By Shana Dines
Daily Bruin Reporter
sdines@media.ucla.edu
For a band coming out of Richmond, Va., Los Angeles can be
intimidating and scary, but at the same time it can be the Emerald
City at the other side of the rainbow.
This was the case for the idealistic band Waking Hours, who will
be playing Westwood plaza today at noon, when they moved west last
year. Drummer Mike McCormack described the decision to move as the
best and, oddly, the easiest decision he and bandmates lead
guitarist Ricky Tubb and lead vocalist/guitarist Tom Richards had
ever made.
“We just packed up and moved out without
hesitation,” McCormack said. “It’s been a total
dream come true so far.”
Upon arrival in Los Angeles, the three friends met bassist Lisa
Mychols, who completed the current lineup of the band.
McCormack described the band’s stage show as wild and
crazy. They try to keep a positive vibe while jumping around all
over the stage, but often hurt themselves during shows. Blood is a
common result of their antics.
Waking Hours also made an appearance on UCLA Radio yesterday in
promotion of the show today. In addition to goofing off and telling
jokes, they played a few acoustic songs live from the studio and
also played some tracks from their newest CD.
McCormack credits the band’s success in Los Angeles to
opportunities like this performance. In addition, they have
received an extensive amount of really good luck.
“We’ve had a lot of lucky breaks, just left and
right, and a lot of hard work, a lot of hardship, a lot of issues,
a lot of things that tried to tear the band apart,” McCormack
said. “But we stuck together and it’s just been paying
off like crazy.”
Their self-described bristling pop-rock with a punk edge can be
heard on the “Idle Hands” soundtrack, as well as in
many other movies. HBO hit “Six Feet Under” will also
feature a Waking Hours song in an upcoming episode. They were even
recruited to write a song for X-Box’s new NHL 2002 game.
Waking Hours sounds like what McCormack calls a mix between
Weezer, The Beatles, The Jam, Oasis, and Radiohead. They are of the
brand of non-abrasive pop-punk that has been oh-so-popular lately.
With universal lyrics they hope anyone can relate to, the band
sticks to up-beat, energetic rock.
Joining the Warped Tour for a number of western venues this
summer, it is clear what genre they fit into. The band is
particularly looking forward to their inclusion in the Los Angeles,
Ventura, San Francisco, and Phoenix shows. They are still waiting
to hear about being added to more shows.
The City of Angels has been a city of golden opportunities and
lucky breaks for the Southern men of Waking Hours. They left home
with visions of living out the rock star dream and have actually
made some progress. They lack the bitter, jaded cynicism that scars
many bands today.
Though they seem idealistic and starry-eyed, they have good
reason to be. Compared to the struggle of trying to make a name in
Richmond’s difficult local scene, Los Angeles has been
positive.
“It’s super cool,” McCormack said.
“Everybody helps and supports all the local bands and tries
to make them big, it’s just a totally different world out
here.”