You never know what’s going on behind the scenes with your favourite band. In 2019, WAAX had just reached the Top 20 of the ARIA Albums Chart with their debut album, Big Grief, but the success came at a tumultuous time for the Brisbane band.
Just a few months earlier, longtime lead guitarist Chris Antolak was abruptly removed from the lineup, and his former bandmates were reticent to discuss it at the time. “I’m sure in the future something will be said, but I don’t really know how to tackle that one right now,” guitarist Ewan Birtwell said; “Unfortunately things happen and being in a band is really difficult, it’s a pressure cooker,” lead singer Maz DeVita noted.
Almost three years to the day since the release of Big Grief, DeVita sounds much happier with WAAX’s present, and more excited for their future, when Tone Deaf catches up with her to discuss the band’s second album, At Least I’m Free.
“Obviously we had a change in the band, so we had to rebuild again,” she reflects. “There were a lot of clashes beforehand. I was so depleted by the end of Big Grief that I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to make another record.”
Listening to At Least I’m Free, the album title’s sentiment reveals itself in the music. Returning producers Bernard Fanning and Nick DiDia both offer a steady guiding hand, Antalok’s replacement James Gatling has fitted in seamlessly (more on him later), and DeVita sounds utterly re-energised, a resounding force both as a performer and as a lyricist.
Casting aside any notion of this being a difficult second album for WAAX, At Least I’m Free features a strong balance of classic WAAX, like the grungy ‘Help Me Hell’, and innovative material, like the striking piano ballad ‘Dangerous’, co-written by none other than 4 Non Blondes legend Linda Perry.
As WAAX head into their second life, things are sounding good. “I am a girl, I am a queen, I get fucked up, at least I’m free,” DeVita fiercely sings on album track ‘Jeff On The Streets’; after listening to her new album, that assertion becomes crystallised.
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Read the rest of Tone Deaf‘s conversation with DeVita below, where she discusses WAAX being labelled as a Brisbane band, the excitement of working with Bernard Fanning and Linda Perry, and being left on read.
WAAX’s At Least I’m Free is out now.
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Everyone always talks about ‘Second Album Syndrome’. Did you have anxiety coming into this one?
Definitely. It’s so funny because as soon as I let go, that’s when the songs started coming. When you stop thinking too much about it, you start becoming more creative. Words start flowing more, and you realise you’re starting to make something. I had a clear idea of what I wanted the record to be, but the magic of being in a band is that it transforms and evolves in the process. That’s the beauty of it, and that’s why I love being in a band.
Why did you take so long between these two albums? Was that just due to the pandemic?
I started to write really well with our new member, James, and we started to get comfortable writing together. It just took a while. Some of the record was worked on overseas before the pandemic as well. It just took a while! I think we always have taken a couple of years between records. The first of the three years we were on the road too.
So what’s the dynamic been like between you and James?
I really love it. Having a fresh perspective in the band is a leg up. It brings new energy into the room, and it’s just been really easy. We’re always on the same page and we respect and love each other so much. That made it a fun and easy process.
Yeah, it’s a personal sentiment, but it’s also a lyric that I wrote for the song ‘Jeff On The Streets’. When I first started making the record, I felt like I’d lost so much, I had to walk away from a really painful situation, and I thought that if my whole career and life go to shit, at least I’m free from the situation. It can only get better, you know? It’s a last-ditch feeling I suppose, you can’t go further down than rock bottom (laughs).
How was it recording with Bernard and Nick again? I’m sure it was daunting the first time but did you feel more comfortable this time?
It was a lot easier. The first time I was super nervous, I was still trying to find my feet as a songwriter, so I was worried about being in a room with a seasoned songwriter like Bernard. This time it just felt like family hanging out, I wasn’t so scared to show him anything new. He loves what I do and I’m really grateful for having him as a mentor.
Obviously there’s the Brisbane connection as well. Has he ever told you about what the city was like back in Powderfinger’s heyday?
Yeah! Obviously the city was smaller and different. They were the first band to really own the idea that they were from Brisbane. Back in those days, a lot of bands would move overseas or to Melbourne or Sydney, but they were the first that got to that size that were proud to say they were from Brisbane. And they’re still doing that now, they run venues, they have studios here, they’re still very active in the scene. They stayed true to their word!
