First off, tell us about the name Five Wheel Drive?
There are five of us. We were listening to a song by Gorkiy Park called “Five Wheel Drive” one day and came up with this name.
How would you describe the band’s sound?
We play blues and rock and roll.
Which bands influenced Five Wheel Drive when you got started?
Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones
What prompted the band to reform after 20 years apart?
We stayed in touch all this time and we really wanted to re-record our first album from 1998. But when we got together we recorded some new songs. It was very cool to get back together after all these years.
What is your songwriting process? How does the music come together?
When all five of us get together in the same room or studi0 and start playing, songwriting process starts. We usually create music first and later come up with some lyrics. After you play a song for some time you can get vibe of it and transform it into lyrics
How do you hope to connect with the listeners of your music?
This is all new to us. In 1998 we didn’t have internet and the only way to promote was playing concerts and face to face meeting with the fans. We were very much surprised when just after a week of the new release just on Spotify we collected almost a thousand followers with over 100 thousand clicks. I guess there is a way to connect now without even doing concerts. So right now we do all sorts of promotions on social media.
Share some advice for getting a band back together after years apart?
There is really no science in this or logic. We made a commitment that if we perform as Five Wheel Drive it has to be five of and it has to be an original line up. If one musician wouldn’t come, there would be no Five Wheel Drive. And we came to the studio from all around the world and it all happened in one month. I guess each of us had this drive to stay together and create music.
Give us a look at the future of Five Wheel Drive?
Well. We didn’t think that this gig would bring so much success to us, so we didn’t plan much. But now, we are looking at all sorts of options for the future. Of course, we live through uncertain times now, but since we took on this ride, we definitely will come up with new stuff.
Website coming soon HERE.