The Heartfelt Reveries of Waxflower

The Heartfelt Reveries of Waxflower

Waxflower unveils emotionally driven rock that pulsates into the heart of the matter, and their impassioned songs are destined to garner attention well above and beyond their Brisbane, Australia home base.  Now signed to Rude Records, (American Hi-Fi, Blood Youth, Happy., Stand Atlantic, The Maine, Sundressed), Waxflower recently presented their debut single release entitled Sixteen Floors via their newfound label.  Expect many more heartfelt reveries from Waxflower as the months progress.  Highwire Daze recently caught up with front man Tristan Higginson to find out a whole lot more about the up and coming Waxflower from down under.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Waxflower, and how long the band has been together.
I’m Tristan. I sing and play bass in the band. It’s been just over a year since we released our first song ‘Cut Your Teeth.’

Where is the band based out of and what is the local music scene like there?
We’re based out of Brisbane, Australia. The local scene is great – there are a lot of passionate members of the scene who are willing to give young bands a shot.

How did you wind up signing with Rude Records?
We have a great booking team here in Australia who sent our music through to the Rude team. They understood what we were trying to achieve and share a similar vision for the future of the band. We’re super excited to have them on board.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the lyrics of your just released single Sixteen Floors?
The song is about the breakdown of a relationship and the effect that was having on my mental health. I usually write in metaphors but this song is straight down the middle – the writing process was certainly a cathartic experience.

Select two songs from your Together EP and what inspired the lyrics.
Together and Back To Back are both based on my experiences with Anxiety + Panic Disorder and the way that impacted my interpersonal relationships.

Who produced the new song Sixteen Floors and what was it like working with them?
The song was produced by Stevie Knight who has done great work on bands like Stand Atlantic, Yours Truly and Between You & Me. He was born to make good rock music!

All the proceeds of Sixteen Floors will be donated to Black Lives Matter and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. Of course we all know about the important work of Black Lives Matter. For those of us in the States, tell us about the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and how you became involved with the cause.
The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service operate to address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the criminal justice system. They’re actively involved in community education, research and advocacy around law reform and policy development.  We became acutely aware of how marginalised our own POC in Australia are, through the BLM movement and protests overseas. Through discussions with friends and further research, VALS came to our attention for the great work they do to assist and aid those who face discriminatory practices here in Australia.

What could one expect from a live Waxflower show?
We have always put a great deal of effort into our live shows. Playing is my favourite part about being in a band and I use it as a way to fully express the songs.

How did you wind opening for Simple Plan and did you get to meet or hang out with them at all?
As previously mentioned we have an amazing booking team over here in Aus. We definitely didn’t expect the offer to come through but were obviously over the moon to support such a big name in the scene.

If Waxflower could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
I would love to open for Jimmy Eat World as they have been the biggest influence on my song writing. I feel like that would be a great learning experience for me.

What has it been like to release new music right in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and so much social unrest – basically a revolution?
It’s been really interesting. Obviously there are more important things happening in the world right now and we didn’t want to detract from any of that messaging. We had talks about postponing the release, but due to the way distribution works this wasn’t an option – so we refocused our energy into supporting the movement with the release.

What’s up next for Waxflower?
More music. Hopefully more shows!

Waxflower are Tristan Higginson, Daniel Seymour, Nick Hargens and Jordan Beard.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

For More Info on Waxflower:
Website: www.waxflowermusic.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/waxflowermusic
Twitter: www.twitter.com/waxflowermusic
Instagram: www.instagram.com/waxflowermusic