Wild Child (band)

Wild Child

Wild Child: Alexander Beggins, Kelsey Wilson, Sadie Wolfe perform at Emo's Austin
Background information
Origin Austin, Texas
Genres Indie Pop
Years active 2010 – present
Labels Dualtone Records, The Noise Company
Associated acts Ben Kweller, Shakey Graves
Website www.wildchildsounds.com
Members Kelsey Wilson, Alexander Beggins, Sadie Wolfe, Evan Magers, Chris D'Annuzio, Tom Myers, Matt Bradshaw

Wild Child is an American indie pop band from Austin, Texas, United States. The band consists of Kelsey Wilson (lead vocals and violin), Alexander Beggins (lead vocals and baritone ukulele), Evan Magers (keyboards), Sadie Wolfe (cello), Tom Myers (drums), Chris D'Annunzio (bass), and Matt Bradshaw (trumpet).[1] They are managed by Pat Cassidy.[2]

History

Wilson and Beggins met while supporting another act, The Migrant, on tour. They began writing songs together in the backseat of the tour van and found they worked very well as a songwriting team. Both had just been through the end of relationships, which provided both common ground and writing material. Beggins had brought a ukulele from his father's instrument collection simply because it was small enough to comfortably pass around in a van (Beggins played accordion with The Migrant). By the end of the tour the two had written several songs and began recording their first album upon their return to Austin. To complete the sound they were seeking, they called in other local musicians and friends to help record, which eventually became the full Wild Child band.[3]

Biography

Fiercely independent road warriors Wild Child, an “indie powerhouse”, has spent the past year stepping into that spotlight, playing stages as major as Austin City Limits Music Festival, Wakarusa, Firefly Music Festival, Bonnaroo, Osheaga, and Savannah Stopover.

Behind their second album, The Runaround, the premiere release on Ben Kweller’s Noise Company label, the Austin six piece earned NPR’s Top Ten Songs of 2013 honors for the song “Living Tree,” and saw five additional songs hit number 1 on Hype Machine’s Popular chart. Their Spotify, Soundcloud, and YouTube streams have eclipsed ten million listens, and they’ve appeared on NPR’s World Cafe and an airing of eTown Radio. The lead single from The Runaround, “Crazy Bird,” debuted on Specialty Radio at number one fueled by an electrifying performance on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson.

The band has been hailed as one of the top acts in music-rich Austin since the release of debut album Pillow Talk; their mix of folk, pop, and gypsy melodies gives them a unique sound. Kelsey Wilson has “the voice of a Jazz Age Broadway baby”, writes NPR, “all coos and hiccups and shivers.” Among unanimously illustrious praise from the likes of Paste Magazine, Relix Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Indie Shuffle, The Austin Chronicle, and American Songwriter, the Austin American-Statesman has anointed Wild Child as “Austin’s next national breakout act”.

“Music defines us,” says Wild Child’s co-frontman Alexander Beggins. “We get up every day to stomp, clap, whoop, holler, and dance with our family on stage and our friends in the crowd. We’re always looking for ways to expand our sound and push our boundaries musically, and we’re always looking for the next thing, the next sound, the next song. But in the meantime, it just blows our mind to stand on stage and look out into the crowd and see people singing along.”

Incorporating violin, ukulele, cello, piano, bass, banjo, and horns, Wild Child has broken through as one of the preeminent bands in one of the most storied music cities in the world, winning back-to-back honors as the city’s Best Indie Band at the Austin Music Awards.

Pillow Talk

Their self-recorded first album, the 15-track Pillow Talk,[4] was released on October 25, 2011 [5] (with help from San Francisco producers Evan Magers and Alex Peterson, and mastered by Erik Wofford).[6] The album was received positively on many blogs and yielded a number one single on the music promotion site The Hype Machine.[3]

The Runaround

Their second album, The Runaround, was released on October 8, 2013 via The Noise Company and produced by Ben Kweller. Kweller liked the band's debut album and sought out the band seeking to produce their sophomore effort.[2] The album was funded in part through a successful Kickstarter campaign which raised over $40,000. It was recorded in January 2013.[7]

The first single from the album, Crazy Bird, was received extremely positively, reaching number one on the music promotion site The Hype Machine,[8] debuting number one the FMBQ SubModern/Specialty charts,[9] and being featured on World Cafe.[10] Reviews for the album have been extremely positive, for example receiving a rating of 8/10 from PopMatters,[11] and being touted as "Austin's next national breakout act" by the Austin American-Statesman The song Living Tree was named in the 'Top Ten Songs of 2013' by NPR [12]

