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| Allele's Wally Wood photo credit Chad Davis |
All of these musicians, formerly known only to each other as “local boys” that once played in various bands around the Jacksonville, Florida area, comprise a group of five incredibly sharp, talented musicians that deliver a clear message that rock n roll is not a joke, nor is it dead. After their first CD, Point of Origin, there were tours, followed by Wally’s departure, then a regrouping of the lineup with Wally’s return and Lane’s departure.
Now Allele is back and stronger than ever, with a new guitarist (Mason Romaine) in tow as well, bringing a “fresh coat of paint” to the house, so to speak. Their new CD, Next To Parallel, with a final release date pegged for August 16, 201l, is 13 tracks of straightforward, enjoyable rock music, adequately seasoned with impressive guitars, dense and hypnotic bass music, guitar solos and vocal melodies that you’ll find yourself singing along to in no time.
With the single, “What I Get” expected to arrive around the 21st of June, the CD Next To Parallel is available right now for Pre-Order on www.allele.bigcartel.com and you’ll find various packages to choose from, including autographed CD's, Posters and T-shirts. Don't miss out on the great Pre-Order deals!
With the single, “What I Get” expected to arrive around the 21st of June, the CD Next To Parallel is available right now for Pre-Order on www.allele.bigcartel.com and you’ll find various packages to choose from, including autographed CD's, Posters and T-shirts. Don't miss out on the great Pre-Order deals!
Singer, songwriter Wally Wood spent some time telling us about his personal and professional life, his hopes and dreams for the future, and, of course, we talked a great deal about the 2nd Allele album. He says we can expect “pure, intelligent, fun, well-structured, bad-ass hard rock music.”
Wally Wood: Lane and I started Allele in 2002. We grabbed Kelly Hayes (former Cold guitarist) at the end of ’04 and moved on to do our first real record, Point of Origin, as Allele in 2005. Everything was awesome; playing and touring every day, meeting new people and just having a blast. Then in 2006, it wasn’t Lane who left the band, it was me. I honestly had a lot of crap going on and the label we were signed with was just pissing me off more and more. Lane and I also just didn’t seem to be eye to eye on things anymore. I decided to take a break and allowed them to keep touring with another singer. In some ways though, I felt a small betrayal that he would continue touring with another singer, but the show must go on and I am the one that decided to stay behind. In the tail end of 2008, I called up Kelly, Tim and Gian and talked about getting things back together but without Lane. We picked up guitarist Mason Romaine the end of 2009 through a drummer that jammed with us until GianCarlo made it back. So - a break, a break-up and a slight re-arrangement of musicians!
Angela: How long have you been singing? Are there other singers in your family?
Wally: I’ve been singing since I was 7, but I wrote my first song when I was about 15 years old. My mom is the most amazing singer ever. No money growing up for instruments and hardly any paper! I used to sing the shit out of some Lionel Richie boy!
Angela: When you were in middle or high school, did you ever try your hand at any instruments or sing in garage bands? What was your very first band?
Wally: I played the quads in the middle school band; started on drums and followed my gut - better singer than drummer I think! I wanted to start or join a band; my wife was the one that actually found my first band for me called Next 4 Exitz. I tried out and got the gig. We jammed our asses off making a real print in Jacksonville, FL, changed names then eventually moved onto a different style which lead to Allele.
Angela: Is your real name Wally Wood? (You would be surprised how many artists use a “stage” name and have entirely different names in their real lives.)
Angela: Is your real name Wally Wood? (You would be surprised how many artists use a “stage” name and have entirely different names in their real lives.)
Wally: My name is Wallid Wood actually. I am Arabic, Irish and Italian. My Italian/Irish Grandmother named my Wally as a baby and it stuck ever since. Imagine the early school days with that one!
Angela: What can you tell us about Wally, the family man who is not on a tour bus, stage or in a studio?
Wally: I am a seriously happily married man with 2 beautiful daughters named Brennan, age 3, and Brooke, who is almost 2 years old. We own a Landscape business that does well. Life is crazier at home with two lil girls than the road for sure! I don’t have a white picket fence, but I definitely have the life that would live behind one. It is a balance for sure between the two - having that person mother your children and support your dream/passion is very rare these days.Angela: What are your hopes and aspirations both personally and professionally, at this stage in your life?
Wally: Personally I just want to make a good life for my family; and not just because I am a guy and I need to. I just really want to make that happen and work hard too. Professionally, with Allele, nothing is different than anyone else; my hopes are to be heard. I sincerely hope that our new record, Next To Parallel, will show everyone that the band is back and better than ever.
Angela: I often wonder if singers/songwriters actually practice singing at home. Do you practice often with the band and/or at home?
Wally: We practice a lot. At home though, it’s Wow Wow Wubsy and Yo Gabba Gabba tunes. I thought of covering one, but it didn’t feel right. (Laughing) I take breaks when we aren’t practicing but when we jam it is 100% every rehearsal.
