So after listening to their new album, "Failure Looks So Good" and enjoying the crap out of it, I was left with a few questions that I wanted to ask the band personally... And so I did! Here are the results:

YMM: So tell me a little bit about the band. I already know you're from Portland, but when did you guys get started with everything? How did it all come together?

The Wanteds:

TOMMY:  The way the band came together was an exercise in trusting your gut.  And...doing things backwards.  I had been demo-ing songs in my home studio during the early part of 2007 and was hooked on the idea of not having this record be a solo one like "Let Go Afterglow" was.

While that was happening, I saw Ryan playing with another band at the Doug Fir.  He looked bored and I put word out to his girlfriend that I had a project that might interest him.  He left on tour for a couple of months with that band and as soon as he got back he quit, and I got wind of that thru the grapevine and we got together and talked and listened to demos and that was that.

Then things got tough.  We couldn't find the right drummer. After a few drummers and a few shows and some failed attempts at getting solid demos of the songs and we were kinda stuck.  We had a show coming up and no drummer but I was not going to start over.  There were some great songs there and we went with our guts and found Beau Kuther from Kaddisfly on Craigslist.  He was off tour and looking for something to do so we hooked up for the show and he really connected with what we were doing.

The day after that show I just said, "fuck it...let's record this record and just let the band happen."  That was the end of November, 2007.  A few days before I had met Jordan Richter who ended up recording us.  It all just sorta happened when we decided not to give up.  In January we walked into Supernatural Sound in Portland and cut a record in seven days and about two

months later Adam found us.  When I met him I knew.  After we played two songs together I just told him, "dude!  you are it." The next thing I knew we were doing the longest commute I've ever done to band practice!

ADAM:  Portland by way of Yakima! Six hours of driving for three hours of rehearsal!!! I was living in Yakima, WA, at the time and was kind of going crazy, there being no music scene to speak of. So, I started cruising Craigslist and came across a post from these guys. I emailed. I called. I really the dug the music and read all of Tommy's blogs (I think it took me over an hour!) and was really impressed by his excitement, dedication, and motivation. So I kind of hounded them because I felt like being from out of town was already gonna put me behind the 8-ball.  I came down the night before the audition and ended up meeting up with Tommy and Ryan at the Know, where Ryan works. Tommy gave me a disc and we talked for a while.

He's pretty over-the-top but we got along well. After I left, Tommy called the other guys that were scheduled to audition and told them he had found his drummer...all before he'd heard me hit a single drum!  After the audition, I told the guys I'd have to think about it for a couple of days. Tommy said he'd wait to hear from me before he did anything else. Then, he sends me a text the next day that says if I'll join the band they'll drive

to Yakima for rehearsals!

YMM: What kind of impact do you want to leave on the world with your music?

The Wanteds:

TOMMY:  I don't really think about the "worldly" impact when it comes to my music.  For me, it's all really personal.  In everything I do, it's all about pushing my limits and digging deeper and trying to write the best songs I can with the most emotional impact so I can get to a place where I can say, "wow...I can't believe I was able to do that."  That's what I am

all about and that's pretty much what fueled me to make The Wanteds first record all by myself and tour the US all alone for two years.  So maybe that's the impact.  Inspiration.  Yeah, that's it.  I'd like to inspire people to believe that they can do amazing things if they are willing to believe...and to just go for it.

ADAM:  I really love this band. I love the vibe. It's fun. I guess if everyone on the planet felt the same way i do about it...well, that'd just be pretty ridiculous!

YMM: What are some of your greatest musical influences for this album and why?

The Wanteds:

TOMMY:  You'd probably never guess by listening, but I was listening to alot of Tegan and Sara, Bright Eyes and TV on the Radio during that time.  And, Broken Social Scene and another Portland band called Talkdemonic.

ADAM:  When I heard the first couple songs, I felt like I could hear Zeppelin and Jane's. I've being doing other stuff for the last 6 years: singer/songwriter, alt-country, roots rock. This was calling back to my earliest influences. The first few albums I ever bought were Led Zeppelin and Jane's Addiction. I was a little concerned I wouldn't be able to make the transition but I think 90% of what we worry about doesn't happen anyway.

YMM: You say that you recorded this album with the intent of it being "reckless." Now, in your eyes, how did you accomplish that?

The Wanteds:

TOMMY:  It was all about the moment, with little attention paid to what might be coming next.  We recorded this record "as is".  By that I mean that we didn't bother with layers of overdubs and all that crap.  The band was tight as hell and we just walked into the studio, set up and blasted thru the songs live in one room together.  Live to 2" tape.  Old school.  There was no time spent "building" a record.  All the bass, drums and guitar tracks for the whole record were done in only 14 hours.  It was amazing!  In the end, the sound is really thick not because of studio magic, but just because that is the way we sound.  That's what we wanted.  To be a part of the way music used to be, when it's creation was a little more organic.  There was no

over-thinking going on and we weren't the least bit concerned about how it might be received.  The whole recording process felt very innocent and very pure, and I love the way it turned out.

