Head Wound City is Headed to Detroit

Over 10 years ago, two guys from The Blood Brothers, two from The Locust, and one from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs decided to form a band. They called themselves Head Wound City and they released one EP on Three One G Records. After that, you didn't hear a whole lot from or about this project. Flash forward to 2015, the band gained a Facebook presence, reissued that self titled EP, and soon announced that they were working on a new album. Now, they're getting ready to release that album and hit the road.

Head Wound City features Jordan Blilie on vocals, so right off the bat fans of The Blood Brothers will be hooked. The rest of the band is rounded out by Nick Zinner and Cody Votolato on guitar, Justin Pearson on bass, and Gabe Serbian behind the drum set. When this band first formed, all of the members were hard at work with their aforementioned bands. Over the years they all also had other projects, such as Past Lives, Jaguar Love and Retox, just to name a few. The list of bands that these five guys have either been a part of or worked with is insane! With Head Wound City, all of the members are bringing their influences to the table, creating a sound that definitely has traces of their grind and hardcore roots.

The new LP, A New Waive of Violence, is set to be released on Friday, May 13th via Vice Records. In addition to the digital copy, it's also available on vinyl. You can order your copy here. The band already premiered one song, "Born to Burn" on Noisey and they released a music video for the track "Scraper" a couple of months ago. Give that a watch below.

As most bands do, Head Wound City has planned a tour in support of this new release. They've already hit stages on the West Coast and now it's time for them to makes stops throughout the rest of the US and head into Canada. This next leg of their tour only features about a dozen dates, and Detroit is lucky enough to have one of those. They will be playing at The Shelter on Monday, May 16th. Before they head to Detroit, we had a chance to ask front man Jordan Blilie a few questions via email. Read ahead to see what he had to say about HWC, the new album, and touring. 

Photo Credit: Dan Rawe

HID- For our readers that have never heard your music before, how would you describe your band?

Jordan Blilie- "I usually just say we're a hardcore/punk band."

HID- You guys actually formed Head Wound City back in 2005. Why did you decide to revive this band after about 10 years?
Jordan- "Nick was asked to curate the music for a festival here in Echo Park called Bedrock Fest and reached out to see if we'd be interested in playing. We'd all kept in touch over the years and had toyed around with the idea of playing again, but our schedules never seemed to align right. This time we were all free and excited for the opportunity to play together again."

HID- How and why did you guys all start playing music together anyways? All of you come from bands that were pretty amazing in their own way, but I don't think many people would have expected members of The Blood Brothers, The Locust, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to join forces.
Jordan- "We all knew each other from playing shows and touring together. At the time, our primary bands were all writing, recording and touring quite heavily. We were looking to do a quick, fun project that could take us away from the rigors of full-time band life for a bit. Basically a vacation band. So we got together in San Diego for a week and wrote and recorded an EP."

HID- Since you guys were all in successful bands in the past, how does it feel to start from scratch again, playing smaller venues and trying to get your band's name out there? I imagine it's easier this time around since you're already well known individually in the music world.
Jordan- "We're all fortunate to have had those experiences with our prior bands when we were younger. Right now, we're in completely different places in our lives. We have families, work, other projects, etc. So we just play when our schedules allow, so there's no real expectations or pressure, which is refreshing. It's nice when the only real goal is to have fun playing together."

HID- Tell us about the new album. Where did you guys record it? What can fans expect?
Jordan- "Like last time, we spent about a week writing in San Diego. We recorded it at our producer Ross Robinson's house in Venice, CA; the basic tracks and overdubs were done in about 10 days. I took those and wrote all my lyrics and vocal parts and ended up working with Ross one on one for a little over a month. The bulk of that time was just getting my voice in shape. He wanted me to sound like I'd been on tour for three weeks, so I just went to his place every day and sang until my voice blew out. I'm very proud of how it turned out. I think it takes the basic DNA of what we did before and adds much more depth and focus. It feels fully-realized, like a proper album."

HID- So you'll be out on the road for about two weeks. What are you looking forward to most while on tour?
Jordan- "Most of the tour is with Savages, so I'm looking forward to seeing them play every night. I'm looking forward to spending time with my band and visiting some cities I haven't been to in a long time."

HID- What are you not looking forward to?
Jordan- "Being away from my family."

HID- What will you be listening to while you're on the road?
Jordan- "New Drake. Old Drake."

HID- You've been to Detroit a time or two in the past. Do you have any favorite places to visit while you're in town?
Jordan- "I can't really recall, it's been so long. Most of my favorite places on tour are restaurants, so I'm hoping to find something good."

HID- What can fans expect at the show at The Shelter?
Jordan- "It'll be fun. I'll probably wear my jean jacket."

HID- Is there anything else that you want our readers to know?
Jordan- "Bring food I'll be hungry."


Personally, we can't wait to see Jordan and his jean jacket on stage again! Joining Head Wound City for the Detroit date are local favorites Terrible Twos and Braidedveins. Tickets for Monday's show are only $16 and can be purchased in advance here. All ages are welcome to attend and doors are set to open at 7 p.m.

Thanks to our friends at Live Nation Detroit we are also giving away one pair of tickets to this show! If you would like to see Head Wound City for free, just send your first and last name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with HWC in the subject line. We will draw one lucky winner on Monday morning and they will get in to the show with a friend for free.

This is a definitely a lineup that you do not want to miss! So buy your tickets now or send your name in for that drawing. Either way, make sure you're at The Shelter on Monday night!

~C