The Holland Project’s annual Halloween show, in which local musicians, dressed as famous groups, perform cover sets, is one of my favorite annual music events in Reno. (Though I’m not sure why they haven’t adopted my suggestion to call it “Hollandween.”) This year’s show, a couple of weeks ago, was packed with music, something like 30 bands, from “Flight of the Concords” to “the Beastie Boys” to “Sisters of Mercy” to “the Cramps.”
I was only able to catch about half the show this year, but among the many highlights I saw was a group of musicians I’d never seen before performing as ’70s arena rock titans Queen. The rhythm section was sporting outrageous wigs. The guitar player nailed the tricky Brian May guitar solos. And the singer was able to hit the right notes and, even more remarkably, able to convey the ineffable charisma of the great Freddie Mercury.
I made some inquiries and learned that “Queen” was Reno indie pop band Love Like Wes.
A few days later, I met the band at their practice space, a big house walking distance from the University of Nevada, Reno, where, in classic college style, all the bands members live, along with four other roommates. (There was a seemingly oblivious dude playing video games on the couch all during our interview.)
Jonathan Rolling is the primary songwriter, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Erik Grubbs is the lead guitarist and harmony vocalist. Henry Lindsay plays the bass. Kieran Clark is the drummer. And they’re usually joined for live performances by jazz trumpeter Jef Derderian.
The band members admit that they’re bad at promotion.
“We’d rather people see us and be surprised,” says Rolling.
Songs like “New Love” and “10,000 July” sound like a fun vintage Strokes tunes. In fact, the Strokes sound—quick, upbeat rhythms up against a bittersweet vocal melody and harmonic progression—is a key ingredient in Love Like Wes’ originals. But Love Like Wes is actually poppier than the Strokes—more falsetto earworm vocal hooks. And there’s also more syncopated dance music in the mix. “On the 7th” is college funk. There’s also some strong ska, jam band and pop punk undercurrents running through the music.
The band name, which I initially disliked, is inspired by a guy named Wes, an amateur filmmaker who went to Reno High School with the band members. His films were, according to the band, pretty terrible, but Wes was so dedicated to his craft of filmmaking, that he continued to make films despite the ridicule of his classmates. The band members found his artistic perseverance admirable.
“By no means did we set out to start a pop band,” says Rolling. “We just try to write music that we like.”
“We played for a long time before we were like, OK, this is what we sound like—we have a thing that we do,” says Grubbs. “We were just friends that played music together. We did mostly covers for a long time.”
That quality, of friends playing music together, is a big part of the band’s appeal. Love Like Wes definitely has the vibe of a group of 20-year-old dudes who live in a house together and play music together—it feels fun, youthful and brotherly.