BY RON EVANS
Full disclosure, former Wenatchee-ite (current Bellingham-er) Jody Waymire is one of my best pals going all the way back to the mid-90’s. Just for the sake of journalistic integrity.*
*I’m not a real journalist. And integrity in journalism died a long time ago. But you gotta start a story somewhere.
Friendship aside, I also happen to be a fan of everything Waymire has been involved with going all the way back to the “we own a guitar and we live in Washington State, so you never know” 90’s.
By the time Waymire and I met he’d just joined the biggest thing to happen in Grant County since Space Burgers at the fair - Moral Crux.
I gotta be honest, I knew of Moral Crux, but only as a semi-locally (Ephrata) based punk band - it was only YEARS later that I fully understood the importance and reach this band actually had, and continues to have.
And that’s an interesting part of Waymire’s story. He’s been involved with many important and successful bands, if only for a while. Then it was time to move on. But to where? To what?
True Stars, that’s fucking where.
As I mentioned, I have followed and been a fan of all of Waymi - I already admitted he’s my friend so I guess I can dispose of the formalities - Jody’s endeavors all along the way. Unlike myself, and most fellow musicians I know, I don’t feel like he ever really took a break from pursuing music. Always cranking away, always evolving, dialing in those lyrics, dialing in those melodies, dialing in those effect pedals and amp settings.
And it’s a damn good thing he did, because his current band, True Stars, has just released my favorite album of 2023. No shit.
And I know, I already admitted he’s a pal - but I have a lot of pals doing things. Not all of them are doing things that are great. This album is fucking great. The lyrics are solid, the production is snappy - but not annoyingly perfect like most modern punk/rock/garage…
You know? That’s another thing, where do you put this band categorically speaking? Who cares, I spose. Hit play. Buy the album. And get a ticket when True Stars comes to Wally’s in Wenatchee Saturday, November 4th.
I recently chatted with Jody on his past and current musical adventures, on what drives him and about the making of the new LP.
When did you move away from Wenatchee?
I moved to Seattle in ’98. I met a girl in L.A. while on tour with Moral Crux and we decided to get a place together in Seattle. I was bored with Wenatchee and wanted to move to the big city.
What was your first band, or plunge into playing music?
It was called Heroin Tub Crash, with Chad Yenney on bass and Dawna Hisey on drums. I had just started playing guitar and got my first real electric at age 18, so we were just learning. Various other people came through, like Dustin Boreson on vocals and eventually Chris Freed on bass. I think it evolved into Chad’s band Hentch after I joined ‘Crux. But that was a great learning experience. We played a handful of shows around town, parties, or whoever would have us. I was heavily into Johnny Thunders at the time, so that’s kinda where the name came from. Chad was into Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. type stuff, so it was an interesting mix. It’s kind of like this band (True Stars), really. I play like Thunders or Steve Jones if they were in Nirvana or something.
When - and for how long were you in Moral Crux? How’d that come to be? Talk a bit about touring with them.
I joined in ’93 and it lasted until I quit and moved in ’98, and then I came back and played a few more shows with them off and on. Maybe another tour? My memory is hazy! I was a big fan of theirs and had seen them at the legendary East Wenatchee Grange show in ‘90 and then met James (Farris) at a Moral Crux show in Moses Lake in ’93. We talked afterwards and liked all the same bands, mostly ’77 punk like the Clash, Sex Pistols, etc. and I mentioned that I played guitar. He gave me a call later that year and said they were looking for a guitarist. I was thrilled of course and started practicing soon after over in Moses Lake.
Moral Crux in the late 90’s: James Farris, Jody Waymire, Justin Warren and Roger Hinshaw - Photo by Chuck Warren
Touring was fun but also stressful. Driving from town to town across the country in Justin Warren’s (Moral Crux bassist) old ‘72 Chevy ambulance van and making enough gas money to make it to the next town...it was all a very low budget punk tour, sleeping on people’s floors and rarely getting a hotel room. But it was fun, and I got to see much of the country that I normally wouldn’t get to see. We eventually put out a few 7” records and the “I Was a Teenage Teenager” album along with being on numerous comps including the “Punk USA” comp on Lookout! Records. James somehow knew Ben Weasel (Screeching Weasel), I think he was a big fan of ours, and he had started his own label through Lookout! called Panic Button Records. While on tour in California he gave us a call and offered to put out a new album which became “Something More Dangerous.” It was the very first release on that label. We ended up flying to Lafayette, IN to record at Sonic Iguana studio with Mass Giorgini. He had produced many punk records (The Queers, Smoking Popes, Groovie Ghoulies, etc.) and was a friend of Weasel’s. Ben never came down to the studio (he was in Chicago) but I think he called a few times to see how it was going. It was fun but also very grueling. Mass would make us play each part like a hundred times until everything was just right. But the record came out great and still sounds good today.
