorn anguish, and “Please Come Home” proves that sounding like Neil Diamond isn’t necessarily something to be ashamed of. Still, it’s the Wandas stage show–which manages to be at once tight and bombastic–that has them topping our lists."— Barry Thompson Time Out (company) Magazine Boston

In November 2010 the Boston Music Awards nominated The Wandas as Best Pop Act of 2010.

In October 2010 CMJ Music Marathon wrote "With their big shout-along choruses and their classic rock melodies, the band managed to whip the crowd at the Bowery Poetry Club into a sugary frenzy"

In April 2010 theWANDAS won the 95.5 WBRU Rock Hunt, edging out several hundred bands who submitted for the competition.

Extended History

The band formed in 2002 by Keith McEachern and Brent Battey who lived on the same floor while attending Berklee College of Music. At the time, Battey was playing in another band with original drummer Pete McElholm who was also attending Berklee College of Music. Coincidentally McElholm and McEachern both attended Auburn High School (Auburn, Massachusetts) and frequently performed in various musical acts together throughout their high school tenure. Also living on the same floor as Battey and McEachern in college was original bassist Brian Carson.

In 2003 McElholm was going to leave the band to peruse another drumming opportunity prompting the WANDAS to bring on McEachern's former roommate Levin Gillespie on the drums. After McElholm had second thoughts, he remained in the band as the drummer. However, after practicing with Gillespie, the group liked the dynamic and decided to keep Gillespie in the band on the keys and backup vocals.

In 2004 the WANDAS' debut album "…if the accident will" was released. The album was tracked by Charles Austin of Super Friendz, mixed and mastered by J. Lapointe of North of America in Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada The album features the 5 members but Gillespie performing only on half of the tracks as the album was recorded in two sessions; the first taking place before Gillespie was in the band.

In 2004 the lineup of the band became unstable. With Carson graduating from Berklee College of Music and no longer having a student visa, he was required to return to his native home of Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. Gillespie filled in on bass temporarily shifting the band to a 4 piece once again. Not being satisfied with the current situation, Gillespie decided to follow Carson out of the band as well. Without a bassist, the WANDAS had their friend and well known Boston musician Alex Sepe (future member of Age Rings) fill in on bass guitar for their booked shows.

From 2004-2005 the 3 remaining members, McEachern, Battey & McElholm recorded their second album "Can't Say Danger on the Radio" entirely in their Boston home which had been converted into full studio over the past two years. The album features Battey on lead guitar, McElholm on drums, McEachern on lead vocals, rhythm guitar, and bass guitar; as they were currently without a bassist.

In 2005 McEachern's cousin Ross Lucivero had recently moved to Boston and began playing with the band as their new bassist. McEachern and Lucivero grew up playing music together and Lucivero was already familiar with the WANDAS's music, so the pairing was a natural fit. In 2006 "Can't Say Danger on the Radio" was released on Robella Records after a long tracking and mixing process.

In 2007, the WANDAS teamed up with Producer Patrick Krief, guitarist of The Dears to record the 3 song EP "You Should Have Listened". The EP was released in 2008 exclusively online in digital format. After an extremely successful working relationship the WANDAS and Krief teamed up again in 2008 to track their third full length release New Wave Blues. The album features remixed versions of the 3 "You Should Have Listened" songs along with 8 other new songs. The album was tracked in Boston, Massachusetts USA and mixed and mastered in Montreal, Quebec Canada. New Wave Blues was both produced and mixed by Krief, and was mastered by Ryan Morey who has worked with The Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade and The Stills.

In 2009 New Wave Blues was released independently and has garnered international acclaim from several media outlets. "[ New Wave Blues is] full of sweet harmonies and music that is unburdened with extravagance" - indie.mp3.co.uk "[This is] some of the best pop I've heard this year" - Mary Leary; [San Diego Entertainer Magazine]."Both poppy and emotional, the [WANDAS] cut straight to the core with gorgeous harmonies, startling earnestness, and a sense of indie pop cool..."Telegram & Gazette

In February 2009, before heading out on tour to support the new release, the WANDAS replaced drummer McElholm with current drummer William Bierce. Since the change, the current lineup of Battey, Bierce, McEachern, and Lucivero have been touring the U.S. in support of New Wave Blues independent of label backing.

From April 2009-Aug of 2010, the WANDAS spent most of their time touring the entire United States in their 1992 30 foot RV and building a grass roots fan base.

In 2010-2011 the WANDAS teamed up with producer Patrick Krief again to work on their latest (Self Titled) studio album. The bulk of the album was tracked live in 6 days at MixArt Studios in Montreal, Quebec. The album features guest appearances by members of The Dears, The Stills and Stars (Canadian band). The album was mixed by Dave Schiffman who is famous for is work with Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Before its release the album was featured in USA TODAY and was already named one of the "50 best albums of the first half of 2011" by Guitar World Magazine.

Band members

Current members

Past members

Discography

Official Releases

Unofficial Releases

References

External links

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2011-12-02

Wandas