This is Kathleen Wells’ January 7th, 2022 interview with up and coming star Nate Wylz, in collaboration with Redxenterprises, LLC
KATHLEEN:
Hello everyone! Are you all feeling alright tonight? (Audience applauds aloud) That’s great, so great. This is the Kathleen Wells Show and I am Kathleen Wells, let’s have some fun tonight! (Audience roars with cheer) There’s so much energy in the crowd tonight. I bet we’re all happy to have survived into the new year. The world is just getting crazier and crazier, but we are staying strong and we are all here tonight and we’re gonna have a great time. And tonight we have an amazing special guest. He’s a star on the rise, responsible for one of the best albums to come out of 2022. He is the lead singer,multi-instrumentalist and the gorgeous face behind the bands WYLZ and NATE WYLZ & SOUNDZ, one of the up and coming faces of various modeling and marketing agencies, a novelist, actor and internet personality. Please give a warm welcome to my first guest of the night, Nate Wylz!
(Audience cheers with claps, screams and whistles as Nate Wylz emerges from behind the curtain and makes his way to the chair sitting across from Kathleen. She welcomes him with a handshake before they both take a seat. The cheers begin to quiet)
KATHLEEN:
Such a lovely audience, huh? The girls out there seem to be much louder than the guys (Kathleen giggles, Nate Wylz lightly and nervously chuckles). Guys, hold your girls close. We’ve got a lady’s man over here!
NATE WYLZ:
They’re just being nice. They probably don’t even know who I am (both laugh).
KATHLEEN:
I don’t know about that, Nate. You seem to be gaining quite a decent following. They have a name for it I think, right? Yeah, that’s right! They absolutely do. I believe they call it a cult following, right?
NATE WYLZ:
A cult following? No, no, no, no ..I’m pretty sure they call it the underground (all laugh, audience’s laughter carries on a bit longer while Kathleen waits for her moment to speak)
KATHLEEN:
See? They love you. It’s probably because you’re so cute.
NATE WYLZ:
It’s probably because I told a joke. A poor joke at that.
KATHLEEN:
Oh, you’re too hard on yourself. Give yourself a break. You’re doing so well for yourself. Cut yourself some slack, okay?
NATE WYLZ:
Okay! Yeah, I guess.
KATHLEEN:
No, I mean it. Look at you making all these peoples nights, you have a new album out and you seem to be doing pretty well for yourself. I mean, people are starting to take notice.
NATE WYLZ:
I guess. I don’t know ..um – – thank you for having me on the show.
KATHLEEN:
Oh you’re being way too modest, Nate. But since I brought it up let’s talk about your latest album. It’s titled Transcendental Hallucinationz and it was released in the middle of August last year. Can you tell me a bit about that?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, Transcendental Hallucinationz was a long time coming. We started recording it back in the Spring of 2019. We had just started seeing a little success from our first album. When I say a little success, I truly do mean a “LITTLE SUCCESS” (laughs)
KATHLEEN:
What are you talking about? You’re getting a great start! You are extremely lucky! You have so much talent and, and you’re such an obviously smart young man, and you have, uh ….good head on your shoulders and you- –
NATE WYLZ:
On my shoulders? You just made, like, no sense just now. (Kathleen looks confused, as does the audience) I don’t know about having good head on my shoulders, I can’t even visualize that. Just trying to makes my brain hurt. I’d much rather have good head in a bed, or sitting on a chair (Kathleen and the audience release a spontaneous burst of laughter), or like a couch or something. Hell, I’d take one standing up in the middle of a busy street, but on my own shoulder? (Laughter gets louder) I mean, just try to picture that. It’s like someone tripping and falling into their own mouth and then, like, disappearing from existence or something, I don’t know. (Laughter continues and grows).
KATHLEEN:
Oh, you dog! (all laugh aloud. Laughter carries on for a brief moment. Kathleen waits for the audience to quiet, then continues) You know what I mean by a “good head on your shoulders”. Don’t play dumb with me (catches breath, face red from the laughter) I’m pretty sure you can have it wherever you want, sweetheart. With those gorgeous looks of yours, there’s no doubt in my mind that you could have any girl you want. And not only are you talented, smart and have a good head on your shoulders but evidently you have a sense of humor to go along with it.
NATE WYLZ:
So now you’re just gonna point out, in front of all these people, you’re going to point out the unfortunate condition I’ve had to live with for my entire life? That’s so rude, and unprofessional (Audience once again laughs aloud)
KATHLEEN:
Oh, hush! You’re so bad! (Kathleen chuckles lightly as the audience’s laughter and applause slowly dies out) Oh lord, what am I going to do with you? (Nate Wylz charmingly smiles at her) Oh my god, you are just something else! But AS I WAS TRYING TO SAY (wipes tear from her eye) …You are doing pretty well at the moment. You’re gorgeous, talented, smart, (lowers her eyes with a stare) YOU HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOUR, you’re starting to develop quite a little following, your music is on the radio quite a bit. You’re a star on the rise and this is only the beginning. You have a bright career ahead of you and people should go ahead and expect to see much, much more of you.You should be so grateful, you are very, VERY lucky!
NATE WYLZ:
Oh, I am grateful. I just feel a little bit behind. I should be much farther in my career right now, but I choose not to dwell. I can’t change the past and I am just so happy to be here and I’m not gonna lie, I am a bit nervous right now.