Track listing

Fools, 2015
No. Title Length
1. "Fools"   3:24
2. "The Cracks"   3:45
3. "Bullets"   3:14
4. "Stones"   2:58
5. "Meadows"   3:29
6. "Break Bones"   3:46
7. "Take It"   3:52
8. "Saving Face"   2:51
9. "Reno"   4:00
10. "Oklahoma"   3:37
11. "Bad Girl"   2:47
12. "Trillo Talk"   3:36
Total length:
 41:25
The Runaround, 2013
No. Title Length
1. "The Runaround"   3:44
2. "Victim to Charm"   4:11
3. "Crazy Bird"   3:58
4. "Coming Home"   2:45
5. "Stitches"   3:49
6. "Anna Maria"   3:27
7. "This Place"   3:55
8. "Here Now"   4:09
9. "Living Tree"   3:34
10. "Rillo Talk"   4:22
11. "Left Behind"   4.07
Total length:
 42:01
Pillow Talk, 2011
No. Title Length
1. "The Escape"   3:11
2. "Silly Things"   4:14
3. "That's What She Say"   4:03
4. "Darling Divine"   3:58
5. "Someone Else"   3:43
6. "Whiskey Dreams"   2:40
7. "Winter Pockets"   1:18
8. "Cocaine Hurricane"   2:44
9. "Warm Body"   4:56
10. "I'll Figure You Out"   4:59
11. "Real Estate"   3:27
12. "Pillow Talk"   4:18
13. "Day Dreamer"   3:54
14. "Bridges Burning"   3:28
15. "Tale Of You & Me"   5:39
Total length:
 56:38

Awards and performances

The band was named by the Austin Chronicle as the Best Indie Band and Best Folk Band in Austin at the 2013 South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival.[13] In 2014, the band was again named Best Indie Band.[14] In August 2013, the band performed as the opening act for the John Butler Trio. Additionally, the band has performed on Last Call with Carson Daly, AXS Live, PBS, CBS This Morning and have soundtracked a Purina Cat Food commercial.[15] In 2014, Wild Child toured the United States with Robert Ellis.[16]

In May 2014, Wild Child appeared on the The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.[17] During the summer of 2014 the band had a breakout performance at Bonnaroo Music Festival attracting an unprecedented crowd of over 5,000 to the sonic stage drawing comparisons to Lucius (band).[18] The band also performed at Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival and Firefly Music Festival drawing critical acclaim from The Philadelphia Inquirer.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Bio | Wild Child". Eyeinthesky.org. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  2. 1 2 Pan, Arnold. "Wild Child - 'The Runaround' (album premiere)". PopMatters. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  3. 1 2 "Wild Child profile; Alexander Beggins interviewed - Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  4. ↑ "Local CDs: Wild Child, Scott Biram, Will Sexton, and Sons of Fathers". www.austin360.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  5. ↑ "Wild Child". Schedule.sxsw.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  6. ↑ "Bio | Wild Child". Eyeinthesky.org. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  7. ↑ "Wild Child is making a new album (with Ben Kweller) by Wild Child — Kickstarter". Kickstarter.com. 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  8. ↑ "The Noise Company – Ben Kweller". Thenoisecompany.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  9. ↑ "Wild Child's The Runaround Receives Rave Reviews As Band Embarks On Fall Tour". Music News Kansas City. 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  10. ↑ "World Cafe Next: Wild Child : World Cafe". NPR. 2013-10-28. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  11. ↑ Lee, Raymond E. "Wild Child: The Runaround". PopMatters. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  12. ↑ "Ann Powers' Top 10 Albums And Songs Of 2013 : Best Music Of 2013". NPR. 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  13. ↑ "Best Performing Bands". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  14. ↑ "Austin Music Awards". The Austin Chronicle. 2013-03-18. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  15. ↑ "Wild Child". Do512. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  16. ↑ "Review & Photos: Wild Child, Robert Ellis impress in Austin". Lyynks.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  17. ↑ "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Season 10 Episode 170 - Watch Full Episodes". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  18. ↑ Orr, Dacey (2014-06-15). "Bonnaroo 2014: Day 2 in Photos :: Music :: Galleries :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  19. ↑ "Plenty going on at Firefly Music Festival - Philly.com". Articles.philly.com. 2014-06-24. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
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