Artist Spotlight is a segment that we started to introduce our listeners to some deserving up and coming artists/bands that have made an impact on us for all of the right reasons. We think they kick ass and we hope you do too!
We are The Wild & Free from St. Louis, Missouri, an alternative/pop-rock band with a female front. We are a five-piece band that formed in 2017 made up of Rachel (vocals), Mike (guitar), Dan (guitar), Zach (bass) and Marc (drums). Fun fact that Marc is the youngest at just 20 years old. Zach was added to the band in 2019.
In 2018, we released our first EP called The Sugar High, complete with five songs and three music videos. In 2019, we released six singles, each with a music video, and an EP called Weight of the World.
We will be releasing our first full-length album this year. We also just recorded another single with multi-platinum producer Matt Squire in Washington DC just a few weeks ago with release to be determined. In 2020 we plan to record more songs with him.
We’ve been touring around the midwest and just this past weekend made our first trip to the south, playing back to back shows in Georgia opening for the band Rehab.
I sat down with the band to throw some tough questions their way in order to learn more about them.
Every super hero or villain has an origin and a band is no different, minus the radioactive spiders and government experiments. What’s the origin of The Wild and Free?
The Wild & Free: Love how you phrased this question (haha). So The Wild & Free raised from the ashes of Mike (Guitar) and Dan’s (Guitar) old band. After their last band broke up they wanted to keep pursuing a career in music but wanted to strive for a different sound. Looking for a female lead vocalist was always in the talks to find that new sound. Originally Dan’s sister was going to be the singer but backed out just a week before we were scheduled to hit the studio. As fate would have it we got an audition video from Rachel Greco and we took her to the studio to do vocals on a track called Never Really Knew Myself. Despite being almost complete strangers at the time she did a fantastic job in the studio and the chemistry with Mike and Dan just seemed to work. About half way through writing the first EP is where we found our drummer Marc after his older brother reached out to Mike asking if he could audition. He auditioned when he was only 17 but his playing far surpasses anyone in the band so he joined the band quickly with open arms. Zach (Bass) was the last to join but he had a connection to just about everyone in the band as he has played with bands in the STL local scene for years. We made it official with Zach in the summer of 2019 right before we filmed our music video for Smoke & Mirrors.
I am a big music nerd and I love finding out about band names. There can be a story involved or it can just be something random. What about you guys?
We struggled so hard to find the right name for this band. Nothing seemed to fit and in October of 2017 we were just days away from our first release and we desperately needed to land on a name. We had name ideas like NITELITE, Karaoke Kids, and even The Chocolate Covered Strawberries. That last one was a joke that Rachel would frequently make but it was said so often that we almost kept it (haha). We were very close to being called Ready Set Go, it had a nice ring to it but we felt it sounded to similar to OK GO and The Ready Set. Mike eventually came up with The Wild & Free. It seemed to capture Rachel’s wild spirit and love for EDM (The Wild) and the guys passion for pop rock music (The Free). This band is two years in and we couldn’t see ourselves being called anything else.
What’s been your biggest struggle so far on your musical journey?
Here’s an honest answer for you, MONEY. We are a completely independent band doing everything we can to be as successful as possible. This means we pay for everything ourselves and being as busy as we are the bills add up quick (haha). In two short years we have recorded two EPs, an album, and have some how managed to do single with multi platinum producer Matt Squire. On top of all of that we strive to do an official music video for every release. We love what we do but in 2020 MUSIC simply doesn’t sell like it use to in this modern era of streaming. Thankfully we have found help with Damian Keyes (author of Stop Selling Music) and it has really helped put the band in a much better spot, and never before have we been more excited for the future. Sure doing what we do comes at a cost, but at the end of the day we can reach more fans than ever and we can still create what ever we like.
Time to tell on each other! Who is most Likely to miss the van as its leaving the venue to the next gig:
Without a doubt this is Zach (bass) haha. We just got back from a short tour with our friends in Rehab and we always seemed to be waiting on the van for Zach. Every time we would hit a fast food restaurant or a gas station Zach would linger. We think he needs to touch every item in the store before he can leave (haha).
Who takes the longest to get ready?
Definitely Rachel, that being said she is the only lady in the band so I feel like this is unfair to her (haha). She has also developed a bad habit of face-timing for long periods of time as well, so she’s not completely off the hook either.
Messiest?
This one is tough, I think we all have our moments (haha).
If you could play any character in any movie, who would it be?
We’re going to collective say Rocky (haha). This band has seemed to have an uphill battle since day one but we keep moving forward anyway. It’s like we couldn’t stop even if we wanted to. That is why we have decided to call our up coming record (due to release early summer 2020) FIGHT BACK. We don’t know where this band will take us but as long as we keep fighting to improve ourselves and write music we love we feel like we are winning. So yea, we feel like Rocky and our fan base is our Adrian (haha). There’s a dated reference to close out the interview.
By I’m Music Magazine Owner/Editor Johnny Price
Connect with The Wild & Free online:
Website: https://thewildandfreeband.com/home
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewildandfree/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/thewildandfreeband
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thewildfreeband
