WHIMS

Photo provided by, WHIMS

Meet WHIMS

WHIMS is a powerhouse post-rock duo made up of Ryan Nicholls (guitar), and Brad Morrison (drums). Though their numbers are small the sound is anything but. On their latest self-titled release, the two deliver nearly an hour of solid head swinging rock tunes, with some lovely loose and spontaneous moments. Get to know the two in our latest interview.

“A Man of Many Things” A fill in the blank by, WHIMS

Once upon a time, there BALLOONED in ROCKY MOUNTAINS a man named SUNLIGHT. He was the DRAG guy. He could DRAG the night away. but then one day he got into an accident and lost the ability to DRAG ever again. He was WAILING when it happened. A GECKO came out of nowhere and VETOED him. He was in SASKATCHEWAN for 355 months to recover. Then he went to SKID ROW to become the first ever KNEECAP. But after 2 weeks he was fired. He met BRAD. They then got married 69 days later they adopted .5 kids.

Would You Rather

be able to grow your hair at will or your fingernails? What would you do?

Ryan: Fingernails. Would never need to worry about optimal length for guitar playing again.

Brad: Hair -- it’d be pretty dope to grow hair at will during a breakdown for maximum headbanging effect.

Some questions with WHIMS

Is this either one of your first musical projects?

Ryan:  I was in a classic rock cover band in high school. Played all the bars and learned all the chops. In college I was in a funk band and a post rock band. Brad was in that band for a short stint actually. Then Brad and I joined forces again in NYC in a soul funk rock band called Montrose Five up until a couple years ago.

Brad: Started out playing guitar in my first garage rock band in high school. In college I played guitar for a friends rock band, played drums in a jazz trio, and  briefly played in the group Ryan mentioned. In NYC, I started off playing drums in a funk/soul group. Played in Montrose Five with Ryan and also played guitar in a neo-soul/fusion group called Smoke and Sugar. Through each of these pursuits, I’ve found that I’m a drummer at heart and that I ‘play guitar’. 

What was the creative inspiration behind your self titled release? What do you want people to take away from it?

Ryan: The album and band really stemmed from our vision of playing huge, driving rock songs on stage and having the audience wonder how we're making so much noise. Obviously when listening to the record you may not know it's just a duo, so in the end, it was all about writing fun songs that we love and hoping people find joy in hearing them. 

What does your family think of your music?

Ryan: They love it and have always been super supportive.

Brad: Proud & supportive (even from those that don’t like rock music). 

Was there a catalyst that brought WHIMS together?

Ryan: I see 2 sources. One was our shared hunger to play louder and heavier music. Since we were both in the soul funk band with 3 other musicians, we had practiced restraint and playing for the song. We loved it, and those are crucial aspects for any musician to respect and adhere to, but we were also eager to explore rock territories. The second catalyst was the Boss OC-3 pedal. Kinda silly, but so true. Once we discovered how it could split an octave signal to a bass amp, our sound was equivalent to a three-piece. I adapted my playing style and wrote melodies and chords while playing bass notes with the octave effect. It was endlessly inspiring and ignited our sound and songs.

Brad: Co-sign on all that. Feel fully authentic with musical expression in this project. 

How do you keep the creative momentum of the project going during quarantine?

Ryan: We are lucky enough to play together once or twice a week and have been exploring new directions and sounds. Another album's worth of material is already pretty much written. 

Have you ever had a supernatural experience?

Ryan: Closest supernatural event for me is picking up an instrument and immediately playing a memorable riff or song. Like it was already written in another dimension and you happened to channel it through the instrument.

Brad: Yeah, music is full of supernatural experiences like that. One of the proggier tracks from our new material felt near perfect, note for note -- all from a spontaneous jam! I always make sure to record every one of our practices due to things like that. Tend to downplay more paranormal supernatural vibes due to the combo of living alone + overactive imagination..  

What is your favorite track off your self titled release?

Ryan: Crosstown (one of those songs that was summoned immediately from another dimension)

Brad: Solid Gold, the drum part feels like butter to me..

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Ryan: Everyone should love one another and spread positivity and vote and wonder and learn.

Brad: Hope everyone is able to find the thing that inspires them throughout these times. Want to extend a huge thanks to you guys for the interview - incredibly meaningful to us and emerging artists. You can check us out on Instagram // Bandcamp // Spotify for more.