that's how kids die.

Ben Wrecker is a rad dude.  Not only was he kind enough to contribute to the Australian Metal Scene Report I wrote for Invisible Oranges, he also graciously sent me a ton of stuff from his equally rad band, Hotel Wrecking City Traders.  If you’re not familiar with HWCT, the duo (which also includes Ben’s brother/guitarist Toby) play a smoked-out yet devastating brew of instrumental thunder in the vein of such vocals-free monsters of rock as Karma to Burn and Capricorns.  One can’t help but feel there is some sort of sibling mental telepathy at play when listening to the Wrecker Bros’ heavy ‘n’ hypnotic stoner jams, such is the effortless interplay between instruments.

I caught up with Ben for an e-mail interrogation just as he was returning from a trip to the United States.  Wrecker had been tapped to play drums for ex-Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age madman Nick Oliveri’s Mondo Generator, but the tour was unfortunately cancelled.  He once again went above and beyond, taking time out to talk about instrumental music, running a label, and the dynamics of being in a band with your brother.

[Note: For some reason I was under the impression that HWCT were not native Australians, but as it turns out I was wrong.]

Josh Haun: You guys are based in Australia, but aren’t natives. How did you wind up there?

Ben Wrecker: Actually we are. We were both born here but moved overseas when we were young and spent the better part of our teenage years in Hong Kong and the UK. Since then we’ve continued to move around a lot. Ending up back in Melbourne around 5 years ago and started the band.

JH: What made you and your brother decide to start Hotel Wrecking City Traders together? Would you ever consider adding other members to the lineup?

BW: We started jamming when I was around 13 years old. We were just kids learning how to play our instruments and never played any shows. Toby was 11 at the time. Later on as I got older, I was in bands in high school and after that we both went our separate ways and I ended up touring with a band in the UK where I was based at the time. That didn’t work out and both Toby and I ended up moving back to Australia and started HWCT, proper. Toby had never played shows before. He was a demon on the home recording front, though. Constantly sent me tapes of DIY demos he made on his 8 Track at home. The band started when we moved to Melbourne and decided that the time was right to play live shows. We liked the idea of a duo and the intention was to sound as full as any other band with 3 or more members but make the sounds by ourselves. Whilst we never really had a specific set of rules as far as getting extra players in we have always been open to the idea. We have been involved in some live collaborations, most recently with Bonnie Mercer (of GREY DATURAS/BREATHING SHRINE) on 2nd guitar when we opened up for Robert Lowe aka LICHENS and Emil Amos aka HOLY SONS (both from the band OM) at a show in Melbourne a few months back. We have also recorded a new project with Gary Arce (TEN EAST/YAWNING MAN) playing bass and guitar. It’s due out on BRO FIDELITY later this year and sounds amazing. It’s called HOTEL WRECKING CITY TRADERS with GARY ARCE, funnily enough.

JH: Are there any advantages/disadvantages specific to be being in a band with a close family member?

BW: We have always been the best of friends, first and foremost. People who don’t know we’re brothers come and tell us that we appear to have some form of mental telepathy going on in the way the live sets unfold. I believe to some extent there is some truth in that. I’ve never felt so comfortable as when I am playing in HWCT with Toby. It feels totally natural and is the most fun and challenging band I’ve ever been involved in. I think also when we are touring that we know each other so well it makes the process enjoyable and free of bullshit, that some bands encounter when egos and personalities clash. It’s an all round good time and we are yet to have any major blowups or disagreements.

JH: I have to ask about the band’s name, Hotel Wrecking City Traders. Where did this moniker come from?

BW: Toby came up with the name years before we started the band. It’s a tongue in cheek thing. The ‘Hotel Wrecking’ part is kind of a joking homage to the era of rock bands trashing hotel rooms and general rock n’ roll debauchery. The ‘City Traders’ part refers to our lives growing up moving around city to city, country to country. So it’s like we move from one city and trade it for another. Some people have asked if we are Wall St bankers or something and wonder if the ‘Trader’ part refers to that. How they could come to that assumption is beyond me but it makes me laugh thinking about it. The name still continues to baffle people and we often get the ‘HWCT’ acronym used in place of the full name. Either way is fine with us. The name isn’t really important to us the music is where the focus is at.

JH: Who are your primary influences as a drummer? What drew you to the instrument?

BW: I have played guitar longer than I have played drums. I know I’m a better drummer than I am a guitarist. Drums are very primal and physical and a great way to release stress and discontentment. Some of my favorite drummers are: John Bonham, Ginger Baker, Dave Grohl, Dale Crover, Gene Krupa and Damon Che . Plus I am surrounded by friends in bands from Australia who we play with who constantly raise the bar for me personally. Good dudes such as Joel Ellis (Nunchukka Superfly), Jem Moloney (Fire Witch), Deryck Hunt (Spider Goat Canyon), Pat Warner (Wicked City), Steve Ob (Tumbleweed) and Robbie Avenaim (wOg), to name a few.

