Lynn Casper, founder of Homoground and contributing music editor to Posture, recently caught up with Hailey Wojcik, singer/guitarist of Brooklyn-based band WOJCIK.
I’ve been to a few shows and each time have seen a different set up (from two piece to 3 piece featuring different members). When did WOJCIK form and what variations has it gone through in terms of members and instruments?
WOJCIK formed a couple years ago–it started as a two-piece with my old friend/housemate Geoff, and we recorded an EP together (the VOY-chek EP). I had been performing as a singer-songwriter under my full name, and wanted to do something to differentiate my newer songs/live show, so I dropped my first name. Geoff and I are still buds, but went different ways, and I had other drummer friends fill in for a few months. I made the full-length LP, Wise Blood with my friend and engineer, Danielle DePalma, who is now playing bass with me. It made sense to play together live because we produced the record together, and all the arrangements and field recordings in between songs were pretty much a joint effort between us! My drummer now is Annie Meagher (who also happens to be my girlfriend). We’ve been working on a bunch of new songs together. This lineup is pretty much a dream come true.
The first thing I noticed when I saw you perform live Hailey was the incredible artwork of your album Wise Blood. Can you talk about your inspiration for the album, the concept (if any) and the artwork?
The artwork is a painting of a coyote, based on old slide photos I found from when my parents used to study coyotes in Colorado. My ex Heather Sherman, who is an artist, did the paintings on the front and back, then cut them out and put them in front of royal blue velvet and we photographed them. Wise Blood is dedicated to and inspired by canids, so there was no question from the start that a coyote would be on the cover!
Not only do I love the art concept for Wise Blood, but also for your previous album Diorama. Just wanted to throw that in there. There’s no question for it, unless you want to talk a bit about it.
Thanks! I wanted it to have a sort of diorama-like effect on the Wise Blood cover too, which is why we chose to cut out the paintings and photograph them in front of velvet. I love dioramas, and made one to represent each song for the album art of my solo folk-pop record Diorama a few years ago.
What is everyone listening to these days?
Well, in the car on the way to shows we usually play Nash FM, the country station here. I’m really into Miranda Lambert lately. We’ve all also been listening to the Waxahatchee record and our friends Aye Nako’s new record. I’ve been liking The Savages’ record a lot. Oh and Shovels & Rope.
What were some awesome shows you all have gone to lately?
We recently played with Thelma & the Sleaze, who are an amazing band from Nashville. Their show was so much fun–we’re playing with them again in Nashville when we tour at the end of July. They put on such a great live show!
Do you have plans for releasing another album in the near future? If so, when can we expect it?
We are about to go into the studio to record another EP of three or four new songs. I can’t say exactly when it will be ready, but we are shooting for later this summer!
What about upcoming shows/tours?
We’re excited to play with our friend Julia Weldon on Wed. 5/29 at Rock Shop. After that we’re at Public Assembly on June 10th. We’re finishing up booking a Midwest/Southern tour for late July-early August!
We recently got to make our TV debut playing on The Chris Gethard Show (which airs on public access in NYC, and streams online). Zach Galifianakis was the guest star, which was pretty crazy. It’s such a fun show–it felt like the 90s in the best possible way! It was fun to play to a room full of dancing kids, and a dude in a banana suit.
On a rating between 1-10, how would you rate your posture?
I would say Danielle and I are solid 5s. Too much hunching over soundboards and having heavy instruments hanging off our shoulders. My mom is always pulling my shoulders back. Annie is a 9 but says sometimes it actually helps with drumming to have worse posture!
