It would be impossible not to recognize the massive impact Seattle has on generations of music. Since the city’s infamous birth of grunge, thousands of bands have tried rising amongst the iconic grunge stars. Try as they must, not all bands have what it takes to leave a mark on music history and surpass the legacies of former Seattle superstars. Alex Vile, however, pushes limitations and proves their worth with their new single ‘Stainless’ and the announcement of a tour on the West Coast.
Amidst the local music scene, Alex Vile has emerged as a four-piece modern indie-grunge band. Initially starting as a solo project led by singer and guitarist Alexandra Vile, the band now comprises four members; Kaelyn Stevens on bass, Leo Quale on lead guitar, and Evan Hartung on drums. Drawing inspiration from midwest emo bands such as Title Fight and Modern Baseball, as well as Foo Fighters’ superstar drummer Dave Grohl, Alex Vile has honed its sound into a beautiful blend of disheveled perfection.
‘Stainless,’ the band’s seventh single, was released earlier today, Oct. 20. The song features moody lyrics, authentic vocals, and flawlessly distorted instrumentals. Hartung dissects the bridge of the song, which debuts Stevens’ vocals as she sings, “I can’t be the one that you wanted.”
“I interpret it as like both character’s mental struggle with being with each other and knowing that it’s not right and not healthy, but continuing to do it anyway,” Hartung says, “because that happier part of your brain says that it’s the thing that you want.”
Vile directs to the verse line “Wishing for summer snow” as she analyses her own interpretation of the song.
“You’re wishing for something that’s not going to happen,” Vile says, “but you’re holding on to it and trying to help somebody.”
Dissatisfied with unfruitful writing sessions and struggling to create enough songs, the band shares how the instrumental aspects of ‘Stainless’ came to fruition.
“It came from us trying to get those emotions out a little bit, trying to take that out with writing something serious,” Hartung said. “I guess we were more inspired by what was going on around us than a specific sound at the moment.”
Alex Vile announces their West Coast Run ’23 tour with six upcoming shows in Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and ending back in Seattle.
“I’m just excited for us all to be together, be in the same band, and play show after show without having to go to work in between,” Vile said. “We can just be in the grind of playing shows.”
After performing in various venues across the Seattle music scene, the band is now embarking on their very first official tour, and they couldn’t be more thrilled about it.
“Whenever I see a new band or a local band go on tour, they always come back sounding so much better than they have before, and it’s because they played every night for a week, two weeks, or whatever it is,” Hartung said. ” I’m so excited to end this tour back in Seattle at Freak Out! Fest because we will just be so tight with our songs.”
With the release of ‘Stainless’ and the announcement of the tour, Vile pledges her dedication to the band, saying, “We’re not planning on stopping anytime soon.”
“We have a lot of songs recorded that aren’t released,” Vile said. “If you’re interested in our music, there’s going to be a consistent cycle of new videos and new songs being put out.”
From playing sad indie songs on the ukulele to achieving their current success, the grunge band has come a long way.
“Grunge isn’t just a sound it’s a mentality, and I think all of us are in the same position that we want to be doing this for the rest of our lives,” Hartung says, “so we’re going to make it work.”
Alex Vile shares what they want fans to know and take away from their band.
“I want people to know that we’re doing this because we love this and not because of weird reasons,” Stevens said.
“We don’t take it too seriously, but we just love doing it. Also, my last note, start a band,” Vile said. “If you don’t have anything to do with your life if you don’t want to go to college, don’t go to college, start a band. You won’t make any money, but it will make you so happy.”
“If you listen online and like our music, we have so much more at our shows that are not posted online that you can hear for your first time,” Quale said. “Come meet us we want to say hi.”
Upcoming tour dates:
Oct. 20- Seattle, WA at The Blue Room
Oct. 26- Santa Cruz, CA at Oracle Lounge
Oct. 27- Fresno, CA at The Blue Lagoon
Oct. 28- San Francisco, CA at Psyched! Fest
Oct. 29- Templeton, CA at Club Car Bar
Nov. 5- Seattle, WA at Freakout! Fest