Interview with The Infamists: ‘Our songs don’t really start with an appetizer, we get straight to the entrée!’

The Infamists, who describe themselves as ‘a trio of dragon riders from Texas who play rock ‘n’ roll tunes that fermented in a bottle from Robert Johnson’s liquor cabinet’, will release their fourth album ‘Live Evil’ on 7 April.

The band comprises Riley Rogers (vocals and guitar), Spencer Wharton (bass and vocals) and Ryan Weiss (drums). Rogers describes them jokingly as a ‘Craigslist band’: ‘Spencer and I were both on Craigslist (an American classified advertisements website). I had just moved to North Texas from Amarillo and I didn’t really know anyone here. We both had ads up looking for bandmates, so I went to his college dormitory and it started from there. It’s weird how the landscape of technology and ways to meet people has changed since 2012 – I still had a flip phone back then and haven’t used Craigslist at all since. Ryan wasn’t our first drummer but he did join that first year and the current lineup has been solitary since then.’

Their name has a historical significance: ‘A lot of bands have cool or insightful reasons for how they chose their name – we really don’t,’ Rogers said. ‘I was 20 when the band started and a history student. There’s a speech by FDR (President Franklin D. Roosevelt) about Pearl Harbor where he talks about it being a day of ‘infamy’. I studied that speech in history class and the word ‘infamy’ stuck with me – it just sounded like something I could theme a band name around. I started to think about how we could make it a band name and use it in a plural way to represent all three of us, like “The Beatles” or “The Doors”. It’s also sort of an ironic name considering that the three of us aren’t very threatening… at all! We are probably the least dangerous rock band of all time, so there’s some irony in the name for you!’

The three of them live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and went to the University of North Texas, a school known for having a prestigious jazz program, although none of them went there to study music. ‘Spencer and I were history majors and Ryan was studying TV/Radio/Film. So yeah, three non-music majors who met on Craigslist and don’t have more than a parking ticket on their permanent records. None of us have tattoos. My mom still cuts my hair and I’m 30 years old. Pretty infamous, huh?! (laughs).’

They’ve built up a reputation as an exhilarating live band over the years, something that has fed into their upcoming album Live Evil: ‘It reads the same backwards as it does forwards, what do you call that? (a palindrome),’ Rogers said. ‘The message is don’t be afraid to have a little fun, be a bit selfish, or live a little evil. I guess, don’t hesitate to be a little infamous yourself? Eat the carbs, buy the concert tickets you can’t afford, have another beer, whatever (laughs)!’ The album will include 10 tracks, including the four recent singles ‘Sexual Fun Time Groove Machine’, ‘Spectral Mistress’, ‘Heavy On My Mind’ and ‘Snakeskin Woman’. He describes the unreleased title track ‘Live Evil’ as ‘a pretty standard hard rocker, lots of chuggy guitars and slamming drums’. 

‘It was mechanical like a machine: sexy, fun and funky’

Last month, they released their brilliantly titled single ‘Sexual Fun Time Groove Machine’, which is as playful and energetic as the title suggests and would be brilliant on a 70’s TV show. There’s an intriguing spacey synth at the beginning that Weiss found on his sample pad, with phaser and wah effects pedals throughout the song. It’s a glorious mix of psych rock and glam rock with lots of swagger, and a pinch of disco, culminating in a really hooky, driving guitar solo around two minutes in.

‘This one is more of a mature themed one, all in fun,’ Rogers said laughing. ‘Spencer came up with the title. He likes to give me prompts and then I see if I can use it to find something relatable to write about. This was one of his song titles that he was really fond of, and we had a riff that we were working on before COVID but we never sat down and actually made a song out of it. I was house sitting for someone last year, so I took my guitar with me for the five days out in the wilderness where this house was. I had that riff still recorded on my phone and decided to revisit it, I just thought: “This riff really needs to be a song, it’s too much fun to play”. The song title seemed to fit with that riff really well, it was mechanical like a machine: sexy, fun and funky.’