KATHLEEN:
Aww, how adorable! I told you, you are doing great, Nate. And I am just as happy to have you on my show as you are to be here, if not even more so. And trust me, if your music is playing consistently on the radio then you obviously must be doing something right.
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, I guess so. I mean a couple songs were getting decent radio play In Los Angeles where I was when I released the album. Both on standard radio and on college radio but with the college radio it was a much bigger success. But like I said it wasn’t even really doing well enough to use the word “successful”. It wasn’t until the tour we did for VISIONZ in 2019 that we started seeing a big rise in sales. And it was almost entirely CD sales. So that tells me that most of the sales were probably from the people who saw us live, decided they liked us and bought a CD right there at the show, or maybe later online or at the record store or whatever.
KATHLEEN:
So then you went on tour before you recorded your second album, I assume, or was the tour after you recorded Visionz? Oh, damn it. You know what I mean …your latest album (Nate laughs, audience chuckles lightly beneath their breath), Transcendental Halluzinationz. I apologize.
NATE WYLZ:
(Chuckling) It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. I’m grateful for you even knowing the album in the first place.
KATHLEEN:
Hey, at least I corrected myself instead of you correcting me. It was obviously just a slip of the tongue (audience chuckles with slightly more volume).
NATE WYLZ:
Both actually. See we went in and recorded a slew of songs. We probably recorded enough to release two more albums. I’d have to record the vocal tracks first because we only recorded the instrumentals. But I could release all of them and put out another album or two if I really wanted to
KATHLEEN:
Why didn’t you record any vocals when you recorded the rest of the album? Don’t most bands record everything all together at once?
NATE WYLZ:
We had a certain amount of hours we were allowed to record in the studio and since I play several instruments on the album they wanted me to lay down the vocal tracks after we had all of the instrumental tracks recorded.So we went in and recorded a bunch of songs, and I mean way more than we even planned to have on the album. We had every song down to a tee so we went in there and recorded each song with ease. Half of the album was recorded in one take. So by the time we got done recording the fourteen songs we had planned for the album we ended up recording like another thirty or so songs.
KATHLEEN:
Wait. You’re telling me that you recorded the fourteen songs you planned for the album so fast that you were able to record more than, what ….three times the amount of tracks?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah pretty much. Like I said, If I really wanted to use the recordings to drop back to back albums then I could easily do that. I mean I’d basically be starting whatever album I ended up releasing half way through the recording process. They could have been really quick releases. But I’m not so sure if I’m really going to do that since I have very uhh..umm…very specific plans for my next few albums. They are pretty much all planned out.
KATHLEEN:
That’s very impressive, Nate. You should be proud of that. Most artists come up with new material between the release of each album. Well that’s what I’ve always believed.
NATE WYLZ:
I mean it’s not all that impressive when you consider how much time, diligence and dedication we put into practicing every song before ever recording a single bit of it. But I was scheduled to go on tour soon after production so even though we nailed our studio time and used it to the best of our abilities, trying to get the most out of every minute we had. But things got a bit more complicated when I fell ill and wasn’t able to get back to record before I was supposed to go on tour. I mean I was pretty damn sick. And it came at the worst possible time. So by the time I started feeling better, or at least well enough to do what I needed to do, I had to rush to go on tour and accept that I would have to finish the album when I got back to LA after the tour ended. Which sucked because I planned to release it during the tour, while the band was hot and traveling the US, spreading awareness of the band’s existence. And I went on tour right around the time I was starting to get better, basically without any recovery time. But that was okay because let me tell you, the Visionz Tour was one of the most significant and profoundly overwhelming series of moments in my life. I found peace, and was proud of myself for the first time in a very, very long time. I was able to play in front of big crowds and open for some great bands and just mingle and make connections and build an audience. I made new friends, networked, met more fans than I thought was even possible for me to have, and made more fans in the process. It caused Visionz to see a severe spike in sales. I pride myself in my ability to put on a powerful, unforgettable performance. The VISIONZ TOUR was a dream come true. It was so much fun, and just such a genuinely nice time. A great bonding experience for the band.
KATHLEEN:
Your family and friends must have been proud of you. Did they get the chance to see you perform at all?
NATE WYLZ:
Well, you see, the thing about that is – –
KATHLEEN:
Oh no, they weren’t proud of your success?
NATE WYLZ:
I’m sure they would have been but I didn’t tell anyone anything. Not a soul and it wasn’t until here recently that I even told my mom and she found out because of my website.
KATHLEEN:
And you didn’t think she would read it when you put it on your website?
NATE WYLZ:
I am not the only one that runs my website. I started making the website myself as a way to give people one place where they can view all of my art: my music, my poetry, my writings and other things I’m going to be a part of or doing myself. But after I got the website where I wanted it to be, I let my social media management team take that over.
KATHLEEN:
If I wouldn’t be overstepping a boundary, would it be rude, or too personal for me to ask why you didn’t tell any family or friends?
NATE WYLZ:
Eh, Nobody would have believed me anyways. And I- umm, I’m- – uhh …I’m not really the type of person that feels like I have to prove myself to anyone. I only have to prove things to myself unless the person or people asking for proof are justified in doing so. I kind of just wanted people to notice over time as I started seeing a bit more success. Well, IF I started seeing more success (laughs). It’s a tough industry.
