On the Road With Wax Poetic
A barefoot Thor Madsen steps onto the elevator of the Sheraton City Tower. “Staying in hotels like this is one of the nice things about being in the band,” he laughs.
Madsen is the guitarist of Wax Poetic, a five-member collective whose tunes reflect an eclectic mix of influences: urban jazz, trip hop, dub...The New York City-based band is on a one-show stop in Tel Aviv, Israel.
But tonight is their night off. Shoes in hand, white terrycloth robe pulled tightly around him, the wet-haired Madsen has just come from the pool deck. He’s headed back to his room to get ready for a night on the town.
The door to Madsen’s room opens and in comes Wax Poetic founder, saxophonist and keyboardist Ilhan Ersahin. He is enjoying the down time. Later that night, the promoter’s driver is scheduled to take the band out to dinner. But for now, there are a few minutes to chill and Ersahin has time to reflect on the path he has chosen.
Like Madsen, Ersahin credits his brother with instilling in him a sense of music appreciation. “My brother was always playing good records,” Ersahin remembers. He lists David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley and Miles Davis among the musical tastes of his youth.
A plate of dried fruit sits on the nightstand. Ersahin lounges lazily, half on, half off the bed’s end. In baggy shorts and an oversized tee, he looks more the surfer, than a saxophonist well known in his native Turkey, leading his band on a world tour.
“I started kind of late with music,” he explains. “I was actually really into sports when I was young, but I was never satisfied in that community.” So at 15, Ersahin left the sports field for the musical stage.
Madsen, a native of Denmark, tells a similar story. When he was seven, he and his brother started out on acoustic guitars. But then things changed. “My brother brought home an electric guitar,” Madsen recalls. “I was in a bathrobe because I was home from school sick that day and I played ‘Smoke On the Water’ by Deep Purple for like three-hours,” Madsen laughs. “I think the sound of the electric guitar kind of got to me.”
Years later, with formal music educations under their belts, both Ersahin and Madsen found themselves in New York City, plying their musical trades.
“I was a waiter and I had some other jobs,” Ersahin recalls. “Slowly, I got more and more gigs and it became music full-time.” Ersahin went on to found Wax Poetic in 1997.
“The whole idea came from the fact that I wanted to do what creative DJs do, but do it with one band,” he explains. “You take a Turkish record, you go to house, on top of that you add some drum and bass. So wax is slang for vinyl. It’s like we’re being poetic over the vinyl.”
In the beginning, Wax Poetic was more of an East Village project, as Ersahin describes it, a sort of jam session with a changing line-up of band members performing in occasional shows. Today, the band more or less holds steady. June 2000 saw the release of Wax Poetic’s self-titled debut CD on Atlantic Records.
And Ersahin and Madsen, together with Carolyn Leonhart on vocals, Paul Ogunsalu on bass and Dana Murray on drums, are winding up their world tour. Israel and Turkey, the United States’ East Coast and the Midwest are behind them.
A West Coast tour is being discussed and band members plan a return to the studio to record their second album. Two of their songs have already found their way onto the silver screen: ‘Technologie’ in Hype Williams’ hip-hop film, ‘Belly,’ and ‘Dreamin’ Dub,’ in Kwyn Bader’s ‘Loving Jezebel.’
The members of Wax Poetic also have their individual projects. “Yeah, that’s New York,” Madsen says. “Everybody comes here to do their thing.”
He’s also quick to point out that New York can be a humbling experience. “Everybody is so good--there are so many good musicians around,” Madsen notes. “On the other hand, you also come to realize that you can actually play with some of your heroes. When you come to New York, you see there’s no reason that you shouldn’t come up with the most creative, interesting music.”
The next night at Club Barbi, Wax Poetic stands in the audience, sipping on beers and cola and taking in The Cubes, an Israeli band serving as their opening act. It’s been a day of sight seeing for Wax Poetic. A walk along the beach, a trip down Tel Aviv’s famous Village-like Shenkin Street. Now, it’s back to work.
Club Barbi is a comfortable place, a converted warehouse with small, intimate tables scattered about and standing room along the sides of the walls. At the bar in the back of the room, people order their drinks, some grooving to the music. Beer in one hand, cigarette in the other, they ring the handrails that line the seating area.
And Wax Poetic is on-stage, sweating it out under the red and blue lights, grabbing a sip of water here and there between sets. Introducing Israel to their music.
“Our aim is not to direct it, or sound like this band or that band,” Ersahin says of the group. “We want people to know maybe three records down the line, ‘Ok, that’s the sound of Wax Poetic.’”
Building that familiarity is a long process--nearly two-hours. By the end of the night, an audience of around 150 has thinned to maybe 20. Cigarette butts litter the floor.
Madsen find his way off-stage and sits down with a sigh. “This is the part I hate,” he says, glancing at the equipment on-stage.
Then he’s back on his feet, ready to start packing it all up for the 3 a.m. trip to the airport.
Tomorrow morning will find Wax Poetic sharing their sound in another city, sleeping in another hotel, and unpacking it all for another show.
