Wilmah on friendship, their sound evolution, and the hub of New York City
New York based band Wilmah creates music as addicting as chain smoking; guitar riffs or rhythms cling to the brain, craving to be listened to over and over. The five-piece band consists of Matt Connolly (singer/guitar), Mark Dylan (lead guitar), Will O’Connor (bass), Ryan Wax (acoustic guitar), and Walter Ferguson (drums). Connolly and O’Connor have been glued together since their childhood, originally meeting in Little League. The two hit the T-ball hard as it soared through the sky, sliding into a homerun as Wilmah was born.
As skilled songwriters, Wilmah is able to dominate in each genre as their songs fluctuate in styles, including rock and indie with hints of soul behind their rhythms. Even more substantial than their songwriting is their stage presence. Passion seeps through every note they play on stage, drawing in the listener to create their cult following.
We spoke with Wilmah on August 18th before their show at the Bowery Ballroom.
Matt and Will, you grew up together. Can you talk about the transition from being friends to starting a band?
Matt: Will and I played together in the middle school band.
Will: We weren’t really friends before the music.
Matt: We knew each other but we weren't friends, we played on the same little league team. When I was 15 I started a band, and I asked Will to play bass because we really needed a bass player. At a baseball game I asked him. And the rest is history.
What was the first show you played as this band?
Will: The first show we played together was a battle of the bands. And the winner was decided by popular vote. We played last. The band that everyone came to show up for, they played first, so they won the crowd and right away put their tickets in for them. And then we played and everyone was like ‘oh shit, we should've put our tickets in this one.’ So we lost.
But you really won?
Photo of Wilmah members by Jon Vasquez for a performance organized by Ice Cream for Dinner.
Will: I mean?
Matt: Wait, we lost that battle of the bands?
Will: Yes.
Matt: I don’t remember that.
Will: Matt had a guitar solo and he held it over the back of his head and soloed.
Matt: I remember some girl said she wanted us to sign her breasts and I felt like a rockstar, at 15.
Will: That's how we knew we could never stop this.
How did you meet the other members that you play with now?
Matt: We’ve met them through living in New York. I met Mark, the guitar player, in 2018 at a songwriting competition. I met Ryan, the other guitar player at a party. New York is a small world.
What is the origin of the name?
Matt: One time I was leaving for school and my mom said as I was about to walk outside the door, ‘you should call yourselves Wilmah.’ I said that’s pretty good and we stuck with it. I was 17. I always tell people it’s not a super cool guy thing to say you mom came up with your band name. But my mom’s the goat so it’s cool.
Was there a moment where something clicked and you decided to pursue music fully?
Will: We knew as soon as we started playing music that’s what we wanted to do. I remember we were in this one guy's basement rehearsing. He said ‘do you want to do this when you grow up?’ And only Matt and I were like, ‘yes this is what we want to do.’ And then he told us we weren’t going to make it.
Shout him out.
Will: Hell no.
You signed a record deal when you were 20 years old. Can you talk about that experience and how that has contributed to your success?
Matt: Was I 20 years old? I think I was.
Will: I was 22 then, probably.
Matt: Will and I were releasing music independently, and then we signed to a small indie label. It was the first time we ever had a budget to do anything. I don’t know, it’s different when people are starting to invest their time and money into you. Music doesn’t feel like something that’s driven by money but it can be.
Will: As an artist there can be ups and downs to it. Not everything is always as great as it should be.
So what have been some of the downs that you have had to overcome?
Will: I mean every artist is so stubborn they want to do things exactly their way. And we are probably like two of the most stubborn people ever. I hate being told anything.
Matt: I hate being told what to do, so when there's someone telling you what to do and it comes to your music, which you care about the most, you’re like ‘fuck off.’ But, it gave us a ton of possibilities. It made it possible for us to work with great producers and make music videos. So, we were lucky.
Photo by Jon Vasquez for a performance organized by Ice Cream for Dinner.
Will: Those are great upsides that we could not have done on our own.
In 2021 you released your single, “Welcome To America,” which leans more on the punk side. What was the inspiration behind the song? Why was that style chosen? What do you want the listener to take away?
Matt: We were really pissed off at the time and Matt had this idea and that hook for “Welcome To America.” So we kind of have a background in making more heavier types of music. That’s what we first started playing. It's always been in our DNA. We kind of busted that song out really fast, maybe two hours after we finished it.
Will: The funny thing about that song is that we had released like 13 songs independently. This was another way for us to express ourselves and it's a bit of a heavier song. And it just so turns out that's the first song we released with a label. So to a lot of people it doesn't make sense but we make a ton of different types of music, and that’s going to be apparent, it just hasn’t happened yet.
After that song what prompted the change to then have most songs under the indie umbrella?
Will: Like Matt was saying, there wasn’t really a genre change, It just so happened to be our first song out since they wiped out all the old music before that. We were really indie pop, alt rock the whole time. We just had that one outlier of a song that they really loved and apparently the reason they signed us. So we kind of wanted to be like no, no that’s not us. We were trying to get back to our original sound which is like “Dead To Me.”
Matt: At the end of the day, Will and I like to make pop music.
Since 2021 you’ve released seven singles. What was the strategy behind only releasing singles for the last two years instead of an album?
Matt: Funnily enough, the last single that's coming out in September, October called “Doorbell” is the last song on a 7 song EP.