KATHLEEN:
Oh don’t I know that! It’s not just a tough industry but maybe the toughest. But you are on the way Nate. You’ve gotten a damn good start. And you have an album you should be extremely proud of. But you caught my interest with something you said, or I guess it just confused me a little bit. So, you recorded the instrumental tracks for Transcendental Hallucinationz, and got sick before you could record the singing. Then by the time you felt better you had to go straight to the tour bus and hit the road to go on tour. You had a blast and traveled the United States, and when it was all over you went back to Los Angeles to record your vocal tracks? Is all of this right? And how long was the tour? Where all did you and the band go?
NATE WYLZ:
There’s a few wrong details there, but first I’ll go ahead and tell you about the tour. It was actually a big tour, considering I’m just now really starting to be noticed. We traveled through and performed in thirty-two different states. The tour lasted nearly two months and we played all kinds of venues, like small venues, large or even huge venues, we played a few stadiums and we played a few festivals. It really is a candidate for the best time of my life. But about the uhh- the recording of the new album …my tour got cut a bit short because of the pandemic. All the major venues were being shut down. And most of the small venues were too. So when I got back to LA, It was like a ghost town. Venice Beach was almost empty.Hollywood Boulevard had maybe two people on it, homeless people at that. The studio I was recording the album in was completely shut down, just like the venues, and nearly the entire rest of LA.
KATHLEEN:
Yeah, I kept up with COVID-19 pretty well. I stayed up to date on all of the latest information. It hit California and the surrounding states a lot harder than the rest of the country. I have a cousin that lives in Lynwood. She told me that California was absolutely devastated by COVID. She told me that it could be years before California can get back to being the booming city it’s known for being.
NATE WYLZ:
There was nothing to do. There was no source of income for the artists out there. So I moved back to Memphis, where I was born and raised, and where I lived the majority of my life. Actually I’m still living there now and I’m only just now preparing to move back to Los Angeles. But like you said, the pandemic hit California pretty hard and really hurt the whole city of Los Angeles, so I decided to give it some time before I moved back. I’m not even sure if it’s really the right time to move back but I really just miss it and I’m so sick of Memphis’s crap. But just like your cousin told you, my LA buddies told me that it might be best that I wait it out.
KATHLEEN:
Ouch. That pandemic just messed up the whole world didn’t it?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah I know. It really did a number on the entire world. It’s such a sad situation. Nature is great at crafting new enemies for us on the regular.
KATHLEEN:
So you’ll be staying in Memphis until you feel ready to move back to Los Angeles? I’ve been to Memphis a couple of times. And I actually really loved it there. I was just a tourist though so I wouldn’t know the city like you do. But it does have a great history. Rock and Roll was born there. A great many of the great blues and country artists are from Memphis. Oh and there’s Beale Street of course! And surely you’ve been to Graceland?
NATE WYLZ:
Oh yeah, of course! I’ve been to Graceland several times,but don’t call me Shirley…(Kathleen gives Nate a look that says “you got me, screw you” or possibly “what a lame joke”, while the audience erupts in a brief mid-volume fit of laughter, which dies out rather quickly) Yeah I know, I know: that was a cheap shot. But yeah I’ve been to Graceland and love it there, been to Sun Studios too. Actually, my cousin Tiffany used to work there. Shoutout for Tiffany Harmon, she’s a musician too. You all should check out her music.
KATHLEEN:
Awwww, how sweet and thoughtful. You’re a good cousin.
NATEWYLZ:
I’m anything but a good cousin actually. But I’m not going there (nervous chuckle) But yeah – umm, where was I? (Kathleen goes to speak but is cut off by Nate Wylz) Oh yeah, Memphis, that’s right! Yeah, Memphis really isn’t the city everyone on the outside makes it out to be. In a sense, it used to be, and there are still tons of great, caring people and a lot of positive places, areas and stuff, but things really have changed for the worse. The level of crime is an absolute tragedy. It really depresses me to think about, actually. I’ve loved Memphis, but I’ve hated it just the same.
KATHLEEN:
Well, that’s a shame. Maybe you can help put it back on the map.
NATE WYLZ:
I am not even sure if that is possible at this point, but I really hope it is. It’s going to take the people of the city coming together, and working together to bring the city to a respectable level. But yeah, I moved back to Memphis to wait out the surprise pandemic. My producer told me not to worry and that we will get back to recording soon. So I just waited patiently in Memphis and worked on my novel and some of my other projects.
KATHLEEN:
We definitely want to hear about your novel in a moment, but I bet you were starting to think the album was never going to happen, right?
NATE WYLZ:
Absolutely. And it sucked because I was just finally seeing some level of “success” and felt like my future relied on the release of a good follow-up album. And I planned to blow my debut completely out of the water. I’m not sure if I accomplished that in the eyes of the fans but as far as I see it, VISIONZ doesn’t really hold a candle to the new album. Actually it’s such a big improvement from the first album that I am personally remixing and remastering VISIONZ and adding the tracks that were cut so that it is a bit more on par with TRANSCENDENTAL HALLUCINATIONZ.
KATHLEEN:
That’s exciting news for all the fans out there. Do you have any idea when we should be expecting to be able to hear it?
NATE WYLZ:
I’m not really sure yet. My schedule is insane. It really is. I will definitely make sure it comes out some time this year. But yeah, about the wait in the middle of the album’s production …I genuinely believed it was not ever going to see its release, and that if it did then it would be too late. Like all the people that bought and loved Visionz would have forgotten all about me, but I tried to keep my mind positive and I just worked on my art and music, my writing and other projects. Oh, and I had to get my health taken care of since I was having some serious health problems at the – –
KATHLEEN:
Your health? You are way too young to have health issues. If it’s not too personal, do you mind talking about what health issues you were dealing with?
