Music Q&A with Kelly Barber of Wave Break

Alternative rock act, Wave Break, is getting ready to release their upcoming EP later this fall! As things are wrapping up for the release, frontwoman, Kelly Barber, took some time to answer questions about the band’s history, her favorite band to see in concert, her dream collaboration, and more!

Congratulations on releasing “Tug O War”! How did the songwriting come about? Did you write the lyrics first and then music or vice versa?
”Tug of War” is actually a funny song because I wrote the lyrics one day in late 2019 on the way home from work in NYC, and then they sat in my notebook for months until almost a year later when I decided to write the music. Usually, I’ll write the music soon after the lyrics and sometimes vice versa, but I guess I forgot about this one for a bit before coming back to it!

Since the release of your debut EP, Armory, how would you say the band has grown?
Ha, technically the band has shrunk since it’s just me now! But yeah in terms of musical growth, Wave Break’s sound has definitely become more defined. The new music is further into the alternative rock realm than past material with more dynamic changes, more guitar riffs, higher vocal parts, etc. I really wanted to push myself to make the record a bit more technical this time.

What instrument do you not play that you hope to learn someday?
I dabble a little bit in everything actually - I sing and play rhythm guitar for real, and actually just recently officially picked up bass! But I can also play some very rudimentary drums, lead guitar and piano as well. I learned the basics for drums years ago but since I don’t have my own drum set yet, I haven’t gotten much better yet. Same thing with piano, I got a keyboard once junior year in high school and learned some basic triads, but once I got a bit busier I kind of fell off of it. I also know a couple basic pentatonic scales for lead guitar but haven’t mastered that yet. But one day I aim to actually be proficient in everything!

If you were to do a cover set of one artist at a show, who would it be?
Avril Lavigne actually used to be my answer for this but I actually got the chance to do an Avril cover set a few years back! So I guess now I’m going to be super predictable and say Paramore? Either them or the Foo Fighters or Jimmy Eat World!

Who has been your favorite band/artist to see live?
Probably the two bands that have put on the best shows I’ve ever seen in my life were the Foo Fighters and Sharptooth. I saw the Foo Fighters in 2012 at Bamboozle and I vividly remember how huge the stage was, but how Dave Grohl was still running around the entire thing, and how they dramatically dragged out the bridge to “Monkey Wrench”. It was awesome! I saw Sharptooth a few years back with As It Is as well and Lauren literally climbed all the way up the bleachers in the back of the venue during their set. It blew my mind! But I also love seeing my favorite band, Jimmy Eat World who I’ve probably seen at least 3 times now. I’m going to be seeing them again at Chain Fest in LA next month.

If you had a chance to collaborate with a musician, dead or alive, who would it be?
If I can literally choose anyone, I’d have to say Avril Lavigne just because she made me who I am now when I was listening to her music growing up. If I am ever able to collaborate with her I could die happy.

What is your favorite thing about making music?
My favorite thing is writing a song and then hearing it come to life at practices and in the studio, and then getting to share all of that with people at shows! It’s literally like sharing my diary with people, which sometimes can be scary, but it’s awesome knowing that doing that can have an impact on people.

How do you stay positive? What helps you?
Whenever I get down, I like to remind myself how far I’ve come already and how much further I can still go if I keep going. It never fails to get me excited for the future or to bring my hunger for success back.

Any last words or final message for the readers?
Stay tuned for one more single releases before we put out our full sophomore EP in the fall! We hope you stick around and that you love the new music, and that we get to see you at a show sometime!

Music Q&AJazmin LemusSeptember 23, 2021wave break, music q&a