lisa pikaard heads into rack city…
Their hard rock cover of Tyga’s “Rack City” is in constant rotation on Sirius/XM’s Octane and Faction stations and their name is spreading like wildfire. If you haven’t heard it yet, you will. Weaving the Fate is destined for greatness. Their sound is an infectious, multifarious blend of, well, everything. The band conquers melding reggae, funk, rock, and metal to forge a sound that can only be defined as euphonious. Whether you’re looking for a party anthem, a song to jam to, or a track to rock to, Weaving the Fate has it all.
Weaving the Fate’s passion, artistry, and talent are undeniable and pour forth in their WTF EP. Their first rock track, “Str8 to the Bottom” helped create a buzz for Weaving the Fate, but “Rack City” is proving that the band has mass appeal and staying power.
Weaving the Fate is currently on tour building up its fan-base with fellow South Carolina rock band, Crossfade. Pop-Break’s Lisa Pikaard caught up with all of the members of Weaving the Fate at their New York tour stop and the band was more than happy to provide a glimpse into their lives on tour, analyze the current state of the comic book world, and talk about the evolution of Weaving the Fate and how the band has gotten this far.
Pop-Break: So first up, there are probably going to be some people on this site that have no idea who you guys are, no offense! What song should I tell them to go listen to, first and foremost, before reading the interview?
Jeremy “Finesse” Roberson: Probably “Rack City” maybe.
Bobby Dredd: Or “Drink and Party.”
Brian “BC” Conner: That’s a tough one! I don’t know.
Dredd-They’re all good!
PB: I will give you that! They are all good.
BC: I will say that “Str8 to the Bottom” or “Rack City” would probably be the most accessible because those are the singles out but I don’t know. If they had an option of the five… maybe “Drink and Party?”
Dredd: Yeah. I think “Drink and Party” because it’s a nice summertime type of song you can drink and party to!
PB: So, I love the name, Weaving the Fate, plus it gives you guys an awesome name for your EP [WTF], but you guys used to be called Villanova; why the name change? And why Weaving the Fate?
BC: It started out Villanova for a couple of years and then we got a record deal with Universal Republic. At that point we were getting a little bit more attention so the Villanova name was not going to work because the University would sue the crud out of us basically or something like that. It was just kind of an issue so we had to go back to the drawing board. We thought about changing it to Killanova, or Thrillanova; we were going to change it up We had like a million names and none of it was really sticking or clicking with anybody. We wanted to call the band Weaving of Fate because I had a brother, Chris; he was a song writer and that was one of my favorite songs that he had ever written. It’s called “Weaving of Fate.” It was kind of like this awesome concept about how man-made things can’t compare to any one of God’s creations and just kind of like the strength of natural world. And so, it’s Weaving of Fate and it’s this great theme but everyone’s like what’s the name again? Weaving? What is it? So then one of my buddies was like, “Dude! You should call it ‘Weaving the Fate’ that way you can call it WTF.” But I was like “That’s stupid. Wait a minute that’s genius!” And that was it!
PB: So how did you guys get together as a band?
Dredd: I was good friend’s with Brian’s older brother Chris. We were in the same musical circles and the band I was with at the time was kind of disintegrating so Chris was like, “My brother is starting this heavy rock, funk, reggae type thing and he needs a bass player so I suggested you,” and that’s how me and him [BC] got together and started, and we brought Able in and Jeremy came in and the rest is a hysterical fact.
Able: Hysterical, not historical. Hysterical.
BC: I think I probably got the most lucky because it was exactly who I wanted in a band. Normally, this guy [Jeremy] was in like 17 bands and he [Able] was deejaying for hip hop people like two hours away from where we live and Bobby was in reggae bands and stuff and so I was like, dang man it would be awesome to play with them and stuff but they’re all in bands. I kind of had this evil plan to steal them all away because I just wanted kind of a powerhouse of all-star players to fill out the rock funk thing that I was songwriting at the time and it actually turned out well. I stole everybody! Once I got him [Dredd], it was easier to steal Able because he [Dredd] was helping me steal him. Then once we got these three, it was easier to talk him [Jeremy] into it. If we ever get anybody else, we’ve got all four of us to steal somebody else!
PB: So what song off of the WTF EP are you guys most proud of?
Dredd: I’m proud of all of them personally, but maybe “Fading Star.”
BC: “Fading Star” was the very last one that we did. We had a whole album’s worth of material when we went out to Los Angeles to record it and that one was written last minute and it just kind of chronicled the adventures that we had and serious stuff we had gone through and just as far as we’ve gone and ya know what it took us to get there and that kind of thing. It’s kind of like an emotional song that came out during that period that reflected all of those thoughts and the times and stuff and it turned out great and people love it so!
PB: Okay, so “Rack City” is constantly getting played on different Sirius and XM channels. Why’d you guys decide to cover it?