NATE WYLZ:
You can say that I am too young but you know how many children are dying in the world right now? So my health issues are almost nothing, even if I happened to have died, at least I made it to adulthood. But as far as my health issues go, I don’t really want to go into detail about what I was dealing with, but I didn’t really live my best life until recently. I had used a ton of drugs, went through a bad addiction and severe mental health issues. So after I got clean I really focused on getting my body back to health. That was and is a long tedious process that is still going on now. I’m unsure that my past drug use had anything to do with my health issues but I wouldn’t find it at all surprising if that were the case. So yeah I was just working on bettering myself, my health, my mental state, my art and whatever else I could. Then I was told about the death of my old drummer and a couple of my close friends and it caused a temporary relapse that cost me some dear friends that refused to see me like that. Or maybe they just didn’t want to be around it. Whatever the reason, it was what I needed to get me back on the right path and so now I’ve been clean and sober for a good while now. (Kathleen and the audience applaud) Oh thank you. Thank you all so very much. I mean I feel like I’m being applauded for doing what I’m supposed to be doing but still, thank you all so, so much.
KATHLEEN:
Don’t be so modest. A lot of people aren’t able to make it past addiction. You should be so proud of yourself. And you look so good, I would never have guessed that you struggled with substance addiction.
NATE WYLZ:
Trust me, I definitely know how lucky I am. I have had many friends die over the years due to drug overdose, or suicide that was directly related to their addiction. It’s caused me to have some pretty severe PTSD. But I made my mistakes, I own up to them, I acknowledge all I have done wrong and am actively trying to do better!.
KATHLEEN:
I’m sorry to hear that, and I’m sorry to hear about your drummer. That’s such a terrible tragedy. I know that was hard on you.
NATE WYLZ:
It was and is, but I’ve been hardened by an entire life plagued by traumatizing events, but uhh, this isn’t really the time or the place to talk about that. I’ll save that one for therapy (chuckles). But yeah it wasn’t until Spring of last year that I finally got a call that was a bit more than I had expected and I ended up being signed to a label, File13, and I finally finished up the album and now it’s available in stores and on streaming services. We even had vinyl pressed. Though I’m no longer with File13. It was a one album deal. I am trying to decide between a few different labels that currently want me. But I’m just taking it a day at a time and I’m just happy to have my second studio album out after nearly four years passed since my debut album was released.
KATHLEEN:
And what an album it is! It’s over two hours long, right?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, it was just barely over two hours, but less than two hours and one minute. (light, scattered giggles)
KATHLEEN:
Jeez Louise! And within those two hours there are, um, nineteen songs, right?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah. And one of – -wait…Well technically there are nineteen tracks, not songs. Not all of them are songs per se: three of them are spoken word poetry tracks. And one song takes up over a fourth of the album all by itself.
KATHLEEN:
That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about. The last song on the album is called “Ozzy Dunn: Wasteland” and it is a staggering thirty-five minutes in length. That is just unbelievable. Can you tell me a bit about that?
NATE WYLZ:
Oh, you actually listened to Ozzy Dunn? Like, in its entirety?
KATHLEEN:
Well, of course. How else would you have been invited to the show? I’ve heard the entire album, and Ozzy Dunn really stands out from the rest of the album. Don’t get me wrong, the entire album is incredible. And you know I believe that or you wouldn’t be here. But can you tell us a little bit about Ozzy Dunn?
NATE WYLZ:
Of course! Yeah Ozzy Dunn was a lot of work. It tells the story of Ozzy Dunn, who is basically a mixture of myself and a few people that mean a lot to me. The song begins with his parents meeting and his conception and it goes all the way to his junior year of high school with an event that is very unfortunate to say the least. And it ends with a bit of a cliff hanger, which is where the next song will open up.
KATHLEEN:
So you’re going to be doing a series of songs for Ozzy Dunn?
NATE WYLZ:
It didn’t start that way but yeah I didn’t want to rush through the story. I’ve been writing novels my entire life so I kind of wanted to do the same thing with Ozzy Dunn that I would do with characters from my novels. I wanted Osbourne to feel like a real person. His story is told slowly and with detail. This being the idea for the song, there was absolutely no way that it could have possibly been any shorter than it is. I’m sure the follow-up songs will be pretty long as well. I didn’t want the song to feel repetitive or boring so it kind of ended up becoming multiple songs bound as one. The band really deserves some heavy credit for their diligence in learning the songs within the song and the order they are in, and how to transition from one section to another. We went into the studio and recorded it in its entirety three times in a row. Then we went back and recorded each section on its own two or three times. And now it’s one of our most talked about songs. I definitely had a feeling you were going to bring it up when I was told about the interview. But the amount of work we all put into that one song by itself is far beyond the work put into the entire rest of the album. That’s not even an exaggeration. It was actually pretty stressful, and I was very anal and meticulous about every little detail. I wouldn’t even let the production team do the mixing or the mastering. I had a very specific idea for how I wanted the finished product to sound, so I did all of the mixing and mastering entirely by myself. And now anytime I sit down to talk to someone about the album, Ozzy Dunn is almost always guaranteed to come up. So I was prepared for you to bring it up pretty much as soon as I was informed about the interview.
KATHLEEN:
How could I not bring up such an obviously incredible achievement? You and your band should be so proud of your achievement. It is without a doubt one of the great masterpieces of 2022. And I’m not just saying that. Remember that I was the one that requested an interview with you. I heard the album and just had to meet the mastermind behind it. Oh, I meant to ask this when I first brought it up but how did you come up with the name Ozzy Dunn? And why is the word “wasteland” in the title?