When and for how long were you playing with The Lashes?
I started playing with them in ’99 or so, after I moved to Seattle. I had met Ben Clark (singer/guitarist for The Lashes) at various Moral Crux shows (he was a fan) and he was starting a group with his girlfriend. So, I started playing bass with them and ended up doing it for around 4 years. We went through quite a few drummers and guitar players, but we eventually settled on Eric Howk on guitar, who is now a Grammy Award winning member of Portugal. The Man. We put out a 7” record and I played bass on the “Stupid Stupid” EP which coincidentally also came out on Lookout! and was produced by John Goodmanson (Bikin Kill, Nada Surf, Pavement, etc.). That is the last thing that I did with them. We played many great shows with some of my favorite bands like The Strokes, Superdrag, The Libertines and Mike Watt.
The Lashes - 2002: Eric Howk, Randy S. Drums, Ben Clark and Jody Waymre - Photo by Joanna Price
I kind of got tired of playing bass and wanted to start my own band. Also, they were getting a little too poppy for my taste and I wanted to start something a little harder and more rocking. So, I quit. About a year and a half later, they signed to Columbia Records! They never got huge or anything, but I missed out on a few fun opportunities like being on Craig Kilborn.
I actually saw them play after their album came out down in L.A. at the Troubadour and the whole crowd was screaming teenage girls. So, I was like, meh… I’m glad I didn’t turn into some teen idol. So, I drank all their beers in the green room and left.
Talk about forming True Stars. A bit about the other members, style/influences etc. Where did the name come from?
After the Lashes I started several of my own bands like HELLO and 1970, just playing small shows around Seattle for a few years. Then later I joined Eric Howk again in his own band called Boom City, which kind of fizzled out after a couple years. I don’t think he liked being a front man and later hooked up with his old friends from Alaska and joined Portugal. The Man. I ended up moving to Olympia for about two years and then relocated to Bellingham.
True Stars started in 2019 after I met Arnold (Gallows) when we worked together at a solar panel manufacturer. We discovered we were both musicians and were really into music. We recorded some demos in his basement using a drum machine which became the “Riot for Me” demos. We were on the hunt for a real drummer and Arnold found Dari (who has since transitioned into Diane McQuesten) somewhere and we all hit it off. They had both played in several local bands here in Bellingham and were both very good musicians.
We played several shows and were getting good fast, and then Covid hit... So, we had to drop everything and wait a couple years. We eventually started to practice again and played some shows. We opened for the Meatbodies and Kate Clover recently, who are both great, and we eventually decided to put out an album. We had saved up a bunch of money from our shows and I called Chad (Yenney) and booked time in his basement studio over there in Wenatchee. We recorded everything this past February, but I wasn’t happy with the way my vocals turned out, so I redid those in March at Arnold’s house. The new album turned out great and we’re very happy with it.
The name “True Stars” is a sarcastic/tongue in cheek name that I got from Johnny Rotten. I’m a huge Sex Pistols fan and I had seen that he used to sign things back in the Pistols days “Johnny Rotten, a True Star” in his own inimitable way. He even had True Star written on his shirt in Sharpie at several performances. So, I just thought hmmm…that might be a good band name. Everything else that I had come up with was already taken, so it stuck. Our influences are bands like the Beatles, Nirvana, Sex Pistols, Redd Kross, the Muffs, Superdrag, and Teenage Fanclub. I think we sound like all those bands mixed together in a blender.
Chad is great in the studio, pretty relaxed. I’ve known him for so long that it was very comfortable recording there. He’s knowledgeable about music and recording so he was a great help. We were pretty much ready when we got there and banged it out fast in 3 days. I wrote all the songs and had a good idea of what I wanted, so it went fairly smooth.
Editor’s note: I reached out to get Chad Yenney’s thoughts.
“I met Jody in 1986 and we bonded over classic bands, such as the Sex Pistols, Circle Jerks, The New York Dolls, The Misfits, The Ramones, Generation X, The Germs, Dead Kennedys and The Damned. We were also into the skate bands like JFA, Agent Orange, DI, Bad Religion, The Faction, GBH and all that stuff. Jody and I played music together in the late 80’s early 90’s and we were strongly influenced by all these late 70’s and 80’s bands as well as newer stuff like The Accused, Nirvana, Redd Kross, Gumball, and Teenage Fanclub. So fast forward 30 years and I’m recording Jody again. His songs sound familiar and rooted in something I understand.