Will: But we're not ready to do an album yet. It's way too early to do an album. We have many ideas for many albums. Cause we want to be this band that just continues and continues, and we have a plan. But, what’s part of the plan is that the album is not ready yet.
Matt: We really like doing small batches of songs. You can release it quicker, it can be its own batch sonically. I really like the idea of giving people small looks.
Will: Truthfully, we are not big enough yet for an album. We want to have a bigger fan base for the album.
You just released your latest single, “Dead to Me,” can you talk about the songwriting process and how it came to fruition?
Matt: I wrote that song. It's about the phenomenon that you can go from being so close to a person, talking to them everyday, and seeing them naked, to never speaking to them again and how weird it is.
Will: Unless you run into them at the bar then it’s really awkward.
Speaking from experience?
Matt: Which happens literally every time. We’re unlucky.
Photo by Jon Vasquez for a performance organized by Ice Cream for Dinner.
Let's talk about your sound a bit from the instruments. You all play Strats (Fender Stratocaster guitars)?
Will: I play a Precision bass, it looks like a Strat though.
Ok, I’ll skip that question then.
Will: No, no I like the question. We want to be sponsored by Fender.
Matt: It’s cool that you noticed.
Why that choice of instruments, since there’s a million different options to choose from, and how does that contribute to your sound?
Will: Yeah, for sure, that’s a great question.
Matt: Before I had my own guitar, I used to borrow my music teacher's Strat. And when I was getting my own when I was 14, I just got the same guitar.
Will: I actually didn’t know that.
Matt: I got a Strat, and when I met Mark, it just so happens that he played a Strat too.
Will: I thought it was because you liked John Mayer, and that’s what he was using during that time.
Matt: Yeah, I grew up listening to Jimi Hendrix and John Mayer. My favorite guitar players were playing Strats too.
Will: When I was picking a bass, I picked the P Bass because that's what Pino Palladino was using. That's just the cleanest, nicest sounding bass. I would love to get one of the Liverpool basses that Paul McCartney plays. They’re so nice but so expensive. I was thinking one day I'd have an insane collection of instruments, and I don't. I just have the one bass still. Maybe someday.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re originally from Buffalo, but moved to New York City to pursue music. How has New York been a source of inspiration?
Will: This is a funny question because we don’t really use New York as inspiration. We always just create the way we want to create. We use the resources of the networking and all the venues. If you want to do it and play shows all the time, there's a million venues here, a million people willing to promote your stuff and get on a bill. We've always just kept the same vision for our music and don’t let New York change that.
Matt: A lot of people think you have to move to LA to do music, but there’s a really cool thing happening in New York right now.
Will: One thing I will say is that our visuals have been influenced by New York. Might as well take advantage of what’s around us visually. You’ll see that in our music videos and pictures on Instagram.
In your opinion, what makes you stand out as a band? What do you feel makes the crowd keep coming back?
Matt: Will and I like to say that we’re big fans of a lot of New York music, but we do feel like we’re in our own lane sonically. We feel as if we are making music that not too many people are making stuff that sounds like us, is as eclectic. We don’t have experimental music, but they (the songs) do vary a lot in the way they sound. I think that’s interesting for people and keeps them coming back. And the cherry on top is that we're a fun band to see live. We sound great, and the songs sound even better live. I feel like the live aspect of Wilmah makes us great. And there’s good songs too.
Will: Yes.
You describe your musical approach as, “‘Vulnerable existentialism,’ striving to find the meaning of everything in anything to better understand their relationship to the world.” If someone asked you for advice, say they were starting at the point where you used to be in pursuing music, what would be one piece of advice you’d give them?
Will: Just really think about who you are, be yourself and stick to that. Don’t try to morph yourself into something that other people are doing. Just stay in your own lane.
Matt: I think if you’re a young musician, get really good at playing your instrument and playing with others. Know how to be in a band, know how to perform for people. And that's going to be a huge help. Music is a language, and you need to communicate with your band. Just play.
Photo by Jon Vasquez for a performance organized by Ice Cream for Dinner.
Will: Adding to what I said, there may be something that's popping off in the moment, a genre or style. If that's not who you are, don’t change yourself into that, and just keep doing what you’re doing.
What are your personal favorite venues to go as a viewer and to play?
Will: I really like Elsewhere. I really like Bowery Ballroom. MSG. Yeah we played MSG, sold it out, you know. No big deal.
Matt: Baby’s is my favorite venue.
Is there something you want people to take away when listening to your music?
Matt: Yes. I put a lot of thought and effort into the songwriting. And so I hope people pay attention to the lyrics and appreciate them. I think some people listen to music and don't listen to the lyrics. That's an important part of the song.
Will: I think since Matt writes the lyrics and the songwriting is between us two and when he sends me lyrics and when we get the demo finished, you can’t help but pay attention to them because he puts in the effort.
What's the goal?
Will: The goal is that this is our life and supports our lifestyle. We don’t have a very lavish lifestyle. We just want the music to support us living, going on the road and having fun with our friends and family. That's all that matters to us.
Matt: We really want to put out a ton of albums over the years. We have at least six albums in us. We want to put them out, tour, meet people across the world and mean something to as many people as possible.
End of interview.
Follow Wilmah on Instagram, Tiktok and their website. Keep up with them, it will be a live show you’ll never forget!
Cover photo via Instagram.
Featured photos by Jon Vasquez.