The Washboard Union – Neon Needs the Night

By starrymag | May 3, 2024

By: Gladys Luna

 

 

Q) I know your story goes a long way back but, what do you consider to be that one thing (besides your love for music) that brought you to the realization that you wanted to go on this musical adventure together?

 

A) I think there was an automatic feeling when we started playing music together, that this could be an adventure that never ended, and that the more time we spent on it the more exciting it got as we developed as singers and songwriters. We really saw the potential for what we were doing to be something special, and it has been that and so much more. We joke about the idea that we’re building a treehouse that we’re never going to finish but we’re going to have the time of our lives building it along the way.

 

Q) Thinking back to your early beginnings, what would you say were your main musical influences while trying to build your sound?

 

A) The cool thing is that the three of us are all music fans and we all draw from such deep and different wells when it comes to the music that we all love. For me, personally, I grew up on really old country music and bluegrass and so there was a natural synthesis of those elements into what we’re doing.I am a huge fan of The SteelDrivers and Union Station in addition to so many other genres of music that it just seemed like tiny elements of everything we love, all three of us, finds its way naturally into the sound that eventually became The Washboard Union.

 

Q) How do you consider that the differences in your personalities contribute to the music you make?

 

A) We love the fact that each of us is so different from the other two and I think as people we are all naturally drawn to certain people in life. With such diverse and different characters in the band, it’s kinda like there’s someone for everyone. I think if we were all the same, our music wouldn’t be as exciting, our live show wouldn’t be as dynamic and what we choose to record and write together wouldn’t be as special . It’s the fact we are so different from each other that makes what we do unique.

 

Q) Your latest single “Neon Needs the Night” is definitely one that makes you want to take the highway and just enjoy the day; what was the source of inspiration for this beautiful love song?

 

A) We had the idea when we sat down and wrote this song that there are those things in life that not only need each other, but don’t make sense in isolation from each other. “Neon” wouldn’t be neon if there wasn’t the night for it to shine against.When you find the person that you’re meant to be with in the world it just starts to make sense. Things become easier and you can’t imagine your life without them. That was really the essence for the song.

 

Q) Talk about working with producer Dave “Dwave” Thomson on the song.

 

A) Dave not only produced that song, but he wrote it with us, and we’ve been blessed to work with him for several years now. I think he understands our band and our unique dynamic.He really pushes us to try new things and to outdo the last song we released with something even better.

 

Q) You have mentioned that “Neon Needs the Night” has been usually a song you used to play during your backstage warmups. What made you decide to give this song the opportunity to be recorded and released as a single?

 

A) “Neon Needs the Night” is a really different song for us. It’s not like anything else that we have in our catalog. It was also a song that we immediately drawn to when we wrote it and just stuck in our heads.We immediately thought our fans would love it as much as we did, so that’s why it found its way out as a single.

 

Q) You recently played at the Riviera Maya. What made that performance so special for you?

 

A) Yeah, that show this year was part of something that we do called Boots On The Beach where we take a whole bunch of fans with us on vacation and this year more fans than ever bought packages to come join us.It’s really cool for us as a band when you get to spend time with your fans more than just passing at a show. We were reminded what an incredible group of people we have supporting our music, and it was just nice for us to be able to say thanks to them all face-to-face.

 

Q) What does it mean for you to, still to this day, to remain as the only country group to ever win a JUNO Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year?

 

A) All of our favorite bands growing up were JUNO Award winners, so winning a JUNO for us was like joining a family we’ve wanted to be part of as long as we’ve been musicians and songwriters.The added bonus of being the only country group to win Breakthrough Group of the Year was icing on the cake.Someone told us “just remember fellas, no matter what happens from here, when they mention your name, it will always start with ‘JUNO Award winners…The Washboard Union,’” which is something that is not lost on us and makes us even more proud to be Canadian.

 

Q) Certainly, you have managed to build a very successful career that has earned you a fair amount of recognition and awards in the music industry, something that many musicians dream of at their early beginnings. What advice would you give to up and coming musicians?

 

A) We are so grateful for all of the honors we have received so far as a band first of all. That said, I would say one of the biggest lessons that we learned along the way is patience. The music industry is not always the friendliest place in the world and you’re gonna have incredible highs and incredible lows. It’s the ability for you to be able to ride both of those out and stay focused on the fact that it was music that brought you to where you are now and music that will take you everywhere forward from here. Just be great at that.The rest is just business.Making music that our fans love that gave us opportunities to play stages all over the world and that is all we ever wanted as a band.

 

Q) Looking ahead, what artists would you like to share the stage with?

 

A) We’ve been really lucky to share the stage with some of our heroes over the years, and I’ve gotten to know some artists that have taught us so much about being in a band. Touring with Old Dominion would be one of the best examples of that. Incredible and gracious gentlemen that took us on the road with them in Canada and gave us the opportunity to play for their fans. In the future, I think for the three of us sharing the stage with Chris Stapleton someday and Zac Brown Band again are big goals for us.

 

Q) In this industry, we often see musicians going out of their signature sound to partner with other artists; would you be willing to explore other music genres and if so, which one would it be?

 

A) Yeah, absolutely we would.At our core we are music fans and there is so much music out there that we love that I think just finding the right collaboration that makes sense for us is something we still would love to do and have not done yet.

 

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters out there?

 

A) We would say this: From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for making our music part of your lives. Thank you for telling your friends about our band. Thank you for spending your hard-earned money to come see our shows and thanks for being part of our little Washboard family. We can’t wait to see you again on a stage near you soon.

 

 

 

 

All Questions Answered By  Chris “Dunner” Duncombe