The lyricism is where he tries ‘to stump people a little bit’: ‘A lot of rock songs are about sex, it’s a pretty generic and dated theme. I thought: “What’s something sexual that I can write about that’s funny and not just another sleazy rock song?” Ultimately, I decided to degrade the protagonist of the song, which would be a male character. It’s about the experience of not getting it up… erectile dysfunction (laughs). I really want you to take a ride on the sexual fun time groove machine – if it will even start! At first glance, it might come off as just another generic song about shagging but the protagonist is actually going through some humiliation, which I think is a fun twist. There’s a line in it: “I only do one night stands because I never get another chance”. So yeah, it’s actually pretty embarrassing, depending on your point of view. Hopefully no dudes that listen to it have a fragile ego (laughs).’

As the track kicks off: “Full throttle, turbo charged, I just hope this damn thing even starts. Shifting gears, overdrive, I promise you this doesn’t happen every time.”

‘SFTGM has these big, powerful rock chords and some disco-oriented effects: lots of phasers, strings, wah pedals’

‘Sexual Fun Time Groove Machine’ turns out to have been inspired by Sweet’s ‘Fox On The Run’: ‘It’s one of my favorite songs,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘I was listening to that song a lot around that time and it was definitely an influence on the song. SFTGM has these big, powerful rock chords and some disco-oriented effects: lots of phasers, strings, wah pedals, as well as auxillary drum effects. It was a fun guitar solo to write too, I think I wrote it in one afternoon and it stays the same note for note when we play it live. Recording is always fun because I can take a few additional liberties that we can’t do live, like putting in some guitar harmonies or layering up on the rhythm tracks.’

The artwork for the single is a brilliant psychedelic 70’s style drawing of a woman in white boots lying across a yellow VW Beatle and I ask him who did it: ‘Rich Miflin did the artwork, his Instagram is @richpmiflin. Spencer handles finding artists for most of our artwork. Rich has a cool vintage style, I can imagine him doing a really good pin up girl.’

I ask him what his dream guitar would be: ‘I stick with the classic guitar shapes like Les Pauls, SGs, Flying Vs, Strats, etc. Lately, I’ve been playing a Telecaster a lot. If money were no object, my dream guitar would probably be something like the first 1958 Gibson Korina Flying V ever made. It would have to be a historic guitar that was the first of its kind!’

‘As a kid, I wanted to be a screenwriter or author’

Their exuberance and personality comes across in the music, as does Rogers’ love of a good story, which dates back to his high school days: ‘Our personality is a big part of how we market ourselves,’ he said. ‘In high school, I was really into journalism. I would write these articles that were edgy and provocative for the high school newspaper. Sometimes the principle would call me in and say I was pushing it a little too far (laughs). At least I was getting other kids to read the school newspaper for a change! I have family members who are also journalists. As a kid, I wanted to be a screenwriter or author and I’ve always enjoyed writing. As a band, we try to put a fun spin on the things we post on social media so that it doesn’t come across as just another band that’s promoting something. I try to post things that are funny or genuine and I think a lot of people can relate to the band in a personal way because I’m being real with them. Sometimes, there isn’t even an agenda behind our posts, maybe we just have a cool picture from our last show and I had enough coffee that morning to think of a good caption that might make our fans laugh.’

One thing they excel at is writing massive intros that hit you from the start. That’s particularly true of one of their heaviest songs ‘Snakeskin Woman’, which explodes with a heavy, scuzzy riff verging on metal. The hooky guitar tone comes from a cranked Marshall Plexi amplifier, a cranked Hi Watt amplifier and a couple of Flying Vs with some wah pedal and flanger effects: ‘I like getting to the point pretty quick when it comes to intros (laughs). I haven’t been fond of waiting around for a song to pick up, as a listener I want the punch to come pretty early on,’ he said. ‘If you listen to the Dio song ‘Holy Diver’, the intro is over a minute long before the song really kicks off – I hate that intro but it’s a great song overall. Our songs don’t really start with an appetizer, we get straight to the entrée!’

Rogers addresses criticisms they’ve had as a band: ‘We occassionally get criticised for being a bit formulaic, but I think it’s a fair criticism. I don’t get offended by it and I’m usually pretty self-aware of things like that. My singing needed some work for a long time, I am always trying to get better and I think you can hear the difference from album to album. I am very fortunate to have bandmates who are willing to grow with me,’ he said. ‘Personally, I have a touch of the OCD so sometimes having a verse-chorus-verse structure helps me just get the song down, especially when it is still in its infant stage. I guess the way we structure songs can be a little predictable, but I’ve never heard anyone say that we don’t have enough fun or that we’re boring to watch. We have a lot of fun on stage, I think that’s one of our greatest strengths. Maybe the song structure can be boring but the showmanship is definitely there every time.’