Able: That was uh…
BC: Well he [Able] deejays sometimes in between our sets if we take a break and beforehand and he deejays sometimes if we have a night off in town. He’ll be deejaying and we’ll go see him and have a few drinks or something, but every time he played Tyga, “Rack City,” people just went freakin’ nuts. It was almost comical how huge the song was, so we were just like, we should do a rock version of it! We didn’t really think it was going to ever get played on the radio much less played in Russia and London and stuff like that, but it just kind of started off like a fun experiment that the label ended up loving. He [Tyga] is on our label too so it’s even easier.
PB: So this is a question that I have sincerely struggled with: how would you guys describe your sound? Because I have no idea!
Able: Maybe someday someone will sound like us!
PB: How has touring been, aside from the speeding tickets?
Dredd: It’s been like one big nonstop party. It’s been a lot of fun.
PB: What’s the craziest thing that has happened so far?
BC: I think the craziest thing was actually on our day off. We went to this big party at our homeboy’s house in Geneva, New York. It was a field party. It had a bonfire. I was supposed to be resting my voice because we had a day off, but, of course, somebody brought an acoustic guitar so we were all singing and playing a bunch of songs and stuff in the cold. This girl came out and was doing fire tricks. She was breathing fire and had this hula hoop that was all these different colors and glowed in the dark and everybody was just getting drunk as balls. It was awesome. The actual musical part it has been great too. I mean every night has been very well received I think. We’ve had a lot of fun and Crossfade, that’s our brothers right there, we love those guys. We hang out with them when we’re not on tour so just being on tour with them is just a really great experience.
PB: Aside from Crossfade, who else have you guys shared the stage with that you guys have absolutely loved playing with?
WTF: Evenescence.
PB: How’d that happen, when was that?
Dredd: That was last month, two months ago? We did two sold out shows with them in Kansas City and St. Louis.
Able: We did Carolina Rebellion with them and Korn, Slash, and Five Finger Death Punch.
Jeremy: POD. A bunch of them.
PB: What is the most random question you’ve ever been asked in an interview?
Jeremy: What was the one we got asked at the festival?
Able: Oh Chuck Norris or Batman!
PB: And the answer was?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATNF8CNt-g0
BC: I’m kind of a big comic nerd so, of course, I went Batman. J [Jeremy] is more of a martial arts fan so he would’ve went with Norris but my argument was the whole strategist and tactician thing. That he’s like an escape artist and he studies like 10 different martial arts and he’s like a master ya know? And the smartest member of the Justice League. So, yeah!
PB: So now I have to ask you my last bands random question: what is your favorite, weird food combination.
Jeremy: Well, we’re all food connoisseurs.
Dredd: Yeah, we love to eat!
BC: Weird combo? Like The Swad in Greenville. But I don’t know if that’s like a combo.
Able: That’s not a weird combo, though! That’s just a restaurant we like to eat at!
BC: Yeah it’s like an Indian/vegetarian place that we always eat at. You all always get like hot dogs and something though. What do you all get?
Able: Um, fries? What was their answer to the question?
PB: She said “I don’t know I put ketchup on my eggs! Is that weird?”
BC: That sounds pretty good. I put hot sauce on my eggs.
Dredd: We put hot sauce on everything. Well J [Jeremy] doesn’t. He doesn’t do the hot stuff.
Jeremy: Ketchup on Ritz.
Dredd: Now that’s weird! My mom does that too. That’s weird.
Able: I had a friend who would put salsa and cheese on his waffles, usually when he was like obliterated but! Weirdest combo I’ve ever seen. I’ve never tried it.
PB: So what’s your favorite drunk food of choice?
BC: Drunk food? I eat terrible when I’m drunk I don’t even care! I’ll go to Denny’s and think it’s good. Then I’ll go to Denny’s when I’m sober and I’m like “Why the hell did I ever eat here?”
PB: Since we mentioned comic books, who are all of your favorite comic book heroes or villains?
BC: Wolverine.
Able: Joker.
BC: Yeah, I love all the X-Men. Currently there is this X-Men vs Avengers thing going on in the comic book world and, to me, it’s just laughable. You really think the Avengers could beat the X-Men? There’s no way!The Avengers have Captain America and Thor and stuff, but the X-men have like Magneto and Wolverine and I’m just like…
Jeremy: That’s a wrap!
Dredd: That’s a wrap.
Able: I like Aquaman and Robin! [Laughter]
Dredd: Aquaman and Robin???
BC: Robin’s actually a bad-ass though! Ya know what? I used to always like Robin because I used to play in a band with my brother and I was always like the side-kick in a way. I felt like I was like a harmony singer and a guitar player only and I like robin because he was a sidekick and a total bad-ass.
PB: So that’s your kindred spirit! One last question: what question do you wish you would be asked?
Jeremy: Can we pay you a million dollars?
Dredd: That’s awesome. Would you like to play Madison Square Garden.
Jeremy: And get a million dollars!
PB: You guys are touring with Crossfade till July 1st. Have some fun and maybe you’ll get to play the Garden one day! Thanks guys.
