We had a good chat with the fantastically quirky Jak Hutchcraft of WACO about their show at 2000 Trees, their new EP and the importance of staying positive. Great guy, and a great band. Make sure you check them out.
How did you enjoy your show?
It was tremendous. What a delight. I’m so happy to be here. I just feel blessed that we’ve been given the opportunity to come and play. There were a lot of smiling faces and kind eyes in the audience. So many kind eyes. I had a great time.
And you had some pretty loud shirts on. I loved it.
Yeah, to make up for our otherwise dull personalities.
Stop that! I’m not having it.
No, but it is quite garish. I don’t know why. It’s a dashiki, a male dress from West Africa. Blue is a ceremonial colour, more of a celebration. Red’s more wedding. So I sometimes wear red if I feel like I’m at a wedding, which I often do. The whole world is my wedding.
So what’s this festival then? Not a wedding?
No, this is more of a gift to the ancient gods. A sacrificial ritual. Some of us will perish along the way. We put it all out there and the universe gives us positive vibes back.
So you’ve got a new EP, ‘Uprise’.
It came out on the 10th of June. We put our hearts and souls into it and purged our innards and cleansed our spirits and in the process we made a record which we’re really happy with. I mean, I just wanna make more and more music. I mean, it’s five songs, which is great, but I feel like – we’re constantly writing stuff, but those five songs were the ones we liked most right now. But I dunno, there’s not much to say. I think it’s good. I think it’s a bit different to our last one. Our last one was a springboard to our position right now.
I suppose that should be the same with everything. Everything should be a springboard to the next thing.
Always have something to look forward to, that’s the key to happiness. People are happier on Fridays than they are on Sundays. That’s true, because anticipation is a mighty thing. Because anything could happen.
So your EP came out through Venn Records. How are you finding the Venn Records experience?
The experience! It’s like an emotional logflume. At first it was like, ‘These guys are really cool, we have to prove ourselves’, and then we went into the water, and now we feel like part of the family. It’s really weird. And what a very positive group of people to surround yourself with. They’re really talented musicians, but more than that, they’re friends. I think that’s more important than anything. That is why we’re in a band in a way, to make friends. Friends helping out friends is pretty damn cool, and then the roster of bands – I mean, these guys are great. Heck, Youth Man, Muskets, Jesus Fucking Christ. We’re eternally appreciative. They’re helping us live dreams really. It might sound small, and I’m speaking for myself and on behalf of the band, and I’ve heard so many other people’s ideas of success, but I think of us as a successful band – people know our songs, they come and see us and they buy our records. We play in front of more than one person. There’s human beings out there. Cosmic brothers and sisters. They’re great and they’re helping us live dreams. It might sound a little rose tinted, but I’m living entirely in the moment. Entirely. I don’t want to remember it as the best days of my life, I know it now.
So what’s next after 2000 Trees?
We just want to continue. We’re best mates, and we’re playing onstage with each other, having a laugh. Like, a real laugh. It’s so silly and so funny and if it continues like this, then great. We’ve written some songs and we’re pushing into new trans-dimensional areas and intergalactic movements. We’re going skyward basically. We’re going to space to see if some friendly martians can help us out. And after that I don’t know. Another tour by the end of the year hopefully, and then an album, and maybe another EP. I don’t know. Double disc maybe. 40 songs. Loads is coming and we’ve got loads planned, but you know. Keep on keeping on. We’re blessed. Big up everyone everywhere forever. Cosmic blessings to every brother and sister out there coming on hard times. We made this record to help people feel good because there’s a lot of darkness in this here world, and you’re not alone.
LAIS MW