Small Wars is an indie and punk rock collaborative based out of Tennessee. Formed in the fall of 2017, the band seeks to pay homage to the punk rock scene of the 80s and 90s that influenced their own musical interests, but also to the themes of unity, activism, and social justice.
Owing to the physical distance between them, their upcoming EP was written and recorded before the band ever had the opportunity to perform live. While this band is a new endeavor, the members have been involved with each other’s projects in some fashion for close to two… decades.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Small Wars about their latest project, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
Small Wars is an indie and punk rock collaborative so our members all currently live in different cities. At this point, band membership represents Nashville, Knoxville, and Murfreesboro.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Every member of the group has performed with multiple bands over the years. We were all exposed to all-ages punk rock shows in Knoxville as teenagers and got involved in the scene early on. As we have gotten older, started careers, families, etc., our time is a bit more limited, but we wanted to keep creating music and playing shows as often as possible. The bands that we loved always created a sense of community and we have always tried tor replicate that. So, it isn’t necessarily just the music that motivates us. Its the community and relationships we have built over time that drive us. We just feel like we belong together….most of the time. Ha.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
This will be the first release for Small Wars, so we don’t have anything to compare it to other than some of our previous work in other bands. But we do want to create a sound that pays homage to the punk and indie bands that had such a big influence on us from the early late 80s-early 90s on. More than anything we want the sound to make fans of punk and indie rock feel “at home” while sharing some of our thoughts on current social issues, etc.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Well…the great thing is that when we first started attending shows about the only thing most punk bands that came through town sold were 7″ records and tshirts. So, naturally the first thing we wanted to put out with Indievision Music was a 7″. Ha. As various forms of social media platforms and digital music became more common it definitely changed the scene in general. Obviously, it became exponentially easier for your group to share their music with the world, but on the other hand it does sometimes feel like the sense of community that drew us into shows as kids was a bit diminished. While it is easier to get your music “out there”, it is more difficult to actually capture the attention of listeners and maintain interest. Now, the trick is just trying to figure out how to use the technology in the most effective way to share your music while also being able to somehow engage with a “crowd” that you might never actually meet in person. One thing to add about technology. It has been a huge help for us. Essentially, Small Wars could not exist at this point without the ability for us to share files, record, etc. from multiple locations.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
You can connect with Small Wars via:
At Indievisionmusic.com and the new EP is now available on ITunes, Spotify, GooglePlay, and wherever digital music is sold.
Anything else before we sign off?
Thanks very much for your time and for providing another platform for music in middle Tennessee!
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