A conversation with Guinevere Q from The Wyatt Act
We recently had a conversation with The Wyatt Act. Guinevere Q responded on the behalf of The Wyatt Act.
Twist Online : How did “The Wyatt Act” start?
The Wyatt Act : Guinevere Q and Jason Young Sun have been hosting open mics and variety shows around San Francisco for many years. Breakfast came to play an open mic at “Brainwash” and we all immediately became friends. We started hanging out and becoming involved in the Occupy Movement in 2011. Originally, Guinevere Q would perform poetry over music. Our first gig was at a poetry show. We love poetry and rock & roll! We needed a trumpet player. Breakfast met Karissa through the Brass Liberation Orchestra, San Francisco’s protest band. We started playing music together and developed a unique style.
Twist Online : Our readers would like to know about your band members and their role in the band.
The Wyatt Act :
Guinevere Q (No Big Fucking Deal) – Vocals & Bass
Breakfast – Saxophone, Keys, Keytar, Vocals
Jason Young Sun – Drums & Vocals
Karissa McKelvey aka Captain KMac – Trumpet & Vocals
Featuring Seth “Switchy Pants” Lael on Guitar in the Hyde St. Studios recording of “20 Motherfuckers”
Twist Online : Tell us about your recent release “20 Motherfuckers”
The Wyatt Act: We wrote this song as a response the housing crisis in the San Francisco Bay Area. We first performed it live at the street corner of 16th and Mission for the Thursday Night Poetry and Music gathering outside at the BART station.
https://thewyattact.bandcamp.com/
Twist Online : What kind of response has it received so far?
The Wyatt Act : We’re very grateful to say that it has been well-received! Annie Bacon of SF Critic wrote, “’20 Motherfuckers’ speaks to the heart of being an artist in San Francisco through the last bunch of years, as the streets have increasingly emptied of the beautiful freaks who once defined the arts scene, replaced by people staring at their phones. It’s partly, but never completely angry and outraged. The anger is tempered by its own playfulness. It’s the kind of song that reminds you that smashing the system can be energizing and fun too.” RocksFanzine rated “20 Motherfuckers” Top 5. JamSphere compared us to Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, and Primus. Lex Talks Music wrote, “what happens when you mash up slam poetry, comedy, and rock ‘n’ roll? You might just get ‘The Wyatt Act’. They’re a unique band with a distinct sound and character, electrifying performances, and interdisciplinary roots.”
Twist Online : What do you enjoy more, performing on stage or working in studios?
The Wyatt Act : Stage! We love to put on high-energy, theatrical shows that engage the audience. There’s nothing like the rush of a live performance! We appreciate the opportunity to draw on the 3 principles of SlamRock :
1. Spontaneity
2. Variety
3. Put on a fucking show!
Twist Online : You created your own genre of music. What is SlamRock?
The Wyatt Act : Street-corner style poetry meets transgressive rock. SlamRock is a philosophy, a lifestyle, an attitude, a swagger. SlamRock is a reaction to a society of detached, automatic, alienated, civilized play-acts. SlamRock values process over product and interaction over isolation.
Twist Online : Have you set some goals to achieve as a band?
The Wyatt Act : Our goals are to create themed shows to connect people with super fun parties in a wild and irreverent way, write PSAs about practical life advice, such as safely using drugs, and to endorse Breakfast as Chancellor of the United States of America. This is a political position that does not yet exist. The Wyatt Act officially endorses the following campaign speech by Breakfast :
As the Let’s Party candidate for Chancellor, I may say things that I don’t mean in order to get elected. Some of the things I say may be totally untrue, perhaps deliberately, perhaps accidentally. When that happens, I am merely misspeaking. I wouldn’t say that I’m dishonest or ill-informed, because those are different words, words that would paint me in a bad light and threaten my candidacy.
Principles are important, but getting elected is more important. What good are principles without power? If it becomes expedient to promise people the moon, I will vow to fight with every fiber of my being to bring the moon, wholly or in pieces, to the Earth to be distributed to the American people once I am in office, knowing full well that this is neither possible nor desirable. If people are worried about outsiders coming to take their jobs or lives or land, I will promise to build a protective wall around every individual American citizen. For ease of access, one side of each person’s enclosure will be a series of strong and sturdy vertical steel bars with a locked door in the middle. I will promise this if it makes people feel more secure and, more pointedly, gets me more of those all-important votes that I need to defeat my opponent, whose every word has a sinister implication and whose every action has an ulterior motive.
The Let’s Party stands for togetherness and against party pooping. It is a celebration, a reminder to focus on what it means to be alive. It’s an invitation to pin tails on donkeys, on the asses that are so abundant in the human landscape. It stands for nothing in particular, for anything you want it to, for something inexpressible, for everything that is. The Let’s Party has official positions a far wider range of issues than most policy makers would think to consider, from neutrinos (anti-social) to electrons (unfairly accused of being negative). The Let’s Party will get your hopes up. The Let’s Party will show you a better time than any other party. The Let’s Party’s promises are as much of a fantasy as anyone else’s, but our smoke and mirrors are real, and we have a killer light show.
Breakfast for Chancellor
Chance You Can Believe In
Twist Online : Are you working on any new projects?
The Wyatt Act : We are self-producing our own events with comedians and poets and lots of audience participation. Think wacky game show meets protest party. We will be playing a “House Meeting” benefit for the San Francisco Tenants Union complete with a chore wheel, legal advice about housing rights, Roommate Interviews, games and prizes! We will also be playing “Mutual Masterdebates” at Mutiny Radio on April 8th. This is an experimental show with comedians, poets, improve games and prizes! It will be live-streamed and absolutely hilarious 🙂
www.thewyattact.com