And the live show could probably qualify under the "reckless" tag as well. Once we get going, it's like a train that could come off the tracks at any minute.  It never does, but it sure feels like it's going to. Ok...well maybe sometimes it does...but that can be fun too!

YMM (to Tommy): I saw the trailer to that little movie on your Myspace page.  When you mentioned the part about how you'd just broken up with your girlfriend and found out that she was pregnant, I simultaneously gasped and thought of a crazy idea for a soap opera. I know it's a very personal subject, but if you wouldn't mind me asking, what's going on with that situation? What's the dirt on it?

Tommy: It started off as a pretty naive undertaking.  I met a lawyer who thought I was a pretty crazy character.  He loved "Let Go Afterglow" and thought it was pretty interesting that I was going to tour the US all by myself...so he came up with the idea of making a documentary about me and my travels.  I think the whole dream-chasing thing was his original agenda and before I knew it there was a camera crew following me everywhere, documenting all the work that goes into booking and going on a tour.

Then the universe stepped in and life just started happening.  I was trying real hard to get out of the relationship I was in and then found out about the pregnancy.  It was a crazy time.  I didn't know what to do, but I'm the kind of guy that believes that what comes into my life does so for a reason, so we decided to have the baby and try to work things out. It was rough.  The relationship didn't get any less toxic, so I just kept touring.  As much as I possibly could...to get away from home.  I was right there when Brice was born, which was a spectacular thing to witness, but following the birth the relationship just kept getting worse so I kept touring and eventually the whole thing spiraled into one giant fireball and everything fell apart.  I was incredibly unhappy and felt trapped.  I was unfaithful again and again.  The relationship finally ended and I came home from tour to an empty house.  My ex left and took my son with her and at that point my life just collapsed.  Five and one-half years of sobriety

went down the drain and I went on a year-long drug bender and almost lost everything.  Keep in mind that there was filming going on during this entire time!  It was nuts.

"Failure Looks So Good" comes from that experience. Sometimes it looks like everything's gone to hell but in reality, everything did what it needed to do and things are much better having gone thru it.  After the crash, I finally got my shit together, got sober, and learned some great lessons about what it means to do the right thing.  About how a broken relationship can be much healthier for a child than being raised in a toxic one.  And, most of all, I learned that my sobriety wasn't going to last thru the really rough times if I was doing it alone.  I got into recovery.  And I ended up in a very healthy love relationship after that. The changes in me since have been immense.  So, yeah, that's the movie in a nutshell.  They are still working on it and I think they are getting ready to do some more filming now that the dust has settled.  They want to take a look at where I am now.  I'm out of the loop as far as all that but I did get to see some footage and it was startling.  During that time I was so ego-driven and thought I had everything figured out, but when I

look back on that guy he was actually looking very insecure. He's miles away from the guy who walks in my shoes today.

YMM (again, to Tommy): Has the situation with the baby affected any of the bands touring plans or anything like that?

Tommy:  Brice changed everything.  Raising him has made me realize the importance of family and that ended the one-man-band and really sparked my desire to be in a band and be playing with other people again.  I took two years off to get him into the toddler years and get my head straight. Now, I have him four days a week which gives me plenty of time to be a good papa, but it makes it tough to do alot of work, so I've become very hands-off as far as the business end goes.  We have PR and booking people and that takes a great work load off my shoulders so I get to just live life.  It's been a great, and very healthy, change.  Other than that, the only change is that I don't really have a desire to go on insane three and four month tours anymore.  I don't want to be away from him or my fiance,

Jen, for more than three weeks at a time.

YMM: Speaking of touring, I noticed a few dates on your Myspace page. You guys are currently on tour, if I'm not mistaken. Any dates that you want everyone to be aware of? Any special ones?

The Wanteds:

TOMMY:  We're not on the road at the moment.  In October we go out for two weeks for a West Coast thing, as far as Utah and Arizona.  There are various NW dates coming in November and December.  In January we go national...until Valentine's Day, I think...and then another national tour in the Spring.  It's gonna be a very busy year.  Check our website or myspace...everything is posted.

YMM: Any last words? Shout outs? Anything?

The Wanteds:

TOMMY:  All I can say is don't settle.  Ever.  Live life going for it. And lastly, I'd like to give a shout-out to Portland and to everyone across the country that keeps coming to our shows. We couldn't do it without ya!