Wilderado: L.A.’s Oklahoma based, Indie Folk Obsession

Photo by April Massey

Wilderado’s high energy blend of indie-folk, southern rock, and bright California guitars has made them one of alternative rock's biggest up-and-comers. The Oklahoma-based threesome is currently on tour with Florida’s own Flipturn. I caught up with members Max, Tyler, and Justin on a street corner outside the Egyptian Theater ahead of their unforgettable Treefort performance. 

AM: The band was originally based in Tulsa, Oklahoma but now resides in Los Angeles; how has that change influenced your music?

Tyler: Flip flop that. Like eighty percent of our interviews get that wrong. 

AM: You live in Oklahoma now; we will have to set the record straight on that.

Max: But to answer your question, it has been a great change of pace. L.A. was a lot of grinding to make things work, but now we have a great spot in Tulsa, and it feels just way more capable. It definitely affects our sound, our pace of life, and how we live. 

AM: Being in a three-piece band can sometimes generate an interesting vibe; how has it been for you to operate as a threesome, and how does that dynamic change from the studio to the stage?

Photo by Cooper Baumgartner, courtesy of Wilderado Facebook

Max: Three is nice because you never come to a head on anything. The balance can always be tipped one way or the other. You do not have to deal with too many people because you have enough guys to never get stuck.

Justin: There are fewer cooks in the kitchen. 

Max: That is great in the studio. On stage, it is awesome because we just operate as one. We are traveling with more musicians now, but there is never a question of who we look to or who says what; it has become a really easy program to run. Everyone is on the same page. I do not know if numbers really have anything to do with it, we just have a really symbiotic relationship with each other, and that is the way we like it. 

AM: I know at least two of you have children and families. How has becoming a father informed the way you write and create music?

Max: The same way it informs anything else throughout the day. Once they are there, they are there. They take up a part of every thought; they are in everything you do. They are in the songs. They are the ones that have to wait around. When we leave, they are gone too. It is just another set of people impacted by everything we do.

Tyler: Only one of them is really old enough to understand, and this year it has been fun to watch her see us do stuff.    

AM: How has being a part of Treefort differed from some of your other tour dates?

Tyler: It kind of feels like the early days of South By Southwest. It is always a fun community. It is fun to see a town get together. I am sure you can come here any day of the week, and it is way different than it is during Treefort. It is our second time here, and we are very excited to come back and play on a beautiful stage.

AM: You are set to come back on August 15th to play the Botanical Gardens. Are you excited to return a third time?

Justin: The last tour we did before Covid was with Mt. Joy. We have become good friends with them; it will be fun to play with them again.

Tyler: They are playing some really big rooms; it will be fun to tag along with them.

AM: What music are you listening to right now that you are excited about?

Justin: Like other artists?

AM: Or yourselves. If listening to yourselves is exciting, I’m down with that.

Justin: A band we have been hearing on alt radio a lot, Turnstyle; we have been digging their album. It is a little more hardcore, a little more rock.

Tyler: Flipturn is a really fun band; they are on tour with us right now.

This interview has been edited and condensed.