Laura Mooney
Arts Editor
NBC's annual Backyard Barbeque was a rousing
success, bringing out fresh faced students for
a night filled with good music and good drinks as
an effective distraction before the realization that
school had begun yet again, really started to sink in.
This year UNBC was fortunate enough to welcome
Kelowna based band, The Wild, and Toronto's own
Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, fo melt our faces off with
their own unique brands of music. Our very own
editor in chief, Shelley Termuende, was able to sit
down with each band for an in depth interview, to
gain some insight into how these bands came to be,
and what exactly makes them the great bands they
are today.

First up was the Goddamned Wild Boys. Self-
described as a “hard rock band with an undeniable
twang,” Dylan Villain (vocals and guitar), Lucas
“Boozus’ (bass and vocals), and Rowdy Rick (drums),
came onto the music scene about eight years ago
when they were each playing with different bands.
Last summer they finally collaborated, drawing
influences from their favorite genres such as classic
metal, punk rock, and even hip hop, to create the
band now known as The Wild. With the release of
their first single, “Roadhouse,” The Wild's notoriety
was boosted, opening them up to a new audience,
and essentially launching their music career.

What you see is what you get—for the most part—
with the boys in The Wild. They are a group of

down to earth guys out
ra

: having fun,
ae

a

ol

there

we
2

Dylan Villain (Right) and Lucas “Boozus” (Left)
Shelley Termuende | OTE

»
2a

playing music that they love and sharing it with their
fans. In regards to their fans, The Wild could not be
more accommodating. The band stated that even if
they grow in popularity they would never disregard
their fans in any way, because, “your fans are what's
keeping you making your living, and if you lose

sight of that, you are an asshole.” Since starting the
band in the summer of 2012, the boys admit that the
experience has only strengthened their friendship,
and with each of them working together towards
one collective goal, it created the respect and trust
necessary for a band. Believing in that collective
goal only enhanced this bond over time. To solidify
their bond as a band even further, Dylan, Lucas, and
Rick plan to all get The Wild's logo tattooed on their
hands, even though one member jumped the gun a

bit...Rick.

With the mushy love and trust stuff aside, the boys
of The Wild do have a wicked sense of humor
and are able to easily joke about some of the
funnier moments that are inevitable when touring
with a band. When asked about some of these
embarrassing moments, the three guys agreed
that playing poorly was always embarrassing, but
especially when they were opening for a band
whose album just reached number one on the
charts, and the boys were so sick they could not
even sing properly. From that horrific moment, to
admitting that Dylan Villain has a tendency to mother
the band members, The Wild takes what life hands
them, and remain humble and true to their fans, with
their mantra being, “we are The Wild, and we are

Ba fucki |"
a ucking crazy!

Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker's stage presence is
something that can only be described
pure energy. The duo from
a* Toronto, consisting of
members Ash-Boo Schultz
(vocals and guitar), and Human
Kebab (DJ and hype man), are
taking over the music scene with their
unique brand of music, and
their spiritual (and yet not
spiritual) approach to life.
When asked about USS'
intentions as a band, the
chief vocalist Ash-Boo Schultz
stated that they have four
main intentions: to fill faces full

as o--

of smiles; to fill hearts full
of joy; to fill bank accounts
full of money; and to fill
passports full of stamps.

Human-Kebab (Right) and Ash- Boo Schultz (Left)
Kelley-ware /OTE

He also stated that one of his main intentions was fo
eventually buy his mother a house.

One of the band's other main goals is to create joy
through their music, and helo humans learn how to
release. Schultz says it is a joy to play for a young
crowd like university students because, “they are very
light humans who haven't closed in and shut their
hearts off because they've been hurt too much. It's

a beautiful thing because they share that energy
with us. We call it exponential uprising. We take the
energy from every performance, absorb it, and then
give it back to the next place we go.” In reference to
those who have in fact closed off their hearts due
to negative thoughts and energy, Schultz uses a
metaphor involving two caterpillars. He states, “There
are two caterpillars. One becomes a butterfly and
one remains a caterpillar. The caterpillar asks, ‘why
can you fly and | cannot@’ To which the butterfly
replies ‘because you are too heavy, you will not fly
until you let the heaviness go and become light.” This
belief system of learning to release the negative in a
healthy and holistic way, and embrace the positive
in order to be light,’ influences all of USS’ musical
choices, with their songs forming from the purest of
intentions.

Essentially USS is just a band trying to be silly and
light-hearted, all while passing on their message of
living life ‘lightly’ Even the band name, Ubiquitous
Synergy Seeker, is claimed to be “just a complicated
way of saying something really silly.” Schultz says the
name means, ‘a spiritual journey that always comes
back to what was there the whole time.” He also
says that his biggest inspiration is drawn from simply
“sitting cross legged under a tree and closing my
eyes in silence. It is only there that you cannot hide
from anything.” So the main message this incredibly
deep band is trying to spread is that suffering in life
in unavoidable, but how you choose to deal with that
suffering is completely up to you. Being equanimous,
that is, to maintain calmness and stay in the moment
during times of stress, is the key fo living life lightly,
and through their music Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker
hopes to keep spreading this message to their
listeners, and keep their hearts open and aid them in
living lightly.

We would also like to thank Cariboo Brewery for
their sponsorship and for giving UNBC one of the
most memorable Backyard Barbeques in recent
years. If you would like to learn more about The
Wild or Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, check out their
Facebook pages, or follow the bands on Twitter at

eltheWild _ band, and @USSMUSIC.