Is that something WAAX is trying to emulate? Do you want to be known as a Great Brisbane Band?
(pauses) I don’t think that’s something I want personally. I don’t like the idea of geoblocking myself to one place! I want WAAX to be something that is relatable across the world, you know? I love being an Australian band but I don’t want that to define me. I’m so into getting out and seeing the world.
Considering you worked with the same producers again, how does the sound differ between your two albums?
I think the sound on this one is a lot more experimental. There’s just so much that changed this time. I went over to Los Angeles and wrote with some great songwriters, so that in itself was something completely different. The last record was very much insular to the band in the way that the songs were written.
The last record was also a rock record, a big rock record, so we asked ourselves what the next step was, how we could open the door to new ways to explore guitar music. So we took that on and made sure this album had new flavours and sounded unique, while also throwing back to our old stuff. It’s a bridging record, I suppose.
I guess that can be heard in ‘Dangerous’, the song you wrote with Linda. It’s such a strong pop ballad.
That was probably the most nerve wracking but incredible experience of my life! I went to Los Angeles by myself to do writing sessions with other artists. I was pretty green in that space but threw myself right in at the deep end, and ended up working with one of the greatest songwriters you can write with!
It really gave me confidence because she believes in my songwriting and she also believes in my vocals. She taught me how to be fine just having a raw vocal, not trying to go over the top with vibrato, or screaming all the time. I feel like in the past I tried to cloak my voice because I wasn’t comfortable with it, but I’m at a point now where I like my vocal tone. It’s fine if it’s dry as hell, it is what it is, and I jus have to deal with it.
I think a lot of people’s favourite karaoke song would be 4 Non Blondes’ ‘What’s Up’. Do you still talk to her?
We spoke recently because I sent her the song. She loved it and said it turned out awesome. I’m hoping to catch up with her when I return to Los Angeles next year, but she’s a very busy woman so I’m glad I even got that snippet of time with her (laughs).
‘Most Hated Girl’ really captures that solipsistic sense of being the only person that matters when you’re a teenager. Was that personal?
I legitimately found an old diary from when I was 16. I looked back and the way I perceive myself has changed. I used to think the world hated me, I was a very angsty teen! And now I realise that no one really hated me and I just had to look inwards, which I did through my 20s. I asked what was wrong with myself and what I needed to change. People can be on your side and you’re not alone.
It must have been hard to look through the diary at first!
It was so cringeworthy! But I realised that at least I’m consistent: when I was that age, I decided to become a vegetarian, and I’m still a vegetarian, so I think the core parts of myself are still pretty much there, which I’m proud of.
‘Read Receipts’ is such a modern relationship anthem. Surely being in a band like WAAX means that you’ve never been left on read though?
Oh my god, no! It’s really funny, it’s so different for dudes, but being a woman in a band is such a different experience. Sometimes men can be a little bit intimidated and don’t really know what to do. But I’m just a normal person, there doesn’t have to be this power imbalance! I’ve experienced a lot of power imbalances in my relationships, which is pretty because I’m actually pretty low maintenance (laughs). It’s not really popping off in the DMs, let’s just put it that way!
I was curious if you see WAAX belonging to any one genre?
No, no. I think we make music that has guitars and drums in it, but that can be anything. As long as the emotion and the feeling is great, then who’s to say what it could be? I’m very open to exploring what guitar music means in 2022 and the future. I feel like it still has a huge place, you know? There’s always going to be a 12-year-old that wants to pick up a guitar.
How good has it been touring so consistently again?
It’s been everything, it’s why we do what we do. When we didn’t have touring, we were so lost, but now we just feel so blessed to be doing this again. The climate is obviously quite different, I think everyone’s still adjusting, but overall it’s been so beautiful to see everyone. Our community is so caring and lovely and they’re all vibing well with the new tunes.
Do you consider WAAX to be more of a recording or live band?
(pauses) I’d like to say we’re a bit of both. If you’d asked me this question four or five years ago, I would have said we were a live band, because especially in Australia, we’ve been pigeonholed as that. I believe in our records and think they’re really good. When I first came into the industry, all I wanted to do was perform, and recording was a way to do that, you know? But now it’s like we properly make records, so I would say both.
