Breakout alt-rockers land in S.F.
There’s an ease that comes across when you talk with Wallows, the Los Angeles alt-rock trio fronted by “13 Reasons Why” star Dylan Minnette. As befits friendships that have lasted since school days, there are inside references and attempts to crack each other up. If there are nerves about the band’s launching its first nationwide tour — as the headliner, no less — they’re nowhere to be seen.
“It’ll be the first time we’ll be playing a show knowing that tomorrow we’re going to have to drive 10 hours to another city,” says Cole Preston, the band’s drummer. “But I think all of us, more than nervous, are really excited. We’ve all been friends since we were pre-pubescent booger weirdos, so it’s about time we all pile into a van.”
Wallows itself may be “new,” but that doesn’t capture the band’s dynamic. With two former iterations of the group under the trio’s belts, the 21-year-olds arrive at the Great American Music Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 24, for the first show of their cross-country tour with the type of bond usually not seen in bands with only four released songs to their name.
“We were friends from when we were 9,” says guitarist and actor Braeden Lemasters of his and Minette’s relationship, “but then when we were 12 and 13 we started sharing musical interests, like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, all those our bands that our dads showed us and we loved. We were 12-year-old kids loving those bands, and that was a cool thing for us, because it’s sort of rare.”
The duo met Preston at Join the Band, a music program in Southern California. Preston did as the program’s name would suggest, and the three would become the core elements of a band — first the Feaver (which performed during 2011’s Warped Tour before any of the band members could get driver’s licenses), then the Narwhals, and now, as the Wallows, preparing to hit the road for two months of shows.
Going on an extended tour, however, does require a sacrifice of sorts. Minette and Lemasters both have to put aside their acting careers; in 2017, Lemasters was a recurring player on “T@gged,” a show for Verizon’s go90 streaming service, and Minnette became a breakout figure when “13 Reasons Why” turned into a hit for Netflix.
“It’s easy to balance (acting and music), because I’m willing to put something completely to the side to make this happen,” Minnette says. “I think a lot of people in my position after the show coming out would be like itching to find the next acting project and trying to work as much as possible between the seasons. I’m the exact opposite . ... After six or seven months of filming the show, I don’t want to look at a script for six months at least. The best thing I could possibly do is Wallows.”
What he and his bandmates will be doing in San Francisco will include performing a handful of songs never heard in the Bay Area, including some set for an EP to be released in the spring. If they follow in the spirit of their first four songs, expect the lo-fi rock sounds of the early 2000s mold — cues from bands like Phantom Planet, Franz Ferdinand and, in particular, the Strokes can be heard in songs like “Pulling Leaves Off Trees” — coupled with festival friendly hooks and Southern California sunshine.
“At one point in time, when we were the Feaver and the Narwhals, the most exciting artist working at the time was the Strokes,” Minnette says. “But right now I think the most exciting artist in music is Frank Ocean. I think our influences have grown a lot, and are just going to continue to grow.”