Referring to themselves as surf, psychedelic and garage rock, Wild Frames held a listening party at The Thirsty Hippo on April 21 to celebrate the release of their debut self-titled album.
Jessie Vasser, guitarist for Wild Frames, said they recorded the album in one night when they heard their original bassist, Jesse Spears, was moving to Washington the following week. Vocalist for Wild Frames Leeann Rogers said that the recording was not as bad on her voice as she had anticipated and that she was proud of the final product.
Rogers said her persona is strongly influenced by the B-52s and “Club Kids” from the 90s. “I just like to get dressed up [and] not be the regular me, but the elevated or party version of myself,” Rogers said. “Sometimes I need to break out and not live the normal life. I just want to be freaky and weird.”
“I enjoy doing my makeup, hair and costume designs. It is a labor of love for me,” Rogers said. “I can’t wait to get dressed up. It is just like play time for me.”
“[Rogers] not only sings and dances, but she also comes to every show with a new costume. You never know what she will show up wearing.” Brittney Purvis, who runs the merchandise table for Wild Frames said. “Everyone wants to be a rock star, but I don’t want to learn to play an instrument, so I hangout with people who play.”
Rogers said the band’s motivation could be boiled down to one sentence: “We want to have fun, and we want other people to have fun.”
“I just want to escape my everyday grind. I wanted a designated party time where I could lose my mind for a minute,” Rogers said. “I want to give that to other people. I don’t want it to just be mine, but a collective community experience.”
Rogers makes party favors before the show such as yarn monsters, streamers and many other small toys. She often throws them into the crowd and by the end of the night the crowd is playing with her in the shared experience she mentioned.
“[The band] is very talented. I like their reverb sound. It is kind of vintage, but they put their own spin on it.” Will Walters, junior hospitality and tourism management major, said. “I love all of their costumes and overall aesthetic.”
Wild Frames members are in a plethora of other bands in Hattiesburg. William Bird, Drummer for Wild Frames, is also the drummer for Goth Dad, another prominent band in the Hattiesburg music scene. Bird said it is nice to interchange styles between bands. “I am not anchored into one type of music, and it gives me more freedom,” Bird said.
“I think that [playing in multiple bands] gives you a chance to hone a sound with each individual band. That way, when you have a certain musical genre itch, you can work them out with another band and not push it into a band that doesn’t work” Vasser said.
