Onward Etc. Interview
Whether it be as a solo performer or accompanied by a slew of musicians Rosco Wustewald of Onward Etc. knows how to put on a great show! His revolving cast of talented musicians makes every Onward Etc show unexpected. He’s already been apart of festivals like Cochella, Bonoroo, and The Vans Warped Tour. Check out his full interview below!
Onward, Etc. is a band that varies in its members. Are there any consistent members now besides you and KC?
Rosco Wustewald: Well, yeah, kind of. It’s pretty much me now. KC jumped off about a year ago, he kinda found his own path, but he’s still around though. He played with me in Minneapolis, he’s still part of the band. There are so many members in this band now, it’s unbelievable. I can’t even name them.
So just friends all over the country, then?
Rosco Wustewald: Yeah! It’s mainly me, it’s based around myself and my music. Every tour is so different.
Do you still work with Dave, Jon, and Nick at all?
Rosco Wustewald: Yeah, of course. They’ve always been really, really good friends. Dave is one of the most talented musicians of all time. Jon, we actually met him on the road. We had a drummer drop off the tour and we kind of had to scramble to find a new one, and Jon Via stepped up, and he was awesome, he was a blessing to the band, and he’s a fucking solid drummer. I mean, yeah. Those guys are always a dial away.
Seeing as your show differs by the musicians that you bring along to each show, what has been your most memorable performance with Onward Etc. as a whole?
Rosco Wustewald: Every performance has its own kind of memory. We’ve performed anywhere from an eight-piece to me solo, so it’s all pretty memorable. I don’t really have one that sticks out to me the most. I know the collaboration that we put together when we went out with Flogging Molly was really rad and we had a lot of fun with that. I love playing solo and I love playing with the whole band. It’s just so much fun when you get to collaborate with so many different people.
In a Vimeo video you posted, you reference that if you couldn’t have a song finished in one to two weeks that you would start to feel anxious and claustrophobic. Does that still happen?
Rosco Wustewald: Yeah, that that applies constantly. Song writing is always kind of a thing, but with something like Warped Tour, you get so busy that songwriting kind of falls on the back end. A lot of tours are like that where songwriting becomes a second gesture and you focus on the tour and performing live during the tour, but at the same time, every tour I’m still writing, and the songs and poetry that I write end up turning in to future songs.
In the same video, you talked about a recurring dream when you were a teenager where you would wake up naked in various locations, always finding something to tell you to continue onward. Does that still happen as well?
Rosco Wustewald: Yeah, more or less, adapted to becoming that. I wake up naked less now, and it’s not a dream. I have a beautiful fiancé, so the waking up naked is, more or less, not happening anymore. Unless I’m with her. I’d say my life has adapted more to just becoming that, and it’s like a life long dream that I’ve followed through with.
How did recording for your album Sonder On go? Were there any hiccups or any unexpected delays?
Rosco Wustewald: The whole album was a unique process. There were a lot of hiccups, a lot of things that had to be changed once we got into the studio, a lot of the structure had to be changed. Derek O’Bryan is such an amazing producer, and we sat down with him and trusted his opinion because he’s worked with so many amazing bands that we look up to. So, of course we’re going to take his word and listen to what he’s going to say. Working with a producer of that caliber is a whole other level for us. It was an amazing experience. Of course, every time you go in to record an album, you can’t expect it to be flawless, solid album without any madness. I think it’s a solid piece of work and that we did the best we could do with it.
In an interview with ReverbNation, you talked about how you were able to go from being an eight piece band to a solo act. Is that more exciting, or is it more of a challenge? Is it exciting or stressful with never knowing how many people you’re going to have?
It’s kind of what I live by, kind of like a code of ethics. I feel like having guest musicians and new people who jump up on stage make you focus on the music even harder, rather than getting up on stage and playing the set the same way every time. It changes up a lot, constantly, all depending on the musicians who are there that day to decide what we’re going to do, what the set list is going to be like, and how we’re going to play these songs. Everything is constantly changing. I don’t find it stressful. It’s more of the drive that keeps me alive. It’s more exciting than stressful.
Was Onward Etc. always something that you thought would happen? Did it happen the way you thought it would?
Rosco Wustewald: I still can’t believe it’s really happening, to be honest. I mean, I’m playing the Warped Tour, and I never really thought I’d be here when I started this project. I mean, when I started, it was almost like me giggling to myself, like, ‘Oh, I’m going to do this thing and I’m gonna play music for a living, and eventually I’ll make money off of it.’ I never really expected, and I still don’t. There’s this constant thought like, ‘Shit, man, can I still do that? Can I still pull this shit off?’ Where I’m at now is way beyond where I ever thought that I was going to be, and I’m stoked to be here. I couldn’t be happier. I’m not doing well by any means, I’m still a struggling musician, but I’m happy. I’m still gonna play music for a living, which I think is the goal of any musician, really.
What was it like being on larger festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella with such larger bands?
Rosco Wustewald: It was a trip, man. Coachella was different because I was playing session music for a different band, but I still got to play it, and I still got to stand on the same stage that Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tupac’s hologram was on. It was really flattering and amazing, and Bonnaroo was the same. We were playing at the same time as Neutral Milk Hotel, which I always looked up to as a kid, and they influenced my life as a kid. Honestly, I think during my set at Bonnaroo, I was taking more time between my songs to listen to Neutral Milk Hotel. It was amazing, knowing that I’m at that caliber to play with bands like that.
What was it like when you were asked to be a part of those festivals?
Yeah! Everything comes out of nowhere. There’s days when I feel like I’m failing as a musician, when I feel like giving up, and I’ll get an email or a phone call, and it’s like, holy shit! I have an opportunity this massive that I can capitalize on and take advantage of, like Warped Tour, or a festival like Coachella and Bonnaroo, and it’s like, maybe I’m not doing something wrong, maybe I’m not a shitty musician. It’s always flattering, it’s amazing to know that I’ve done that, I’m still doing that. It’s incredible.
Your website hinted at the possibility of new music this year, and you introduced your song “Wolves Of the North” as a new one. Is that going to be an idea of what the new album will be like?
Rosco Wustewald: The next album is going to be a lot more stripped down than “Sonder On”. I think the next album is going to be a lot more set towards the acoustic vibe and the soul behind the music. I feel like my song writing in general has become a lot more personal. “Sonder On” was a lot of writing about other people and their experiences, and I think the new album is going to be about the things in my life that I’m going through and have affected me as a human being recently and in the past. It’s going to be a very, very personal album, and I’m looking forward to taking a step back and not making such a huge production out of it and actually honing in to the lyrics and what the songs are about and the emotion behind all of them.
Is there anything else you would like to say to the readers of By The Barricade?
Rosco Wustewald: Check out all of our social media sites Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @onwardetc. Just check us out give us a chance. If you don’t like our albums, don’t like our recorded music, come check us out live. We put on a hell of a show, and I would love to meet everybody that comes out.
Photos by Elizabeth Porch
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