Hard-hitting new rock band Wicked Love has their Wild Ride EP out now featuring their energetic self-titled single.
The band from Charleston, South Carolina brings out old Sunset Strip vibes as they present their eighties sound with a modern twist that mixes a number of genres together to create a fun blend that draws listeners in.
Recently, Rock Life caught up with Wicked Love vocalist Brendan Ferreira.
Rock Life: As far as touring, I know you've got some shows coming up and I know you just played a show on Halloween. How did that go?
Brendan Ferreira: Fantastic because we played one of our brand new songs that we just wrote for the very first time and it went over stupendously!
We've got a show on December 2nd with The Lonely Ones and December 3rd with Ron Keel.
RL: And what can people expect from a Wicked Love set?
BF: Oh high energy, a party, having fun, a good time man! Dancing, singing and jumping around.
RL: Have you been happy overall with the positive reaction to the new stuff?
BF: I've actually been kind of surprised because it's not the type of music that you'd think would connect. I mean I love it obviously and I do it because I love it, but I don't expect others to feel the same way so seeing the way it's going right now is surprising and just really, really cool. It's really been fun and I'm really happy that people have been enjoying this.
RL: I think there has been a bit of a revival of that eighties vibe over the least few years though.
BF: Yeah, it took a little bit for us to get the ball rolling!
RL: What do you want people to know about Wicked Love's music?
BF: I don't want to jump on the eighties hair metal groove. I want people to know that we are kind of like a new wave eighties rock band. I mean it still sounds poppy and modern, but you can obviously tell that it has those eighties influences with the sweet licks, the guitar solos just blasting, the high-pitched screams and just a super melodic melody. So yeah, it's eighties with a modern twist.
RL: There really is a great mix of genres for everyone.
BF: Oh yeah and that's what we're hoping to get!
RL: How did the new single "Wicked Love" come about?
BF: So back when we were younger, one of Austin's [Livingston, lead guitarist] big influences was George Lynch and that's pretty much where the name for the band came from. George Lynch has a song called "Wicked Sensation" and we loved the word wicked and Wicked Love was born.
Obviously, the band name inspired the "Wicked Love" song. Another song that George Lynch had was "Mr. Scary" and it was like this instrumental where he just totally rips it and Austin always loved playing that and jamming to it and he kept saying he wanted to write a song like that. I finally said, man let's just do it, let's rip it! He started coming up with something and I just started singing wicked, wicked love and it just kind of came together from there.
Whenever Austin and I write music together it just comes out of us organically. It just happens and I don't know how to explain it. I don't go super in depth when it comes to writing because it just happens.
RL: Did you have a vibe in mind when you sat down to work on the EP or did it just flow that way naturally?
BF: You know, with me and Austin the eighties vibe just comes naturally because it's just an era that we absolutely adore and love. We grew up listening to it from our mothers listening to it and stuff like that so while we're doing it, it just feels like it's in our DNA. It just happens. I don't think I could write in another style because I've trained my voice to sound like all of the eighties greats. No matter what I sing, people come up to me saying this sound kinds of eighties. It's like yeah, I know, I can't help it!
RL: And you've gotten a chance to play shows with a ton of great bands. Have you been picking up pointers along the way?
BF: Sure, absolutely!
RL: What do you feel has been the biggest moment for you so far?
BF: The biggest moment for us was definitely when we got to play with some of those bigger bands on the big stage at Rock Fest. It was very, very surreal. That was when I knew I was in the right place and that is exactly what I should be doing with my life.
RL: And how is the music scene in Charleston?
BF: It's very hard in this area. The metal scene is kind of like the red-headed step child of Charleston. We have a lot of tourists that are here so we have a lot of jam bands and acoustic cover bands and that's pretty much how everyone makes their money in this area as a musician. You pick up a 35-song setlist of covers and then you bring your acoustic guitar and you jam outside and make $500. When it comes to original work in the Charleston area, it's pretty much non-existent. It has to be a passion project right from the start and you either got it or you don't I guess. The metal and rock scene here are very hard.
RL: And what's next for you?
BF: So, we're going to finish out our shows until the end of the year and then in February we're going to get back into the studio and continue to work on our ten song album. Hopefully, we'll be releasing singles throughout 2023 and prior to that, we'll release the album as a whole compilation. And who knows, maybe someone big will hear us and want us to go on tour with them!
Wicked Love is:
Brendan Ferreira – Lead Vox
Austin Livingston – Lead Guitar/Backing Vox
Brad Krug – Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vox
Shane Dwyer – Bass/Backing Vox
Josh Proctor – Drums
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