JH: How would you describe the writing/composition process for HWCT?

BW: We are largely improvisation-based. We hadn’t rehearsed in over 2 years until about a month ago. We started jamming when we did our first shows then kind of got tired of formulas and rehearsed songs, so we gave up and allowed the songs to unfold live. We play so many shows all the time that it strengthens us to try stuff out of the cuff, in front of people and get a response out of them that way. We have recently started jamming again, for fun more than anything, but feel that both methods are productive ways of developing new approaches and sounds. I think we work well in both scenarios and try and use both.

JH: Hotel Wrecking City Traders are an instrumental band. Do you think the lack of vocals allows you to cover more ground/emotions from a strictly musical perspective?

BW: I have always loved instrumental music. I write lyrics all the time for my own songs that are outside of HWCT. I think so far it’s worked well in not having vocals because it frees us from traditional structures and we thrive off of that. Our shows tend to cover a range of moods and nuances ranging from human emotions to concepts or environments we are playing in. Outdoor shows, indoor shows, shows on the floor or on a stage will have the potential to affect a performance and we both enjoy those outside factors and acknowledge their influence on the music we make. We are not averse to having someone sing for us. Believe me it’s happened at shows where we get heckled about it by some drunk asshole and invite them onstage to join us and usually just embarrass them! But we do have a friend of ours from the US who is gonna sing on some songs we will be recording at some stage later this year and will be the first HWCT songs to incorporate vocals. There are no strict doctrines or rules for us. We enjoy trying new avenues of experimentation and expression as we go along.

JH: Were you at all influenced by any of the other more infamous instrumental bands out there such as Karma to Burn or Pelican?

BW: Most definitely. Our record collections are full of different sorts of stuff from the many eras of music. Many that do not contain vocals. Everything from Don Caballero, Oxes, Yawning Man, Dirty Three, 5ive, Gay Witch Abortion, Neu!, Russian Circles, Sonic Youth, Che, Capricorns & Earth. And even guys like Masonna who is only vocals but you can hardly even tell if you didn’t know what that guy was doing with his voice. Another person whom we both admire is Eugene Robinson and the way he uses his voice as an instrument as much as he does a delivery of lyrical ideas. I think that variety is the spice of life (sorry to use such a lame cliché) but it’s true. Another early inspiration for us was the soundtracks of John Carpenter. The inspiration comes from everywhere.

JH: I’ve seen you guys called everything from sludge to stoner rock to post-metal. How would you describe HWCT’s sound to someone who hasn’t heard you?

BW: ‘Maximum Rock n’ Roll with minimal instrumentation’ was an early description. I’m not sure if that one applies now that we’ve done these songs with Gary and possibly the stuff with Vocals we’re working on. I guess it changes each time we play and evolves as time moves on.

JH: Tell us a little about your label, Bro Fidelity. What made you decide to start your own label?

BW: Bro Fi started out as a vessel for releasing HWCT records and has recently put out a deluxe CD for Fire Witch, my favorite Australian band. Having the label allows me to put out my own records and those of other bands that I genuinely admire and want to help open up their audience and hopefully, expand it and gradually create a body of releases that I’m proud to attach the name of Bro Fidelity to. It’s a labor-of-love and one that is often restricted by insufficient-finances but never from a lack of effort or lack of good stuff out there to want to promote.

JH: What are the pros and cons of starting your own label as opposed to working with one of the larger metal/rock labels out there?

BW: The internet has been the most impacting development within the record-releasing world, I would say. Suddenly everyone has a platform to spread the word about their music and bands. Even me! I think it’s somewhat leveled the playing field but also widened it so much that everyone has a band and everyone has a label. So, possibly we are no better off now than we were before with the old mode of releasing records like the Majors did/do. Ten there’s the ‘so called Independents’ parading as Independents but are really just Majors in disguise. I think the vinyl resurgence has really hit and people are buying records again. Selling CD’s is harder in Europe than the US and in Australia it seems the trend is following in the same direction. Downloading has become an acceptable way of adding to ones record collection and that’s really shaken things up for a lot of people who used to buy CD’s from record stores. I think nowadays the labels identity means much more than in the past and labels are like bands with their own personas, styles and musical outputs and identities. Labels that I always admired were ones like SST & Man’s Ruin. Currently, the smaller boutique labels in Europe like Electrohasch, Tee Pee, Supernatural Cat and Aussie ones such as WeEmptyRooms, Impedance & Heathen Skulls are bringing quality stuff out and touring bands in Australia. They are doing it with a very band orientated mode of operation. Keeping their releases limited in numbers (not always out of choice but because the costs are high) for the people who really don’t mind coughing up the cash for quality sounds and artwork and presentation of good art. That’s the way it should be. The kind of music labels like us do is very niche-based and isn’t designed or intended to be a mega-money-maker or global giant. They exist out of necessity and a genuine love for music.

