We had the good fortune of connecting with Max Harrison and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Max, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
We started making music for ourselves, and then in time we saw that we can make our hobby our career. Because when you naturally do your “thing” for fun anyway, it’s very easy to add the other components that make you a functioning artist. So the pursuit had already started after the first songs were written, and the rest just flowed organically.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Well, it’d be good for people to know that The Wax Worms like writing dreamy, laidback psychedelic pop that we call “rock n’ stroll”. We take our music seriously, but we don’t like coming across super serious because we’re literally anything but. We’re just weirdos that started as a DIY project, and have continued to be a DIY project. Therefore, it hasn’t been super easy to make our stuff, but we can’t complain – we’ve gotten to a great place as a band because of it. Three of us (Max, Caleb, and Ale) live in an amateur home studio we made in Cutler Bay where we write, record, and mix all of our stuff. The studio’s really what helped us get into a recording flow, having that space to create has been phenomenal. That’s where we recorded our singles “No Sugar” and “Lone With You”, it’s where we filmed the videos for both of those tracks, and it’s where we’ll be recording all our future songs, too, probably. Looking back, we’ve definitely honed our chops over the years (through a lot of trial and error), but the people should know that every obstacle we face is still solved with a lot of duct tape and YouTube tutorials. The lessons we can takeaway from our experience is to love and defend what you do, give respect if you want respect, and above all else, don’t be a total JERKWAD.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Max: I’d smoke them out, take them to Indian Hammocks, then we’d hit Yesterday and Today Records, and Arbetter’s for some chili dogs. I’d wanna hit Gramps at night though.
Caleb: Lagniappe to hang. A La Folie Cafe on Española Way for fire French food.
Jesse: Bill Baggs during the day, walk along the water and take a dip. End off the night at Dante’s Hifi for drinks and vibes.
Ryan: For some fye eats, I like Taco Chido & Pinch Kitchen. Hangout at E11even or Tootsie’s or Booby Trap.
Wyatt and Ale declined to answer due to them not having friends.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Definitely huge shoutout to Max’s mom and family for believing in him the whole way through. Massive shoutout to Ryan’s parents for hosting every rehearsal for the first 2-3 years of the group, cooking dinner every time, and for coming to every single show literally ever. Shoutout Caleb’s dad for helping us score that killer Tascam, and all the hand-me-down equipment we still use for the Clamshack stu. Shoutout Ale’s mom and family for hosting the first worm mixing sessions ever. Shoutout Jesse’s parents for the constant love and support. And shoutout Wyatt’s parents for supporting our endeavors since high school (pre-Worm Era).
Final massive shoutout to all of the Worm members who have come and gone, and all of the extended worm family who have offered an overwhelming amount of support over the years. You know who you are. You know what you did. And you know we couldn’t have done any of that stuff without you. Thank you!
Website: https://thewaxworms.com/home
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thewaxworms
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheWaxWorms
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewaxworms
Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCT9SkLtHSZ1yfZC-tUZpHpg
Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/27hTtRapuCpHb6D5GavVS3?si=m1c_dgncTK-nny40szMTgw
Image Credits
Fisheye Photos: Noah Dávalos (@noahdavalos) B&W Live Photo: Andrea Sofia R. Matos (@andreasofiarmatos)