True Stars has a sound that encapsulates all these influences as well as other favorites like The Doors, Queen, The Monkees, and The Zombies.
The basics of the LP were recorded in two days. I love the way Jody plays guitar and he was using an 80’s Les Paul into a Mesa Boogie for the majority of the tracks. With some Fuzzed out old Fender Jaguar into a Deluxe for others. Arnold played a ‘72 p-bass for all the songs and added some amazing backing vocals. Diane nailed the drums on all the tunes in one or two takes and had some great input on the mixes and the intention behind certain phrases. Jody was just getting over a cold so we had Arnold re-cut all Jody’s vocals a couple weeks later and they ended up sounding much better.”
What’s your songwriting process? Is the whole band part of that? Do you start with lyrics and write music for it, the other way around? Both?
I usually just start out messing around on guitar and come up with the riffs or whatever and then write lyrics over them. The music comes pretty easy to me; I could write a song in like 5 minutes, but lyrics are always a challenge. We’ve practiced many times playing songs with only half written lyrics. It takes me forever sometimes. I’m too self-conscious and the king of procrastinators.. We all work together pretty well and there haven’t been any fights yet!
I’m a sucker for good harmony and this album delivers on that front. Are the harmonious vocal parts on the new LP all you? Does that tend to come together in the studio?
Arnold came up with a lot of background vocal harmonies and sang them on the record. I doubled a few of them with him.It’s funny, I couldn’t really hear him much at all our practices or shows but then in the studio you could finally hear what in the hell he was singing, and it was great! He and Diane come up with some ideas that usually tend to work out well and complement the songs. Sometimes I know exactly what backing vocals I want and I just tell him.
It was hard for me at first, being a former bass player, to not tell him exactly what to play exactly how I had it in my head. But I didn’t want to be a control freak and let him play what he wanted. I sometimes have specific bass parts I want but then he adds his own style to it. I know absolutely nothing about drums, so Diane does whatever she wants.
Same question for song order, running time etc. How much of that is dialed in at the very end? And how do you decide on the final cut?
I usually have a set list of songs and sometimes think hard about the sequencing, even for shows. It changes several times before a show, it depends on how I’m feeling. But I think it’s important what song leads into the next for the overall feel of the album, or the concert for that matter.
What’s the story behind the LP cover?
It’s a weird story. That’s actually a photo that my grandpa took at the Movieland Wax Museum in the 60’s! It was in a photo album of his that I had seen a million times growing up. When I started playing music, I always thought that would make a great album cover and now I finally got a chance to use it! It’s a wax figure of Brigitte Bardot. Then recently I discovered there are vintage postcards from the wax museum of the same (or very similar) image. So now it’s like…did my grandpa take a photo of the exhibit or take a photo of a postcard or what? It’s an actual old, cracked photograph that I have, but it’s a mystery. The artwork for the entire album was done by the amazing Joanna Price, with plenty of input from me.
How is the album being distributed and on what media? Will there be vinyl?
It’s available through Bandcamp (truestars.bandcamp.com) and we’re releasing a Ltd Edition of 200 on Black Acid vinyl for all of you record nerds (I’m one of them!). It’s also now on Spotify and most other streaming platforms.
Putting out an album on vinyl is a really big pain when you’re doing it all yourself. First you must record it, then pay to get it mastered, then do all the artwork or pay someone else to do it. Then you pay a ton of money to get it pressed and wait 3-4 months for it to get all done at the record plant. We wanted to wait and release it all together but got tired of waiting for the vinyl to get here. So, we released it digitally and then did a pre-order for the vinyl.
You are playing Wally’s in Wenatcheethis month, anything you wanna tell us about that show? Will there be merch? Are you planning on any kind of tour to support the record?
It should be a great show, we’re looking forward to it! I’ve only played there once when I joined Moral Crux on stage for a few songs a long time back. It’s funny because when I was growing up there in Wenatchee, Wally’s was a total dive bar where you saw old dudes drinking there at like 10am and now it’s a cool place that has great bands. Wonderful!
Yeah, we’ll have the vinyl for sale there and some shirts and stickers. No tour planned yet until possibly early next year. Maybe something small like a West Coast tour after winter.
Our next show after Wally’s on 11/4 will be at Makeshift here in Bellingham on 11/17, once again with the Nightmares! A great little all ages venue. Then we’re playing Darrell’s Tavern in Seattle on 12/30. That’s a really cool place also, so come see us there too!