Angela: What is the origin of the band’s name, Allele? What is the significance of the name to you?
Wally: I came up with that name through my wife Courtney. She was a Biology teacher, and we had already spent a couple of days thinking of band names that didn’t sound like we were trying too hard; we wanted something that related to people. I am seriously into connecting with people, especially at our shows, in a way I cannot describe. When Courtney mentioned the name ALLELE as a band name and told me the true meaning, that was it. I/we looked no further as that described everything I feel about music and people all in one. And, as alleles defines us all, so the word defined us as a band name and what that word (allele) would forever mean to me.
Angela: It’s been a minute since your first CD, Point of Origin, came out. How long ago did you begin working on this, your second album?
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| ALLELE's CD NEXT TO PARALLEL is out on August 16th 2011 |
Angela: Has the writing and evolution of making this new CD been different for you personally than the first one? Do you feel this was a better, stronger experience because you’ve matured personally and professionally since making the first album?
Wally: An emphatic “yes” to all of those questions. This has been a more exciting record because we’ve all lived through more since making the first one. You know, I didn’t set out with a theme, but in going back and listening to the album, I would certainly have to say that I wrote one. This record ended up being a lot about perseverance through struggle. We all usually mature as musicians, but I think it was a bigger leap in that respect than normal, from the first record to this one.
I literally wrote the vocal harmonies and lyrics as I was in Laguna Beach, CA, with Pete Charell (Trapt) when I had flown there to record the vocals. It was crazy; I was out of time because we wanted to release the record as promised. So I told myself, “I will just have to work hard, dig deep and reveal my truest self to write this record in two weeks.” I was in the studio making up the verse melody as I was reading the lyrics I had just written that very morning! As any singer will tell you, it’s crazy! But you know, looking back, I don’t think I would have hit it any better had I taken six months recording it. There was no over thinking. I have never just opened the doors to my soul in this way before. I liked it, I loved it. It made a greater impact than I could have imagined!
Angela: Did you have any favorites on this album? If so, what was it about the song that stood out to you?
Wally: Can we just say all of them? I have a couple of favorites, it’s so hard to pick. Maybe the song “To Arms,” one I wrote about protecting the weak. We see it everyday and all of us truly want to fight deep down. That is I what I loved about that particular song when I wrote it.
Angela: Any war stories or funny tales from the studio - good, bad or ugly?
Wally: Well, when we first went in the studio to start tracking, we went through nightmares with two computers crashing and then we had to re-purchase Pro Tools just to get started, after days had passed! It sucked! No time for cool funny shit. Speaking of, Kelly farted so bad once on the road with Saliva that Lane had to stop the van immediately and throw up! No lie.
Angela: What, in particular, do you hope people take away from this album, Next To Parallel…what elements do you NOT want for anyone to overlook?
Wally: A great question – I want people to know, after listening, that Rock is not dead! I wanna kick the face off people who say that crap. Stop buying Beiber albums and buy a f*&%ing real rock record. Sorry, you know just take this away - Rock is not a joke. It is a type of music that is written from the most realistic parts of our lives. I mean through mud and knives, we live our life and write about it. I used to not care for Eminem too much in the beginning, but then I “got” him; I realized he is a rock singer who raps. I want people to know that this band is made up of some of the truest and most amazing guys I could ever write with and I hope they hear that; I know they will.
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| Allele |
Wally: Well, since the initial "release date" announcement, we have signed with DVS Artist Management, and we’ve settled on August 16th as a final release date to make sure everything is right and ready. We are shopping the record to labels and such, but are completely fine with and ready to release it independently as we did independently record it. That is a very exciting thing to complete nail the production of our own sophomore record, it’s a nice feeling.
Angela: One of the exciting rites of passage with the anticipation of a new album’s release is that first single hitting the airwaves and yours is just around the corner. Allele asked the fans to choose the single and that was a very exciting thing for them to be involved! What is the date for that song to be released, and can you tell us what the song is about?
Wally: We hope to release the single by June 21st. We set up a special streaming web site for people that pre-ordered the record and gave them the chance to be involved by voting on the first single. Ultimately, through this channel, they chose a song called “What I Get.” God, I love that song - It’s about girl wanting a guy that her parents don’t approve of, and the guy wants to play bass in a band instead of pursuing college. In the end, they found each other, and made their own way. “What I Get” is a song about taking that thing you see hanging in front of you and running with it. If you fall, you will learn to get back up. Either way, it is always your decision to make.
Angela: Closing words…
Wally: Allele may not have re-invented the wheel with Next To Parallel, but I think we sure as hell added a spoke to the wheel and as my bass player Tim Tobin added, “a spinner hub cap and some gold plating also!” People that have never heard Allele should and hopefully will when this giant record hits the airways. It is by far the most amazing thing I have ever been a part of writing. It is strong, real and honest. It proves that excellent rock music still does (and always will) exist. We are all together and none of us are ever alone. Allele connects to everyone, and we want everyone to connect with us.