The Wickedly Wonderful Conway

The Wickedly Wonderful Conway

Conway is a modern rock band from Chicago ready to make an impact on all types of music fans.  Meshing a wide array of influences such as Guns ‘N Roses, Arctic Monkeys and Green Day, Conway unleashes a sound that is both blistering and endearing.  Something Wicked is the name of their debut full lengther, now available from Pavement Entertainment – and it’s jammed packed with wildly memorable songs destined to garner Conway a good deal of admiration! Highwire Daze interviewed frontman Aidan Hargis to find out more about the sonic adventures of the wickedly wonderful Conway.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Conway, and how long the band has been together.
My name is Aidan Hargis, and I’m a founding member of Conway, the lead vocalist and frontman. Conway started in the summer of 2017 when Riley Allen and I started to record the first EP together.

Where is the band based out of and what is the local music scene like there?
We’re based out of Chicago, and there’s a thriving music community here. I started in the DIY punk scene, then moved on to the rock scene. It’s been fun here, there are a lot of fun bands and amazing venues that produce a lot of genuine, honest music, but we’re ready to get out to the rest of the country.

How did you wind up signing with Pavement Entertainment?
I got Scott Wilson’s email from our media manager at the time, and he produced a couple of songs for us. Once he did, Pavement came knocking with the opportunity to release an entire album with those two songs and we couldn’t say no.

Is there any overall story or concept behind your Something Wicked title?
I’m a bit of a Shakespeare nerd, and the phrase “Something wicked this way comes” from Macbeth has always been a favorite of mine. The context doesn’t apply to the album, I just thought the phrase itself was us preparing listeners for something totally different.

Select two songs from Something Wicked and what inspired the lyrics.
“Missed Me” was inspired by two different almost-relationships that never really came to fruition, but were nearly there. Both of them would have been volatile and unstable, so once I reflected on that I wrote the song from the perspective of either of them actually happening. “Too Dead To Care” is about not knowing whats going to happen or where your life is going, but riding it out with a smile on your face and a strong drink in your hand. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past couple years, to be honest.

What has it been like to release your album right in the middle of a pandemic? These are difficult crazy times…
It’s been wild, honestly. We’re happy that everyone’s inside and keeping to themselves, hopefully they can listen while they’re there, but I can’t wait for the world to reopen and for everyone to start enjoying themselves again.

What could one expect from a live Conway show?
A lot of activity, we love to go hog wild, Riley and I sweat so much there might as well be a splash zone in the front row. I love interacting with audience and building intimacy with every show, so if you come see us you’re guaranteed to get to know us.

If Conway could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
I would honestly want to open for My Chemical Romance during on of their earlier tours from 2004-2006. It was just before I started going to shows and the crowds were so wild and so into it, I’d love to be a part of that point in rock.

Has Conway ever played here in the Los Angeles/Hollywood/OC area and if so, how did the shows go?
Unfortunately we haven’t as a group. One of us has, but it was a one off show. Hopefully when we do get there we can blow y’all away!

If the music of Conway was a donut, what kind would it be and why?
Jelly donut. There’s one thing when you like at it, but once you bite in you get a whole different idea of what the whole thing is really like.

Are you or any members involved with any other bands outside of Conway?
Riley and our bassist Mitch are in their own band called Overclocked. They’ve been gigging for a lot longer than Conway and they play a much grungier and raw sound that I think a lot of people will like. Other than that everyone here has a one track Conway mind.

What’s up next for Conway?
World domination, baby, that’s what we’re about.

Any final words of wisdom?
Don’t ever stop pushing through the madness. Eventually, you’ll figure out how your demons mesh with your work ethic.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!
Thanks for giving us the time! Go stream the album!

Band Members:
Aidan Hargis – Lead vocals, Guitar
Riley Allen – Backing vocals, Guitar, Synth
Mitch De Biase – Backing vocals, Bass
Jake Dillon – Guitars, Keys, Backing Vocals
Austin Johnson – Drums

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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