Welcome to Almost Famous, a weekly segment where we ask up-and-coming queer musicians some hard-hitting questions about music and life and maybe even convince them to show us photos of their pets. Get to know intimate details about your new favorite artist or band before they hit the Big Time and become too famous for us to interview for real.

Header by Rory Midhani

 Wishbeard
Seattle, WA

Photo: Tania Albrandt

Wishbeard is a ‘psychedelic dream-pop machine’ from Seattle that, in just ten short months, went from playing friends’ basements to opening for some of your favorite acts like Austra, JD Samson and MEN. The machine – Bryn (guitar/vocals), Brighton (bass), Erin aka Res (keys/synth) and Jude (drums) – are currently in the studio recording their debut EP and winning hearts at venues all over Seattle and the greater Pacific Northwest.

How would you describe your music?

Our sound is definitely a combination of all of our varied influences – some calculus of indie-pop, shoegaze, queer dance punk and math rock.

Which song would you most like Autostraddle readers to hear?

We’d most like your readers to hear our upcoming single, “I.H.Y.P.” but we’re in the process of recording it. As for a track that can be listened to right now, our demo of “Runnin’ Around” would be the one.

What has been the most memorable moment of your music career to date?

In September we got to open for Austra at Neumos in Seattle. It was our biggest show yet. Sold-out show on a Friday night at our favorite venue in Seattle. It was really crazy because we were only told that we were on the bill two days before the show. We couldn’t believe it. It totally made us feel like rockstars. There was graffiti from bands we love in the green room and free arcade games with endless lives!!

What is your ‘guilty pleasure’ music?

Let’s just say we are all Beliebers… except Brighton. Brighton loves One Direction.

What inspires you to write?

Girls, pizza, emotional shifts, anger, dejection, the oppressive Seattle Grey, cosmic vibrations, beer, processing feelings, weed (legal in Washington!), our musician friends, waves, monotony… the list goes on.

What do you do outside of making music?

Bryn is a personal trainer for elderly women and a barback at a gay bar called Lobby. Brighton feeds hungry people at Food Lifeline, Res is a DJ and the IT Coordinator at The Stranger and Portland Mercury, Jude is also a DJ and an elementary school teacher.

If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life?

Res: Helios – Eingya
Brighton: Blur – Modern Life is Rubbish
Bryn: Broken Social Scene – Feel Good Lost
Jude: Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die

If you could share a line-up with any two other artists?

Warpaint and Tegan & Sara, because… well, duh.

Describe the environment you make your music in.

A small, hot, smelly room in a basement studio with no windows and nasty graffiti on the wall, surrounded on all sides by heavy metal bands who always seem to practice at the same time that we do. Res’ mom described it as “it’s so Seattle; so grunge.” It may be gross, but, it’s actually sort of cool to be stuffed in a basement warehouse with dozens of other musician studios around us, especially in a city like Seattle that is chock-full of great bands.

Do you have any pets?

Oh yes! We all have pets.

Bryn and Goose snuggletimez

Jonathan Taylor Thomas, shreddin’

Muffin is actually our band manager

Jude, Charlie, and her cousin Dutch – mean muggin’

Everything else you’d like to know about Wishbeard you can find here:

www.wishbeard.com
www.facebook.com/wishbeard
http://twitter.com/xowishbeardxo
www.soundcloud.com/wishbeard

If you are, or know of, a queer artist or band that should be featured in Almost Famous, drop me the details via crystal [at] autostraddle [dot] com. Please write ‘Almost Famous’ in the subject line!

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