JH: Are you actively looking for other bands to work with the label? If so what are your criteria?

BW: I am always open to new bands, if it resonates with me in some way and the pieces fit and the costs are realistic, then I will endeavor to release it. It’s always a gamble releasing records, particularly in today’s download-driven Internet world so I tend to only focus on the stuff that really blows me away, bands I’ve usually seen live before I hear it on record. If it’s powerful and resonates with me then I can discover whether or not it’s going to be backed up by the band themselves with sufficient touring and promotion etc. It’s a team effort so you wanna make sure your team is ready to go out with all guns blazing.

JH: You’ve also release material by the band Fire Witch on Bro Fidelity. What can you tell me about that band and your kinship with them?

BW: So far the first band other than HWCT to release something on Bro Fidelity has been Fire Witch. My favorite band in Australia. Saw them when I first moved to Melbourne from having lived overseas for most of my life and instantly fell in love with their DIY ethics, personable natures and most importantly their music and live shows. Jem from Fire Witch runs WeEmptyRooms records and the two of us collaborate on promoting shows and organizing tours and shows for bands a lot. I really enjoy this part of what he brings to Bro Fi as well. Not only my favorite band but a like-mindedness and community spirit that we enjoy working together with. Buy ‘Liars!’ by Fire Witch!!! You will not be disappointed!!!! The screen printed covers were all drawn by our good friend Jace (Fangs Of…) and done by hand by Jem, myself and a few other generous souls. Labor of love! They will never be repressed so get your mits on one now.

JH: What releases do you have planned for Bro Fidelity in the near future?

BW: I’m very excited about the next release, it’s a collaboration between HWCT & Gary Arce (Yawning Man/Ten East). We met Gary about a year and a half ago when HWCT opened up for Ten East in Australia. Gary dug our sounds and asked if we could get something happening, the result being this next release. It is going to be on vinyl only and will be limited to 500 copies. It contains two pieces roughly 10 minutes in length each and really sounds great. I couldn’t be happier with how it’s sounding.

JH: You were recently asked to play drums for Mondo Generator. How did this come about?

BW: Nick’s Aussie label Impedance, called me and said that the drummer had dropped out and they needed me to start a tour in 2 weeks. I had previously filled in on drums for Winnebago Deal (who at one time were also Mondo Generator members) so I’m pretty sure that had something to do with me getting asked to do it.

JH: What other projects, if any, are the two of you currently involved in?

BW: We have a band called Daggers Mid Flight which is an improv based noise project with Deryck and Jawsh from the Aussie band Spider Goat Canyon. It features two drummers , guitar and bass and is instrumental. We are gearing up to release our second full length this year which will be a double album on CD. It’s supremely heavy monolithic, spaced out madness captured on tape. It’s a super fun band to play live shows in.  Toby also has a project that has that sort of ‘Desert Sessions-vibe’ to it. Him and Gerasimos from Peeping Tom/Sons Of The Ionian Sea started it and kind of randomly create different lineups from our pool of friends in Melbourne to play shows. The band is called The New Quiet. Expect a release on Bro Fidelity sometime late this year, early next.

JH: What does the rest of 2010 have in store for Hotel Wrecking City Traders?

BW: We are currently working out a European trek. We’ve wanted to go there for ages and it’s finally looking like the pieces of the puzzle are coming together so fingers crossed. The record with Gary Arce will be out in a few months and then we will probably record some new stuff for another release next year. We’re also opening up for Zeni Geva soon on part of their Aussie tour and have a run of our own Aussie shows planned for the rest of the year.

JH: Are there any final thoughts you would like to add?

BW: Just a big thanks to you man. Thanks for taking the time and interest in HWCT/Bro Fidelity. Here are links where you can find out more about everything we’ve discussed and purchase copies of the records:

HOTEL WRECKING CITY TRADERS (HWCT)
http://www.hotelwreckingcitytraders.com
http://www.myspace.com/hotelwreckingcitytraders
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Hotel-Wrecking-City-Traders/93896866528?ref=sgm
BRO FIDELITY
http://www.myspace.com/brofidelity
http://brofidelity.bigcartel.com
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Bro-Fidelity/431929970065?ref=sgm

This entry was posted on 08/17/2010 at 1:08 am and is filed under Interviews, Metal, Music, rock, sludge, stoner rock with tags Australia, Ben Wrecker, Bro Fidelity, Fire Witch, Hotel Wrecking City Traders, Interviews, Metal, Music, rock, sludge, stoner rock. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.