-Originally published in 'B&T' Magazine
Madsen is the guitarist of Wax Poetic, a five-member collective whose tunes reflect an eclectic mix of influences: urban jazz, trip hop, dub...The New York City-based band is on a one-show stop in Tel Aviv, Israel.
But tonight is their night off. Shoes in hand, white terrycloth robe pulled tightly around him, the wet-haired Madsen has just come from the pool deck. He’s headed back to his room to get ready for a night on the town.
The door to Madsen’s room opens and in comes Wax Poetic founder, saxophonist and keyboardist Ilhan Ersahin. He is enjoying the down time. Later that night, the promoter’s driver is scheduled to take the band out to dinner. But for now, there are a few minutes to chill and Ersahin has time to reflect on the path he has chosen.
Like Madsen, Ersahin credits his brother with instilling in him a sense of music appreciation. “My brother was always playing good records,” Ersahin remembers. He lists David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley and Miles Davis among the musical tastes of his youth.
A plate of dried fruit sits on the nightstand. Ersahin lounges lazily, half on, half off the bed’s end. In baggy shorts and an oversized tee, he looks more the surfer, than a saxophonist well known in his native Turkey, leading his band on a world tour.
“I started kind of late with music,” he explains. “I was actually really into sports when I was young, but I was never satisfied in that community.” So at 15, Ersahin left the sports field for the musical stage.
Madsen, a native of Denmark, tells a similar story. When he was seven, he and his brother started out on acoustic guitars. But then things changed. “My brother brought home an electric guitar,” Madsen recalls. “I was in a bathrobe because I was home from school sick that day and I played ‘Smoke On the Water’ by Deep Purple for like three-hours,” Madsen laughs. “I think the sound of the electric guitar kind of got to me.”
Years later, with formal music educations under their belts, both Ersahin and Madsen found themselves in New York City, plying their musical trades.
“I was a waiter and I had some other jobs,” Ersahin recalls. “Slowly, I got more and more gigs and it became music full-time.” Ersahin went on to found Wax Poetic in 1997.
“The whole idea came from the fact that I wanted to do what creative DJs do, but do it with one band,” he explains. “You take a Turkish record, you go to house, on top of that you add some drum and bass. So wax is slang for vinyl. It’s like we’re being poetic over the vinyl.”
In the beginning, Wax Poetic was more of an East Village project, as Ersahin describes it, a sort of jam session with a changing line-up of band members performing in occasional shows. Today, the band more or less holds steady. June 2000 saw the release of Wax Poetic’s self-titled debut CD on Atlantic Records.
And Ersahin and Madsen, together with Carolyn Leonhart on vocals, Paul Ogunsalu on bass and Dana Murray on drums, are winding up their world tour. Israel and Turkey, the United States’ East Coast and the Midwest are behind them.
A West Coast tour is being discussed and band members plan a return to the studio to record their second album. Two of their songs have already found their way onto the silver screen: ‘Technologie’ in Hype Williams’ hip-hop film, ‘Belly,’ and ‘Dreamin’ Dub,’ in Kwyn Bader’s ‘Loving Jezebel.’
The members of Wax Poetic also have their individual projects. “Yeah, that’s New York,” Madsen says. “Everybody comes here to do their thing.”
He’s also quick to point out that New York can be a humbling experience. “Everybody is so good--there are so many good musicians around,” Madsen notes. “On the other hand, you also come to realize that you can actually play with some of your heroes. When you come to New York, you see there’s no reason that you shouldn’t come up with the most creative, interesting music.”
The next night at Club Barbi, Wax Poetic stands in the audience, sipping on beers and cola and taking in The Cubes, an Israeli band serving as their opening act. It’s been a day of sight seeing for Wax Poetic. A walk along the beach, a trip down Tel Aviv’s famous Village-like Shenkin Street. Now, it’s back to work.
Club Barbi is a comfortable place, a converted warehouse with small, intimate tables scattered about and standing room along the sides of the walls. At the bar in the back of the room, people order their drinks, some grooving to the music. Beer in one hand, cigarette in the other, they ring the handrails that line the seating area.
And Wax Poetic is on-stage, sweating it out under the red and blue lights, grabbing a sip of water here and there between sets. Introducing Israel to their music.
“Our aim is not to direct it, or sound like this band or that band,” Ersahin says of the group. “We want people to know maybe three records down the line, ‘Ok, that’s the sound of Wax Poetic.’”
Building that familiarity is a long process--nearly two-hours. By the end of the night, an audience of around 150 has thinned to maybe 20. Cigarette butts litter the floor.
Madsen find his way off-stage and sits down with a sigh. “This is the part I hate,” he says, glancing at the equipment on-stage.
Then he’s back on his feet, ready to start packing it all up for the 3 a.m. trip to the airport.
Tomorrow morning will find Wax Poetic sharing their sound in another city, sleeping in another hotel, and unpacking it all for another show.
-Originally published in 'B&T' Magazine
posted by Inbal Aharoni @ 2:32 AM
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