Wallows Grew Up Going To Coachella — Now They’re Playing It

By Kat Bein


Imagine growing up in southern California and heading to your first Coachella as high-school freshman. You are a snot-nosed kid with indie-rock dreams jamming with your best companions, and at the malleable age of 13, you visualize The Strokes, Kanye West, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, and more. You fantasize for the next seven years or so about playing that stage, and then, suddenly, you're standing in the Indio desert sun, prepared to rock the next generation of idealists.


That's the story of Wallows, the fresh-faced rock trio that brought the home down early Saturday at Coachella. Singer and guitarist Dylan Minnette, guitarist and vocalist Braeden Lemasters and drummer Cole Preston have been playing with each other for a decade, and its given the early 20-somethings tightness along with a brotherly affection that fans can feel and critics have to respect.


Coachella brought a day of several firsts: The musical group debuted much of their debut album, Nothing Happens, throughout the efficiency, which also kicked off their upcoming North American tour. A number of technical difficulties couldn't slow their energy. MTV News caught up with Wallows immediately following the set to hear about that Coachella high.


MTV News: Congrats on the debut Coachella set. It was also the opening time you played the music from Nothing Happens. What was it like being up there?


Dylan: It was surreal. I knew going into it I would have a lot of nerves before plus a lot of nerves right after. I was fully right. I'm excited for weekend two, because this is a lot of firsts. “First” off, it was the opening show of our tour, first time playing any of the new songs live, it was the initial time using a lot of this new tools that we're using, first time playing Coachella. All that combined into one ... However it was really fun. Took me a couple of songs to loosen up nevertheless I had an excellent time.


Braeden: I would agree. It felt really good.


Cole: It felt like it flew by. One second we were like, oh we need to establish, the keyboard's not working, then the next second it's like, whoa, we are doing this, and here we are.


MTV News: You guys grew up going to Coachella. This is essentially like your backyard music festival. You guys mentioned you've been seven or six times each.


Cole: We went any time As soon as I was a freshman in high school, 2011. Epic lineup, honestly.


Dylan: It was all of the most influential bands for us. It went Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Kanye West, and The Strokes.


Braeden: My first year was the year soon after that; Snoop Dogg and Radiohead. I remember being so claustrophobic while in Radiohead. I was so scared.


MTV News: That's very akin to their lyrical messages, though. You were feeling Thom Yorke's anxiety.


Braeden: one of the primary memories I have from Coachella was the second time they played here and their power went out.


Cole: Imagine over the main stage PA, just this sound going [mimics electronic hissing], cutting out, and so they were still playing. ... Any time as soon as they began playing "Creep," I was like, this is once in a lifetime. Unreal.


MTV News: You guys have been playing with each other for about a decade. Critics are usually attempting to mention that rock is dead or close to it.


Braeden: Critics are dead! Come up with something new!


MTV News: Is that something you guys actually felt once you were getting with each other and making music, or is that just windbag bullshit?


Braeden: No way, because any time we were making music, all I could be listening to is Arctic Monkeys or The Beatles. I would only listen to that any time While I was 13 growing up. I had no idea that people thought that. I was like, what? And then as we've gotten older, we began loving every other genre of music as well, and right now we love anything and everything. There's no allowance.


Dylan: I think it depends on how someone is saying it. If someone says, "Rock and roll is dead," do you mean as a genre? Then, no, because there's incredible bands now making rock music that is some of the perfect rock and roll you'll ever hear, and that's happening right now. Yet in the event you mean rock and roll as a concept or a construct is dead, I guess I understand that however I also disagree because I feel like the idea of being a "rock star" has transitioned over into hip-hop. Rappers, people playing hip-hop now are the rock stars. That's that lifestyle, so rock and roll isn't dead in the event if you've a broad mindset about it.


MTV News: Talking about this rock star lifestyle and attitude, have you noticed any of the rock star lifestyle stereotypes to be true? Anything not so glamorous as you maybe thought while you were fantasizing about playing Coachella as kids?


Cole: Everything is pretty much what I considered.


MTV News: Throwing TVs out of window and signing boobs?


Dylan: I wouldn't sign a boob.


Cole: Yeah, we're sort of the anti-rock stars. I mean, I would love have the ability to live that way. I'm just also mild.


MTV News: Well, you guys have a vlog about playing board games.


Cole: [laughs] We're just nice young men.


MTV News: You're about to head out on the tour. Are your board games ready? What are you going to do to survive the road?


Braeden: Green tea. Vodka.


Dylan: Today made me more excited, especially because our shows indoors within the rooms we're going to play will be so different with lights and the sound.


Cole: Lights and sound [laughs]. There was no sound at this one.


Dylan: I'm just excited to go into those rooms and play the shows.


MTV News: I also love just the title of the album, Nothing Happens. It's like the hugest NBD ever. Naturally there really are implications to the debut album being out and the 10 years leading up. There's this adage that you have your whole life to write your debut album and you also have two years to write your second.


Dylan: That's sort of inspiring. I'm just excited for all these brand new songs on the second album to just fully surprise us. A lot of the songs are old ideas, and so they still feel fresh, nevertheless they can still also feel like, of course. There's gonna be at least half of our next album that we have no idea what the songs are already.


Braeden: It's refreshing. A tidy slate for us.