Interview with Way Of Life

"And the world awaits" Way Of Life – by Mel in Toronto

This talented five-piece Canadian band's way of life is driven by hard work, great aspirations, and great talent, resulting in an outstanding rock/metal fusion dominated by heavy riffs, nested drums and powerful vocals. "We want to be big and we want to sell millions of records," Michael, lead singer of Way Of Life says. And with all that talent combined in one band, they have all the reasons in the world to aim high.

The strong rhythm section and the two lead guitarists create an amazing full-bodied sound that captivates you right from the start. Way Of Life is from Windsor, Ontario, and comprised of Michael Green (lead vocals), Shawn Walstedt (lead and rhythm guitar), Nathan Walstedt (lead and rhythm guitar), Dennis Fox (Bass), and Andrew Jarvis (drums).

Having two brothers in a band is always something special: "It was definitely a massive improvement when Shawn brought his brother into the band. Shawn needed a guitarist who could keep up with him and he definitely made the right decision in asking Nathan. The energy is more positive and I get so excited watching the Walstedt brothers perform alongside each other. They write the most amazing pieces and there are no egos, which is incredible. No competition. They are very selfless and gracious guitarists and songwriters," Michael says.

Michael's curious mind is responsible for the lyrics. "Inspiration for me definitely comes out of hunger. I listen to a lot of different styles of music which give me ideas lyrically or on a rhythmic level. A great song can inspire me to pick up the guitar and start messing around, and usually something will come out of that. A number of things, really: could be a great movie, score, song, or even a conversation I'm having." And sometimes, it even can be an interview "I feel like writing right now," Michael concludes. In general his lyrics are about "war, salvation, the corruption in this world, power and knowledge, I write about whatever moves me, whether it be in a positive or negative way."

Way Of Life write their music together: "Everyone has a hand in the development of the music. Anyone of us can come in with an idea or a riff and then it builds from there with everyone's input. It's an amazing process and can be more exciting than the gigs sometimes," Michael says. This excitement definitely translates into great and complex music.

Michael gives us an insight of how they developed some of their songs. For THIS EMPIRE Dennis brought the bass line in, GLIMPSE is still a work in progress; INERTIA is "one of my personal favourites. The opening riff was something Nathan had lying around for quite some time and we finally wrote it. Brilliant track!" And DRIVEN was "the first track we wrote all five of us together. One of our favourite live songs and it always goes down a storm," Michaels says.

The band is a tight unit delivering outstanding live performances: "I love hearing the boys play. It's an honour to sing with them…. I like to sweat and I like to work hard." To get a flavour of their energetic live performances, make sure you check out the video on their profile. The future definitely looks bright for Way Of Life, and Michael says that their "first album is going to turn our world upside down, we truly believe that. And the world awaits…"

"In your own words" – ONE on ONE with Mel and Michael

Mel: Which opportunities do you see with indieSolo?

Michael: Well, it's an amazing opportunity for some great exposure. Just being able to reach a broader audience is massive for us. It would be fantastic to hear from someone in the industry on some level, so we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Mel: Who are your influences?

Michael: I grew up on late ‘60's and early ‘70's stuff like Zeppelin, Sabbath, Aerosmith, even Elvis and some Beatles. That was quite early on in my childhood. As I got older, my folks were listening to the "big" bands of the ‘80's like Leppard, Bon Jovi, and AC/DC records with Brian Johnson. Now, what influences me is just a great record or a good song. It doesn't necessarily have to be a rock tune, but usually that's what gets me excited.

Mel: What would you like to achieve with your music?

Michael: Well, it would be an obvious dream to be able to be successful enough to play in Way Of Life for a living. We all have day jobs, (some are worse than others) and it's a constant fantasy to someday perform all over the world.

Mel: Which artist would you like to record a song with and why?

Michael: That's a tough one as well! I have my own personal artists that it would be an honour to work with, but as a band? I don't know. It might come down to working with a producer we all admire as supposed to an artist. We all like Adam Dutkiewicz from Killswitch Engage. He gets a great sound sonically for his band. I like Andy Sheap who mixed the new Megadeth album, "United Abominations". He seems to have his name attached to a lot of great records lately; Steve Thompson as well.

Mel: How important is Internet marketing for you?

Michael: Extremely. Contacting the entire city about a show or any kind of update is right at your fingertips! With a click of a mouse, you can send notices to thousands of people. Also, we've gotten great responses from labels, producers, management agencies and so forth all thanks to the Internet. It's opened a lot of doors for us. Like this indieSolo feature!

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Way Of Life Tickets may be available from TicketScene