NATE WYLZ:
It was a title I spent waaay too much time thinking about. I had the original idea for the song, composed most of it, updated the ideas for the song from being autobiographical, but with a different name for the character based off of me, to starring a fictional character that is a culmination of me and some really important people in my life. I had the name Osbourne picked out because of a pet name I had with someone I care about and that has a strong influence on the personality and the life story of the main character. The pet name was “Bear” but I also constantly refer to spouses, or most women who have significantly impacted me, as a “Goddess”. The name Osbourne directly translates to “God-Bear”, or “Divine Bear”. And when staring at my album cover when it was completed, which by the way Laken Clarke deserves a massive applause for the badass artwork she provided for the album cover. (Crowd explodes in cheers, screams, whistles, claps and energetic movements: jumping, waving arms around, etc. This carries on for just under a minute). Thank you so much. She deserves every bit of that. I’ll make sure she knows about all the love she just received from you all. It means a lot.
KATHLEEN:
I always manage to get the best audiences. I am so thankful for that. Aren’t they such a great crowd?
NATE WYLZ:
They most definitely are. I’m loving the energy here (someone from the audience yells out a loud “wooo”, followed by scattered laughter). But yeah so I was staring at the album cover, admiring it and I noticed that my old band name “Nate Wylz & Soundz” contained the letters O, Z, another Z and a Y, so I immediately decided that the character of Osbourne would go by the nickname Ozzy. Then I used the rest of the letters to try to find a last name, and weeks passed before I finally decided that I couldn’t make it happen. While I was completing the lyrics, I realized that the climax of the story occurs in a wasteland, and that w wasteland is a great symbol for….well I’m not going to spoil it. But yeah I noticed the theme of the wasteland and remembered that “wasteland” was one of the words I formed from the letters of the band name. And after spelling out Ozzy and Wasteland, only four letters remained: N, D, U and another N. Immediately I thought of an old friend with whom I had a complicated friendship, but held vast significance of epic proportions. Her name was Olivia Dunn. As a writer, I’ve always been interested in etymology. So naturally, I ended up discovering that the word “Dunn” had a simple, but interesting provenance: it originated in England and is a Middle English word that means “dark”. I discovered this and it all just clicked right then and there: the song would be an anagram using the letters of the band name, and each word would carry its own significance and symbolism. The initials of the name is an homage to Olivia Dunn, the name Osbourne serves as an encrypted symbol for the person that had the biggest impact on the story itself, the wasteland is metaphorical for the state of living experienced by the protagonist and his friends and family, while also directly referencing the climax at the wasteland. And the last name would serve as an homage to Olivia Dunn as well, and the word “dark” works as a keyword to find the hidden messages in the lyrics, while also setting the tone and foreshadowing an event with too little detail to figure it out before you get to the part it relates to. The character of Ozzy Dunn is a musician and is pushing for a career in music and has some style similarities with Ozzy Osbourne, and the name “Ozzy” directly translates to “God’s Power”, which is a little twist of ironic dark humor for an event that happens in the story. I umm, I know that was a lot, but uh – you asked the question (light, scattered chuckles amongst the audience).
KATHLEEN:
That really was a lot, you’re right. And I did ask you, you’re right about that too. And to be honest I didn’t expect such a detailed answer. (short pause) You really put a lot of thought into your music and your writing, huh?
NATE WYLZ:
That’s nothing. I am constantly putting as much as I can in each work of art I create, no matter the medium. Some of my songs have morse code, or binary code hidden in the rhythm of an instrument, and some lyrics to my songs, when written out, serve as a word search. And when the words are put together, it forms a sentence. I have always done that for some reason, even though I know no one will ever figure it out, mostly because no one will care enough, but I guess I get some sick, twisted satisfaction knowing that I am leaving such personal, mind-shattering messages hidden right in front of peoples’ faces. I know it’s a bit much, but it’s fun for me. I enjoy it. I do the same thing with my novels, poetry, drawings and even one of my album covers has hidden messages on it, you would just need a powerful magnifying glass to see it.
KATHLEEN:
You really are something special, Nate. I am so impressed. You have such a stimulating intellect. I really am enjoying this conversation with you. I definitely have to go back and see if I can find any of the hidden messages you left for us. I’m just (brief pause) wow, I’m just stunned. You really are impressing me here. What you have created with Ozzy Dunn and the entire album in general is truly something to behold. You did a fantastic job. I’d have to give it a perfect ten out of ten, and I still have confidence that your next album will be just as good, if not better.
NATE WYLZ:
Thank you so much. I was really worried that people would see the length of the song and feel intimidated, and just not even try to listen to it. Actually, since it’s such a long song and people may end up really enjoying one section over another, and may not always have the time to listen to the entire thing, and since it would be such a drag to skim through it to find the section you want, I am preparing another album, or I guess it might qualify as an EP, but I am going to split the sections of the song apart and release each of them as their own track. I may end up having to do this with the future Ozzy Dunn songs as well. I’m not really sure yet. And I don’t really have much of a say in how my music is going to be released. That’s up to management.
KATHLEEN:
Well you and the band did a wonderful job and it is definitely one of the many highlights of the album. You said you planned to have fourteen tracks on the album but it ended up being nineteen tracks. So I assume you heard some of those extra tracks you recorded and thought they should be on the album as well.
