Locals Only: How indie rock band Wet Denim went from jamming at uni to touring NZ

Senior lifestyle Writer·NZ Herald·

23 Oct, 2024 05:00 PM5 mins to read

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The members of Wellington indie rock band Wet Denim met at university – now they’re touring the country following the release of their second EP On The Line.

The band is made up of brothers Jack and Joe Ledword, hailing from Hawke’s Bay, Lower Hutt native Luca Crampton, and Nick Goodwin, originally from Timaru.

Goodwin says it all started when he and Crampton met the Ledword brothers at university.

“They both sort of recruited myself and Luca and that’s when we just started having jams at Massey, started recording in Joe’s hall of residence,” he recalls.

The group released their debut self-titled EP in 2022, with input from Drax Project’s Shaan Singh and Ben O’Leary, and haven’t looked back.

“After we started playing our first couple shows, it became obvious that there was actually something there that was worth pursuing, and it was already just so satisfying for the four of us to create together and to play it live together, so it was kind of just a no-brainer to continue,” Goodwin says.

Crampton agrees. “I was originally going to study music – I played in bands throughout high school.

“But then I decided to study design instead, because it felt like a more realistic career choice. It’s kind of ironic, but then as I was partway through my degree, Wet Denim was formed. Now I’ve got this opportunity to follow my original dream of making music as a career and still working in design.”

All four members of Wet Denim played music during high school.

“The two Ledword boys, coming from the Hawke’s Bay, there’s a really vibrant youth music scene up there, so they were playing a lot of gigs with their bands,” Goodwin says.

“For me down in Timaru, there was a lot less happening, so I did a lot of playing at bars, doing covers gigs and that kind of thing, and really just felt that moving to Wellington was the required next step to actually be able to do what I really wanted to do.”

Returning to his hometown as part of the On The Line tour was an “awesome” full-circle moment for Goodwin. The group got the chance to perform at some of the most iconic small venues in the country, from The Crown in Dunedin to Darkroom in Christchurch and Timaru’s The Sail & Anchor.

“They’re pretty small venues but very iconic spots as well that everyone always goes through ... the energy in the smaller venues is just always really cool,” Goodwin says.

He says the response from listeners to the new EP has been “really cool” so far.

“I think the most special part has just been the direct feedback that we’ve gotten.

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“It can be pretty easy to get caught up in how numbers are performing, which can really warp your perception of the sort of art that you’ve created itself, but it’s actually hearing from people who have really listened to it and given it the time day - that becomes far more important than a number that just turns all these people that are listening into numbers,” he muses.

“People are really resonating with the collaborative nature of this project ... you can really hear that from production to writing to the recording process. There’s a lot more in there from all four of us.”

On The Line draws on themes that will be familiar to anyone in their 20s.

“There’s songs about relationships and learning how to navigate the changing landscape of time and how that can change a relationship between people. That can be a little bit scary and daunting to learn how to navigate – whether it’s love or longing or just day-to-day dealings with impulses and various addictions and that kind of thing, so it’s all quite universal concepts.”

“All four of us draw from from slightly different corners within the rock-pop sphere,” Crampton says of the band’s sound.

“I think the beauty of that is we each bring an idea we’re really into to the group and then that gets filtered through everyone else’s kind of corner of musical identity, and so we have something in the middle that is greater than the sum of the four parts.

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“We were inspired by a lot of 90s and early 2000s old pop-rock, the stuff you’d hear on the radio around that time. I think it’s like a nostalgic sound.”

The group spent six months in Melbourne this year refining that sound – both in the studio and on stage.

“We played a bunch of shows over there and really started developing the coherency, the energy, the connection we have on stage and I think that is really reflected in this new live show,” Goodwin says.

“From what we saw in the South Island, that resonates with the crowd. It’s a celebration of music, of being able to share in live music because it’s a privilege and it’s pretty cool.”

“Live shows are definitely always evolving as well,” Crampton adds.

“When a song is recorded and released, it’s obviously static – that is the song for the rest of eternity. But I think for us, our live shows, we’re always trying to think of new intros, new sections, new ways of playing.

“We hope that the live show is always a reflection of us at that point in time, regardless of whether we’re playing a brand-new song or one from a couple years ago. So there’s always going to be something new.”

Wet Denim play Whammy Bar in Auckland Friday, October 25, Paisley Stage, Napier Saturday, November 16, and San Fran in Wellington on Friday, November 29. Tickets at wetdenim.com