‘This album stands out to me a lot because it shows that we actually learned from all the lessons and mistakes we went through when making the earlier ones’

‘Snakeskin Woman’ turns out to have been inspired by his girlfriend: ‘At the time, she was seeing another guy but he was treating her pretty horribly,’ he said. ‘I basically told her: “If you ever leave him, at least you’ve got me”. She ultimately ended up leaving him and here we are! The song is about her metaphorically sinking the venom into this guy who’s abusive to her. It’s about getting away from whatever oppresses you.’

As the track goes: “Fight or flight, serpent. What is your verdict? Held back all this time. You have learned to walk. Now just grow a spine.”

He does, however, take care to make songs interesting lyrically: ‘I obviously rhyme a lot in the lyrics we write but I do take some extra care to find interesting vocabulary,’ he said. ‘If the song is at the first grade reading level, I at least try to bump it up to second grade (laughs).’ His songwriting has also changed over the years: ‘This album stands out to me a lot because it shows that we actually learned from all the lessons and mistakes we went through when making the earlier ones,’ he said. ‘I’m sure we’ll learn how to do something better because of this one, too. Many of our songs used to be driven by the guitar first but now the songwriting has evolved to focus more on the vocal melody. Usually, in the bridge sections, I’ll back off the microphone for a bit so we can do something more intricate with the instruments.’

‘We could play every song from the album live and all three of us would have fun doing it because all of us had a hand in writing every song that went into it’

‘Spectral Mistress’ started out as just a vocal melody that Wharton had and they wrote the rest of the song around it: ‘Most of the time, one of us will write a skeleton of the song and then if everyone likes it we’ll add the bridge, outro, intro, transitions, etc together,’ Rogers said. ‘If one of us has an idea, they will write maybe a third of the song and if everyone is enthusiastic about the idea, we’ll finish it together. I haven’t written a song completely by myself in years. In the past, we used to all be married to our own ideas and we were a little too territorial about what we had written individually, but now we’re more honest with each other and can just say: “Nah, that idea doesn’t really resonate with me, what else have you got?!”. I think you get better results when you are honest with your bandmates and don’t take things too personally when they don’t like one of your ideas, especially when it’s a collaborative effort. This record is a good example of that, we could play every song from the album live and all three of us would have fun doing it because all of us had a hand in writing every song that went into it. It’s “our” album – there are no hired guns in our band.’

Rogers’ introduction to music has an endearing backstory: ‘When I was a kid, I played the euphonium in middle school band,’ he said. ‘I took piano lessons, too, but I didn’t vibe with it a whole lot. One day, I was watching the movie “Joe Dirt” (an American comedy starring David Spade) and there is a scene where he is being interviewed by a radio DJ. The DJ accuses Joe Dirt of listening to Leif Garrett and Joe says, “No sir man, I don’t like that crap! I’m a rocker dude, through and through. Here’s my favourite bands: AC/DC, Van Halen, not Van Hagar, Skynyrd, Def Lep”. I was maybe 10 years old and I watched that movie probably 200 times! That soundtrack was such a huge influence on me. The film gets such horrible reviews but I thought it was just the funniest thing in the world.’

That set him on his musical path: ‘I thought: “My dad has all these records that Joe Dirt likes”, so I started going through my dad’s record collection. The main one I discovered was ‘Highway to Hell’, and I still think it’s just the perfect classic rock guitar record. AC/DC gets a lot of hate these days but I’ve never heard someone play just a simple “A” chord with the same power that Malcolm Young could. My dad’s music taste was probably my biggest influence. I remember he would come home from work as a mechanic, crack open a beer, and crank up ‘Cat Scratch Fever’ while I jumped around on the bed playing air guitar!’