NATE WYLZ:
Pretty much, except for one song that was recorded way later. It was added to the album at the last minute after everything else was already done. I’m not going to say which song that is. It’s not important to say, and I do not want it to be apart from the rest of the album in the eyes of the people listening to the album.
KATHLEEN:
Okay, I get it. (both laugh). You know what really blew me away when I heard your album for the first time? It seems like you covered a wide range of genres: rock, hip hop, blues, classical, jazz, psychedelic, punk, metal, and I think one of them was an a capella, right? (Nate nods) Yeah, what really blows me away is how you would expect an album like that to throw people off every time another song comes on but even though they each cover their own genre, they all also contain a unique sound, a style that must be your own. And since the style and the sound were so consistent, it all flowed so expertly and I just thought that was so cool.
NATE WYLZ:
Aww, thank you. That’s so lovely to hear. I was always told that I needed to decide what genre my band was going to be and that I needed to stick to it. But I have such a powerful love and passion for all kinds of music: From the masterpieces of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Chopin and the other masters of classical music, to the classical of today. And then there is Robert Johnson’s delta blues of the late 1930s, Blind Lemon Jefferson even before then, Son House, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf, BB King and pretty much any blues artist I come across, I end up enjoying very much and draw inspiration from each and every one of them. And with jazz …well, I could list names all day but a few of the jazz artists that have inspired me the most are Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Mary Lou Williams and so on and so on. Oh, and how could I possibly forget Frank Sinatra, who is definitely one of my all time favorite vocalists of jazz. And despite growing up in Tennessee, I have always been a bit picky when it comes to country music. I don’t want to hear songs about marrying your tractor and burying your beer or whatever (Kathleen and audience laughs). But most of my favorite country artists are considered classical, or traditional Country Music..
KATHLEEN:
Like Hank Williams, right?
NATE WYLZ:
Of course! Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Jimmie Rodgers …and of course I have a lot of love for the greats of folk music. Bob Dylan is my number one favorite musician of all time and there isn’t even a close number two. But a few of my other favorites are Woody Guthrie, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Judie Collins, Cat Stevens, Lead Belly, James Taylor and Simon and Garfunkle just to name a few. But I have to say that the rock music of the 50s, 60s and 70s are what really made the greatest impacts on me. The 80s had some great tunes as well but the 90s was full of memorable and impactful music.
KATHLEEN:
Can you be a little more specific? I find your taste in music to be rather sophisticated for someone as young as you are. Most young people these days have no idea who any of them are.
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, I really have my Memaw to thank for that: My grandmother on my father’s side. Her name was Sandy, and she was my guardian angel. I wouldn’t be who I am today without her. She passed away nine days before I turned seventeen. I’ve been grieving ever since.
KATHLEEN:
I’m so sorry to hear that, dear. Bless your heart.
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, it sucks but I’m trying to live how she would want me to live. (brief pause as Nate Wylz stares off into space for a moment). Oh, I’m sorry. My mind always runs a million miles an hour. I can’t ever slow my thinking down, but umm…damn…what was I saying?
KATHLEEN:
You were just about to list off some of your influences. And I’m looking forward to hearing it. With how unique and strange, or different your music is, I am very interested in knowing who your biggest influences are.
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s right! Well I can definitely name a few but there really are quite a bit. I listen to so many bands and artists, you wouldn’t even believe it. My ipod has thousands of bands and artists on it. But um, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Drifters, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Ray Harris, Charlie Rich.. Of course I can’t leave out the biggest of influences: The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Beach Boys, The Monkees, The Kinks, Zeppelin, The Byrds, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, Yardbirds, The Animals, Queen, Peter Frampton, Bill Withers, Neil Young, Graham Nash, Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and the Papas, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Billy J–
KATHLEEN:
Dear God! (Audience laughs) And these are just the biggest influences?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, I warned you. (laughs scatter through the crowd) But wait, there’s more! Metallica, Pantera, Megadeth, Tool, Slayer, Nirvana, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Korn, Deep Purple, The Ramones, The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, OFF, Bad Brains, The Misfits, Black Sabbath, Iggy and the Stooges, Circle Jerks, Fugazi, Descendents, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Oasis, Stone Temple Pilots (crowd’s laughter escalates in volume), Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Primus, Meshuggah, Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, Muse, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Cream, Pixies, Gorillaz, Lettuce, The Cranberries, Rancid, Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar, Aerosmith, The Offspring, Porcupine Tree, Mr. Bungle and – –
KATHLEEN:
Wow! Wow, wow, wow…just going to name a few, huh?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, that is just a few. I mean, considering how many bands I listen to and love.
KATHLEEN:
How about this …how about you just pick one band, only one. Choose one band that you consider your number one favorite band of all time.
NATE WYLZ:
No way. That’s not possible. I’ve always told people that I have four bands that all tie as my favorite band, and those four do not include solo artists.
KATHLEEN:
Okay then, let me hear what you got, let’s hear ‘em.
NATE WYLZ:
All tied, sharing the number one spot together as my number one favorite band, or bands of all time are The Doors, Joy Division, Nirvana and a relatively unknown, underground band called Burning Brides,
KATHLEEN:
Yeah, I’ve never heard of Burning Brides but the band name sounds so pleasant and positive. But I know the other three and I can see the influence they’ve had on your music for sure! And now you got me all curious, you said you have some bands that tie as your second favorite too?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, some people say that I’m cheating and need to pick one but I find that utterly impossible and absurd for someone to tell me otherwise. But yeah, all tied in my number two spot are Modest Mouse, Tool, The Who, The Ramones, The Beatles, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, and a little band none of you have probably ever heard of called Led Zeppelin. (Audience laughs)
KATHLEEN:
Oh yeah, I’ve definitely never heard of them. But there is a killer band that is missing from your list. (short pause) A little band you may not have ever heard of called WYLZ, who used to go by NATE WYLZ & SOUNDZ.
