Interview with Something To Burn lead singer Greg Wayne

With so much uncertainty in rock and roll these days, it’s nice to have bands that are a throwback to the good old days. You could include the group Something To Burn and their debut record Transitions in this category. Something To Burn is a collection of four talented young musicians who caught the eye and ear of none other than Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland who recently signed them to his record label Softdrive Records. And if that wasn’t enough of a break for the band, the guys will be accompanying STP on tour in the New Year to support STP’s brand new studio album. We were fortunate enough to get a quick interview with Something To Burn’s lead singer Greg Wayne to learn a little more about this fast growing band.

First off, how did you come up with this very arsonist name for a rock and roll band?
Greg: It came to me during a vision quest out in the Alaskan wilderness… oh wait… they had the name before I was even in the band. Please forgive, there’s such a fine line between reality and fantasy for me.

How did the members of Something To Burn initially meet and then how did a band come out of it?
Greg: Jimmy, Jeff and Shawn had been playing together for a few years in various bands and with different singers. Their last singer got scooped up by fuel so the guys posted a craigslist ad looking for a singer. I really liked what I heard and saw. Something told me this was “it.” So I contacted them and told them I was their next singer. The rest is history…

You recently signed to Softdrive Records, the record company founded by none other than Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots. What attracted you to Softdrive and why did you sign with them?
Greg: Scott Weiland. The end.

How would you personally describe Something To Burn’s sound? Who would you rank as significant influences on your music?
Greg: I’d say it’s “ecclectric.” By the way, I just came up with that word and I’m copyrighting as we speak cuz it’s so awesome! Seriously, we write & play great rock music with more dynamics and depth than most bands you would slap the rock label on. Influences for us are many… everything good.

Your debut record is called Transitions and it was just released in mid-September. Now that it’s out, how are you feeling about the album?
Greg: We really couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve done and the feedback has been amazing. We’ve just got to get it out there so folks can hear it and I think we’ll be doing just fine…

What was the writing and recording process like for Transitions? How many songs did you write and where did you record it?
Greg: We wrote a bunch of tunes really quickly when we first got together then weeded through them once it was time to make the record. We added a few throughout the recording process, as well, and eventually narrowed it down to twelve tracks. We recorded most of the record at Weiland’s studio, and a few of the tunes we recorded at Ryan Williams and Josh Abraham’s studio Pulse cuz in addition to mixing the record, Ryan Williams recorded and co-produced a few of the tunes (“Say Goodbye,” “Below,” “Now and Forever”). That dude’s amazing, we love him.

What’s the song writing process like within the band? Do you all get together and jam or do you write more individually?
Greg: The first batch of tunes we wrote, Jimmy just sent me instrumentals and I wrote to them. Nowadays, since I’ve learned that I like and trust the guys’ input, Jimmy brings in an instrumental idea and we jam on it for awhile together. Everyone throws out vocal melody ideas and we pick and choose and put it all together. I go home and write the lyrics last.

Transitions seems to be somewhat of a throwback to the complete, start to finish kind of album experience reminiscent of rock bands from the ’60s and ’70s. When you wrote this album, were you deliberately attempting to make it more of an overall “experience” than your average rock album today?
Greg: Absolutely. We had no interest in writing a couple of singles and then throwing in a bunch of filler. The flow and overall experience of the record wasn’t contrived though. We really just let the music dictate where it wanted to go. For us, dynamics and variety came naturally. So there’s heavy, there’s middle of the road, and there’s mellow, and it all flows together really nicely. I’m very proud of our little baby.

I’m sure your music translates well into a live setting. Where can we expect to see you guys on tour in the near future?
Greg: Oh hell yes it does… you gotta see us live! Our tour plans are to tour til the mutha fuckin wheels fall off the bus… then buy another bus and tour some more! We’re going out early next year with STP and have some other great possibilities in the works. Other than that, we’ll be doing some regional headlining tours throughout the rest of this year… so it’s up to our booking agent to hustle! Everyone please keep an eye on our Myspace/Facebook/Twitter accounts for tour info, etc.

What else does Something To Burn have planned for the rest of this year and the new year?
Greg: Rock! The bottom line is we have faith in our music so we just want to get it heard by as many folks as we can so we can keep doing it. If you like what you hear, spread the word.  [ END ]