Wednesday to make its first Albuquerque tour stop at Sister
It’s the week leading up to tour and Karly Hartzman is in a pretour scramble.
While it can be hectic, she tries to evenly spread it out.
“I can’t prepare enough,” Hartzman says. “This tour is bringing us to places I’ve never been, so having the right clothes to pack is difficult.”
Hartzman is the mastermind behind the alternative rock band Wednesday. The band’s tour is slated to make a stop at Sister on Wednesday, May 3.
The Asheville, North Carolina-based Wednesday is touring in support of its album, “Rat Saw God.”
Hartzman says the album took about six days in the studio to record with an additional two days to practice before going into the studio.
“We’re at the place to where we use our studio time effectively,” Hartzman says. “On my end, all the songs are ready to go. When we get into the studio, we have to work out how the rest of the band will fill out the songs.”
Hartzman is the primary songwriter for the band and has honed in on her writing schedule over the years.
“I never force myself to write if I don’t want to,” she says. “It took over a year’s time to write this album. When I have the urge to write, I break down every idea and then write the music. Then I break it down even more.”
Hartzman says “Rat Saw God” is an album about riding a bike down a suburban stretch in Greensboro while listening to My Bloody Valentine for the first time on an iPod Nano, past a creek that runs through the neighborhood riddled with broken glass bottles and condoms, a front yard filled with broken and rusted car parts, a lonely and dilapidated house reclaimed by kudzu.
She says it is also inspired by the way the South hums alive all night in the summers and into fall, the sound of high school football games, the halo effect from the lights polluting the darkness.
“I’m not a perfectionist when I write,” she admits. “I leave room for the imperfections to make its way into the music.”
Hartzman is looking forward to the show in Albuquerque, not only because its the band’s first time playing in the city, but it is a stopover from a long drive from Austin, Texas.
“It will divide us on a really long drive,” she says. “We’re very excited to perform there. Desert conditions take me a long time to adjust my voice and the climate there really helps.”