Montreal Surf-Punk Trio NO WAVES Talks All Ages Shows, Artistic Influences and New Music
NO WAVES by Daniel Takacs
The soundtrack for most teens' early years is moaning vocals and distant pop icons from another decade, but some of us are lucky enough to have NO WAVES. The smell of sweat and Twisted Tea fills each venue; pink hair and neatly pressed dress shirts swarm together as the crowd swells. At their shows, young Montrealers experience the special feeling that comes as you start to uncover the ecosystem of music around you. Whether it be your first mosh-pit-induced black-eye, or wringing out a t-shirt soaked with sweat, NO WAVES is the breeding ground of Montreal's next-gen in music.
The band has a look you can't define… Maybe a kaleidoscope of indie sleaze, where Blink-182 and Surf Curse intersect? They all sit in the limbo zone before adulthood, with boyish smiles and CEGEP classes packed between shows. Their sets radiate a joyousness and respect that's rare in the industry. They want to be there as much as the audience does, and it shows.
In the aftermath of the pandemic, NO WAVES is the light at the end of the tunnel for many, with their underpass show of August 2021 acting as a green light for commotion. They lit a fire, and the scene couldn't resist dancing around it.
As someone who began the pandemic starry-eyed and unknowing of the music world, NO WAVES has been a gateway into Montreal's music scene. NO WAVES is for the people who go to shows every night, and those who've never entered a venue before. They are an instant family of sorts; one that pulls you in for a hug and never lets go.
I had the chance to catch up with the surf punk three-piece about their early beginnings, where they’re headed now, and everything in-between.
Uma Nardone for Also Cool Mag: Let's start off easy! Tell me about your first gig?
Sam: Our first show was at one of the Climate Demos, a protest in the middle of winter. Cy wasn't even there, so it was early early days. It was during our March Break and held outside. It was crazy! It was the coldest I've ever been.
Angel: Later on, we did shows in a dance studio. We weren't supposed to be there, and everyone had to take their shoes off. It was very hot and small, with like 50 kids crammed into a room.
Also Cool: You've begun your second stint of recording. What has it been like working on the first EP versus your second?
Cy: Very, very different.
Sam: The songs are more fleshed out.
Angel: During our first EP, we had this frustration: We really wanted to just release our music, have it out there, and start playing shows as soon as possible. It was done with this mentality of recording as soon as possible. Now that we're recording again, we're in no rush. We're revisiting old songs and reworking them.
AC: How has the music you're listening to impacted your new music? Have you discovered anything recently that has completely changed your creative process?
C: It's ever-changing, and I don't think it will ever stop, or at least I hope not.
A: I've gotten into more hardcore punk, but everything feels new. Lots of Bad Brains, TURNSTILE, Dying Fetus, and very Midwest emo shit.
S: It's all over the place for all of us, everything from breakcore and punk to pop.
AC: Do guys consider NO WAVES as falling within a specific genre? How do you typically describe your music to others?
S: I call it pop. It's all pop, just pop.
A: I've come to terms that with everything we do, it comes out trashy or punk. I used to struggle a lot, ‘cause I would try to write stuff that was soft, but no matter what, it would end up noisy and loud.
C: Noisy pop!
AC: That's perfect, though, because I consider you guys—and I mean this in the best way—the greatest gateway band in the city. After COVID-19 lockdowns, you started that revival of live music, especially for a younger crowd.
A: That's kind of our goal, to be accessible to everyone. There are a lot of bands that feel hard to get into because of the crowd, and places sometimes feel snobby or unsafe, and that sucks.
S: Right, that's what I love about us. If you go to one of our shows, every kind of person is in the crowd. If you go to different venues, there's all these different cliques or groups, and at our shows, they're all there together.
Angel from NO WAVES with audience members, photo by the author
AC: That's so true. At your summer bummer show, I met these girls from the Laurentians who had taken the train in. It was their first time moshing, seeing a gig in a small venue. You guys help people feel safe enough to experience these things for the first time.
C: That feeling is something we prioritize. We want an environment where people can hang out without worrying and have good vibes.
S: It's not that deep either. Shows should be safe for everyone. That's how it should be.