‘Finding something that really makes your head turn, ‘Highway to Hell’ did that to me’

Those early inspirations still resonate with him today: ‘There’s something about the first stuff you ever hear that just leaves its mark on you,’ he said. ‘Finding something that really makes your head turn, ‘Highway to Hell’ did that to me. I was drawn to that record because that was the only one my dad said I wasn’t allowed to listen to, so of course that made me want to listen to it even more! The first CD I ever bought with my own money was Human Clay by Creed. Obviously, my friends make fun of me a lot for that one (laughs). The most recent band that really shifted my consciousness was The Sword, a heavy stoner rock band from Texas. Their music is like Sabbath on steroids. They made me dive head first into heavier music and now that type of sound is a big part of what The Infamists do, at least for some of our songs. The Sword basically reignited my interest in heavy music all over again when I was in my early 20’s.’

He jokes that he ‘probably has the most generic, boring music taste’: ‘I spend so much time making and playing music that I really don’t listen to it as much as I should. I always look forward to having a long car ride ahead of me, that’s when I really try to listen to something new or discover different bands. I really don’t have a refined music taste, all of my favorite bands you have definitely heard of before,’ he said. 

Church camp when he was around 12 was also a life changing event for him, although not in the way you might expect: ‘I didn’t really want to go and I ended up making a friend there named Travis. He was the only other kid there with long hair and a black t-shirt, so obviously we were going to be friends,’ he quipped. ‘The youth band that played at this camp was pretty terrible. Travis had a black Gibson SG that he had brought from home, it looked like the guitar the devil would play and I was surprised they let him bring it (laughs). He knew every AC/DC song, especially all the ones about going to hell. I thought he was so much cooler than the youth band! That next summer, I bought my first guitar from Wal-Mart and immediately called Travis to ask how I should get started. He and I are still friends today, I went to his wedding and he even made me a leather guitar strap and mailed it to me. It’s a fun story; I basically went to church camp to try and love Jesus but I ended loving rock ‘n’ roll instead! I think that’s the opposite of what sending your kid to church camp is supposed to do (laughs).’

‘The chorus vocals are some of my favorite on the record’

The single ‘Heavy on my Mind’ really showcases the band’s variety in influences with its jangly guitars and sturdy beat: ‘The title is pretty obvious but it’s about loss or losing someone because they gave back in to their vices,’ he said. ‘I really love how the guitars have a bit more of a clean bite on this one, maybe this one is more palatable for people who don’t just want a big fuzzy riff (laughs). Some people have said it sounds a bit like The Strokes, The Police or The Killers. The chorus vocals are some of my favourite on the record – we added some extra layers, harmonies, and had a few of our friends come in to do guest vocals as well. All of the songs on the album have their own sonic place, this one isn’t as aggressive as some of the others. I wouldn’t call it a ballad or anything, but you definitely won’t get grounded by your parents for listening to it (laughs).’

If he could go for a drink with any musician, he is torn as to who to pick: ‘Part of me wants to say just one of my favourite guitarists,’ he said. ‘There’s a documentary about Lemmy where I think he asks Dave Grohl if he’d like a Jack Daniels. Dave thought he meant just a shot, but Lemmy hands him an entire fifth of Jack! Maybe I would say Lemmy just because I know I’d get the most booze out of the encounter (laughs). If you’re gonna have a drink with someone, it might as well be a few! Or maybe just somebody who’s similar to us and has been through some of the same challenges. A good conversation might be about what can I do better or how to navigate the challenges that bands are currently facing. It definitely wouldn’t be my former youth group leader from church camp (laughs)!’

Brilliantly for them, three of their tracks were used in a movie a few years ago called “Run the Tide”, directed by Taylor Lautner of “Twilight” fame: ‘Taylor also plays a character in “Run the Tide” and there is a scene where he and some kid are running away from their abusive mom, and they stop at a gas station to get their car fixed,’ Rogers said. ‘The music the mechanic is listening to on the radio when they pull up in this scene is our music! My bandmates and I actually found a theatre that was playing the film in our area – there was only one in all of DFW – and we went to see it. It was basically just us in the theatre and the movie was pretty bad. But hey, at least we got in a movie! It was a cool experience for a young band.’

(Top photo from left to right: Riley, Spencer and Ryan. Photo credit: Bane Cook Photography.)