NATE WYLZ:
Who? Oh yeah, I know who you’re talking about. I just never really got into them. Too much of a lack of talent. (all laugh)
KATHLEEN:
Okay, okay. In all seriousness, let’s get back to the topic at hand. Your latest album may be my favorite release of 2022, and I’m not just saying that. You have quite a few songs that I am shocked haven’t taken the world by storm. “Dimension Zed” is funny, deep, poetic and so catchy. The song “Weary”, which might be my favorite track, except “Ozzy Dunn”. There’s the song “You Said” and another one called “Cosmic Art” and what’s that super catchy hard rock one that’s near the beginning of the album, “Faking It”? Yeah, “Faking It” is another one I really enjoyed. I’m not kissing your ass when I say this but you may just have the most poetic, sophisticated and all around best album of the year, and I mean that. Hell, the fact that it hasn’t sold out is insane. And how it went from thousands of plays on streaming to so few is an injustice. One of the reasons I brought you on my show is because I think that people need to know who you are and if there is anything I can do to help you with that, I am proud to do it.
NATE WYLZ:
That means so much, I’d say thank you but those words don’t really encapsulate how that makes me feel. But you know what you could do to help us get our music out there a bit more? You could go buy like, uhh, I don’t know, like 100,000 copies from our website or you could, like, visit all the record stores in the city and buy every copy they have from every single one of them (All laugh)
KATHLEEN:
I wish I could afford to do that for you. I really do.
NATE WYLZ:
You’re so sweet. But yeah the whole issue with the streaming plays was due to all of the music being taken down for a while and re-uploaded. So it had to start back over at zero plays. On certain platforms, it goes back to zero at the end of each month. And most of our sales were from CDs, Vinyl and merch. Which I owe my fans a million thanks for. I am living off of my music and my art and that is just such a relief. I finally have the time to make the art I want to make.
KATHLEEN:
You deserve every bit of it and more. This is only the beginning. But we don’t have much time left so I’d like to ask you a few more quick questions before you have to leave, and it has to do with something you said earlier: You said you had been writing novels your entire life, and that you have one in the works right now?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, I wrote my first novel when I was eight years old and I- –
KATHLEEN:
Oh my God, Are you kidding me? I could barely write my name when I was that age. (audience laughs) I’m kidding. I’m kidding. I may have overexaggerated that just a little bit, but I definitely wasn’t writing stories, or anything else but what I had to write in school.
NATE WYLZ:
(laughs) Yeah my first novel was written when I was eight but I wrote a few short stories even before that. Throughout my life I have written about twenty or so novels, but the book I’m writing now has been a work in progress since 2018. I have spent more time working on this novel than I have spent working on other projects in my life, including the album. Right now I have about six hundred pages ready and I have two chapters left to right, then I have to edit it, read it and make any last minute changes. Then, I will finally be releasing my first published novel, “Involution” (Audience cheers, Kathleen claps).
KATHLEEN:
That is just fantastic. Would you like to tell us a little bit of what it is about?
NATE WYLZ:
Um, not really (laughs) I mean, I kind of want people to know as little as possible about the novel before they go into it. But since people don’t tend to read things they know nothing about, I’ll give you a little taste though.
KATHLEEN:
Aww, how thoughtful. Aren’t we all so special? (All laugh)
NATE WYLZ:
Each chapter is split into a minimum of three parts, each part focusing on one of the three main characters. Some chapters have more parts that follow supporting characters. Each chapter takes on an entirely different format. One may be in third person limited, another in first or second, and third person omniscient. While other chapters are done as a screenplay, a stage play, one chapter is written as a poem. There is one chapter that I wrote in the form of journal entries or letters written by the characters. The story is told in the form of Police Reports, Court Documents and stuff like that. There’s even a chapter where the characters are ripped from the story and into a place full of darkness where they are interviewed by a strange jester-like character.
KATHLEEN:
Wow, has that ever even been done before?
NATE WYLZ:
I’m not sure that it has. But anyways, the story takes place where all my stories have taken place, a fictional city I created as a child called Carkastla (Car-Castle-Ah), but the world is presented as being slightly different than our own world, but only subtly. One major difference is, well, I’m not sure how me saying this is going to go but here it goes …We all live in a world where most people are religious even though there is no real evidence to justify belief in a God, whereas in my novel, most people are atheists even though there is all types of weird supernatural things happening throughout. It’s a dark comedy and a drama, simultaneously. It has a bunch of weird characters who all behave strangely. The three main characters are all dealing with strange circumstances. One of them is a sixty nine year old pregnant woman with a fetus that keeps disappearing and reappearing in her womb. Horus experiences a transcendence of time and space and enters a reality that I choose to say nothing about right now, but when he gets back to his Earthly body, he goes on a quest to determine where he was and what exactly happened, as well as what it all means. The third lead is Agamemnon, and I am sorry but I can’t give any information about his story. It is out of this world, intense, emotional, hilarious, dramatic, mind-bending and I am so proud to have written his character.