A: There's this thing I learned when I was really young, that has stuck with me. I was told at 15 or 16 that music is sharing. Ever since, that's been how I see music. You're sharing with the crowd, the staff and the musicians. We all share this common love, you know?
Crowd at a NO WAVES show, photo by the author
AC: That's evident in the crowd, as well. You've grown up with the people who come to your shows, and they keep showing up for a reason. It's like a big family that keeps growing.
S: I think it’s so beautiful.
A: It's super sick because I see people who were at our shows five years ago, who went to our launch party, pull up to our shows now. They are the OGs of NO WAVES.
S: People we've known since they were 13 and playing at school, and now they're grown up and still coming. It's amazing.
AC: I can attest to that. I was maybe 12 or 13 when I went to my first show, and now I'm here. I consider you guys integral to my childhood, and many others feel the same way. NO WAVES is the soundtrack to teenagedom here! My first black eyes were at your show, and my friends' first kiss happened at your show. You guys are part of all that.
A: I think it's so cool. We've been able to play our music and grow up with them. After the outdoor show, this dude slid into our DMs and told us about his first experience with LSD. It was so crazy cause what band gets to experience that so closely.
S: Right, I was like, man, you're a stronger person than I am.
AC: Tell me more about the underpass show. How was that experience for you all?
S: Oh man, I loved that show. It was my favorite show we've ever played because of how close we were to the crowd. There was no stage, so people surrounded us. At one point, this dude slapped me on the back and complimented me from behind the drum kit. He was a complete stranger; it was so cool. The formality of a show was gone, and we were immersed in the crowd.
C: We go against that formality. We play better when not on a real stage.
NO WAVES by Daniel Takacs
AC: Do you guys channel certain people in terms of stage presence? Like when I was kid, I wanted to embody Sid Vicious or maybe even Zappa. Who is it for you?
A: I would say Blink-182 for all of us. To me, they are the standard of what a trio band is capable of. Whenever I'm on stage and feel stuck, I have a guitar, and I can't move or whatever; I look up to them.
S: Same; I channel my inner Travis.
A: I think at most shows, we're just daydreaming that we're Blink. That's our secret.
AC: Would it be a dream to open for them? Is there anyone else that you want to play with in the future?
A: Surf Curse, too; we just have to do that. We've been thinking about it for so long.
S: I just want to go on tour and go as far as possible with this.
A: We want to expand our horizons and explore new places. I really want to go to Mexico. The whole scene that inspired me to do everything I'm doing now all comes from there. Those kids inspired me.
C: I remember hearing my first songs from Angel in Spanish, Los Blenders and Senor Kino; they influenced me so much. They taught me how to put on a show. He showed us all this world we didn't know about.
AC: What's the songwriting process look like for NO WAVES?
S: It's really all of us. Every song is a collaborative effort.
A: I'll come in with a guitar riff or a single verse - these very unrefined songs. Then we'll all write over it and work on it over time. We all just pile on ideas until something comes out of it. Some songs take thirty minutes, and others take years.
S: We have songs we've been working on for more than four years.
AC: Has playing in NO WAVES changed your social life at all?
S: We all have the same mentality when it comes to playing: We don't feel better than anyone because of it. So many people have helped us come to where we are today, and we're really grateful.
A: People made fun of us in high school. We didn't feel cool then.
S: I just hate the mentality that people have. No one is better because they are on stage. It doesn't change who you are.
C: It's also not what music is supposed to be. Music is not a hierarchy. No one is better than anyone else. Our shows are for people who love music the way we do, that's all.
NO WAVES holds a place in my heart that I can’t quite explain, I feel oddly devoted to the music, to the crowds and the all encompassing joy it brings. They are the band that sings to a choir of misfits, welcoming old punks and scene kids alike.
They keep growing and as more and more people come to love them as I do, the excitement of experiencing a small history being made is thrilling. NO WAVES is ever-moving and might change, as young bands do, but no one will forget them. Everyone who's been in a crowded room with damp floors and broken stereos singing along with NO WAVES knows their systems have been shocked and their brain chemistry never be quite the same. The NO WAVES phenomena, explicable in their talent, is band who will forever be ingrained in my brain, and hopefully yours as well!
Don’t miss NO WAVES’ free Taverne Tour pizza party at Le Ministère on February 11th at 11:59PM!
NO WAVES
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Uma Nardone