KATHLEEN:
I’m already sold. You can rest assured that I will be reading every bit of it. You all heard it yourself. The book is called “Involution” and should be out sometime this year, right? (Nate nods) And we are pretty much out of time but really quick, can you tell me what all you have planned for the year? Or maybe tell me what projects you have in the works?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah no problem. So as I’ve already said, I’ll be releasing an album or EP splitting the sections of Ozzy Dunn into separate tracks. I am about to release another album that is mostly just me and an acoustic guitar, but is entirely a solo album. It’ll be out relatively soon, though I do not have an exact date yet. I’m also releasing a live album that is a collection of songs from the Visionz Tour. I am putting out an EP that is a collaborative effort and is entirely jazz. I wrote the songs, played the clarinet and did all the singing, and some of the guitar work. I am about to start a podcast that discusses a wide range of topics from religiosity, human and animal rights, morality, free will and why I don’t particularly believe that we have it, the tragic history of women’s rights and racism and violence and so much more. I intend for it to be entertaining, educational, eye opening and fun to watch or listen to. I’m currently creating a board game, but with everything else I have going on that may take a little while. Of course I will be releasing Involution as soon as I can. I will be going on tour sometime this Summer. I scored the lead role in a film that is to be shot this Spring as well. I am going to be releasing a book of poetry, and I’ll be taking part in a lot of activism and volunteering. Stuff like helping people with drug addictions, homeless people, people that are recovering from religion, kids that live in poor homes or don’t have the resources or the education they need. I am no longer in college, I’m not going into detail on that though (chuckles), but it has freed my time up a lot more so I can work on all of this stuff. I’m planning on writing my own physics book that teaches some of the most complex things in all of physics in a simple way so that people can understand. And of course I will be working on my health, my body, my mind and my traumas. I will be doing everything I can do to erase the image that I created for myself when I was addicted to drugs and dealing with severe mental illness. And- – umm, yeah I think that’s about it. (laughs)
KATHLEEN:
Damn, boy. You definitely like to keep yourself busy, huh?
NATE WYLZ:
I have to stay busy. I get so many new ideas all the time. I’ve literally written well over six hundred songs throughout my life. And this novel, “Involution”, has been the project I have worked harder on than anything. In fact, when I read over everything I had so far, which I always do before writing the penultimate and the final chapters, but when I read over it, I was overcome with joy, and I was so proud of myself. Possibly more proud of myself than I have ever been before for anything I have ever done in my life. As long as I can finish the book with a quality consistent with everything I have written so far, I think it is safe to say that of all the art I have created, whether it’s music, writing, visual art or anything else, “Involution” may be my greatest work of art, my magnum opus. I don’t expect it to sell well, especially because of how long it will be when it is done. And I don’t even know if anyone that starts reading it will ever finish it because it’s such a strange, out of this world book and with how crazy the first scene of the book is, I can see a lot of people putting it down. But for those few that keep pushing forward and finish the book, I think they will be rewarded for their attentiveness in the end.
KATHLEEN:
Well, that’s it! I’m sold. You have a guaranteed sale from me. How about you guys and gals out there? Are you going to give the book a chance? (Audience cheers aloud) See, Nate? Maybe it will do a bit better than you expect.
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, maybe. Then again, they are probably just saying that because I’m sitting here in front of them (Kathleen chuckles along with the audience)
KATHLEEN:
Well, with that I’m sad to say that our time is up, and I already kind of screwed my next guest out of five minutes of his interview. You were such a joy to talk to, I certainly enjoyed every bit of our discussion nearly as much as I enjoyed your album and will surely go back and listen to your first album. I hope we can get you on the show again sometime, and I wish you all the luck and all the success in the world, and I know you will do well …SHIRLEY!
(Kathleen and Nate share yet another laugh with the audience)
NATE WYLZ:
Thank you so much for having me. I had a lot of fun here tonight. All you have to do is reach out and I will be happy to come back and do this again, as long as my schedule permits.
KATHLEEN:
That’s wonderful to hear. I will take you up on that. (Turns toward the audience) That was Nate Wylz of the bands “NATE WYLZ & SOUNDZ” and “WYLZ”.His latest album, “Transcendental Hallucinationz” is currently available in stores and on streaming platforms. You can expect to see a lot more of Nate in the coming years. With a novel, a podcast, a – -film?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, but it’s just going to be an independent film. But it will be released to the public and we are going to shoot for a theatrical release.
KATHLEEN:
Well how ‘bout that? A film starring this gorgeous young man, an EP, a couple more albums and I hope I’m not missing anything. (Kathleen looks to Nate, who shakes his head “no”) Well that’s it for my first guest of the night! Nate Wylz, I am so glad to have had you on the show and I wish you all the success in the world. Before you go, can you let the audience know how they can find your website?
NATE WYLZ:
Yeah, just try using the internet. That’s usually the best way to find a website. (all laugh) No, no, I’m joking. The website is super easy to type. Natewylzsoundz.com, but if you can’t remember that then just type in my name in the Google search bar and my site will pop right up.
KATHLEEN:
You have a wonderful rest of the night, Nate. Happy New Year and I hope all of your plans for the year unfold with immensely successful results.
NATE WYLZ:
Thank you so much (Kathleen and Nate Wylz shake hands)
KATHLEEN:
Nate Wylz, everybody! Show him some love! (Loud cheers as Nate waves to the audience while making his way off stage)
Transcript from Red X Programs brought to you by Igor Swedy of Red X Magazine.
Interview from the show “The Kathleen Wells Show” of January 7th, 2022.
