“We are like a community of music lovers…” - The Collection Interview
September 30, 2024We were quite fortunate to get the chance to meet up with David Wimbish of the Asheville, NC band The Collection. He is as genuine and authentic as he was kind-hearted and we were blessed to have spent the night chatting on all things music, mental health, and memories. Massive thanks and gratitude to everyone over at The Collection camp for making this night happen. Core memories were made that night.
Thank you for taking the time out to sit and chat with us before your performance at World Cafe Live. How has the reception of this tour been to that of previous ones?
David Wimbish: It feels like people are really engaged, which I feel grateful for. I don’t know how it happened, but I feel like we have a fanbase that is emotionally engaged with us. They come wanting to emotionally express and wanting to be a part of something. And I think this record helps that be true, just because of what that is about. It’s been a lot of people who have been able to come and talk about their mental health and the spaces they’ve been in. Yeah, and it feels like warm and communal and it doesn’t feel like “yeah, we are in a band and here’s fans.”
Meg Duong: Yeah I agree, and I feel the same way about a lot of artists especially this band too. It’s like you come in and you have a community of people and it feels good. And especially in this city (Philadelphia), there’s a lot of really great aspects of music and community. You have fans that show up to 3 or 4 dates. And then you have fans that have been there since day 1. And like you said, it doesn’t feel like you’re a band — and it feels like you’re in a room full of friends.
David: Yeah, totally.
You guys have such a loyal fan-base that come out to support you all with such ferocity. How does that make you feel that your music impacts the masses in such a positive light?
DW: It’s amazing, I still feel like shocked by it. We have a fan who lives in England, who flew over here, and we met him in Boston. And he came to the last two shows and he’s coming to the next three shows. We host a music festival in the next few weeks, and he’s going to be there for that. I don’t know, to see people travel to see us play music along with every other fan. Younger me would be amazed that this could ever happen to me. I am still amazed and I feel incredibly grateful.
I feel like the reality of talking about mental health is so scary and when I heard the single “Medication”. I felt a sense of relief in knowing that it was okay to prioritize my own mental health. And to actually vocalize my internal feelings. How important was it to speak on that and put to music the feelings that you all have had.
DW: Yeah it is not something I had set out to do like today I am going to write a song about mental health. I am just going to speak on my honest experiences and I have been struggling with intense depression since my teenage years. So I think, I have always written songs that have always been about what I am going through. When I was writing this record (Little Deaths) — I was going through a really dark and intense time. And I think that what made this record process for me was the understanding that I had been in the way of my own healing in some ways. I had a lot of self hatred and self struggle. And the writing of medication was sort of a turning point to be like yeah its worth it to get back into therapy and to get on meds. And to actually do something about it and shifting my ability to enjoy my life in major ways. The song (Medication) came less from like ‘yeah I have to speak on this’ to (a place of) ‘I’m just going to speak about whatever is going on in my life. It’s honestly been amazing to see it connect with people being in a place of difficult depression or mental health struggles. It can be difficult to connect with other people — it’s been a struggle to connect with other people socially. I feel like this song is like a bridge for people.
MD: I feel like with a lot of mental health things. You’re the only person who can drive yourself to make a change. There’s like (a variety of things) like therapy, a support group, medication but if you don’t personally make a change it will remain a struggle. For me personally, I committed myself to journaling every morning or going for a short walk. That helps. It’s a running joke with my friends that I am going out for my stupid mental health. You have to be consistent with it. The record Little Death comes from a natural place and not something you have to do because it’s trendy or cool.
Little Death was recorded in Nashville — what was the recording process like and was Nashville always the place for the album to be recorded in.
DW: Yeah, I think that we wanted the album to be recorded somewhere close to our homes. That it wasn’t stressful being way from home for a long time. A lot of us live in North Carolina, so Nashville wasn’t too far. I think it was not so much finding a location for the album. It was about finding the right producer for the album. Because we have been producing our own albums for most of the time. So this was the first time we have been working with someone else producing. We just wanted to find someone who understood what the album was about. And also understood what it was like working with a band and who knew our sound very well. So this producer, Jeremy Lutito he has seen us live before and understood us as a group. (And) what our musical goals were. And it was really cool getting to record in Nashville and getting to really know it because I haven’t really gotten a chance to explore it fully. So getting to experience that was awesome. Jeremy really pushed us to try new things and I think it can be easy to stay with the process of writing, recording a demo and going into the studio. And Jeremy really kept us on our toes and say “let’s try new things” and make it to where we always feel like we are trying something new. And that makes the energy (in studio) feel fresh almost like that of a live show — in a way that we haven’t felt before. It was great.
What is your favorite song on Little Deaths and what is your favorite song to perform live? And why?
DW: Oh gosh, I love all the songs. (Yeah — I know it’s like picking your favorite child.) I think it changes for me musically. Lately I really love ‘Over You’ and it feels like we’ve done something musically that we haven’t done before. Using a vocoder, and different walls of instruments and sounds. It was really cool. But live I feel like it has to be ‘The Mood’ and it has to be my favorite to perform. And it’s fun because it’s the first time we are performing most of the new songs live. So it feels fresh and fun. And I am really enjoying all of them but particularly The Mood is really fun.
What is your best memory of The Collection so far?
DW: I think there are so many memories from being on tour. I think a lot of people don’t realize just how exhausting it is to be on tour. And you’re really not getting, a lot of sleep and most of the food options are not really that great. So your body just feels bad. It just feels like intense stress. And it just forced us into a work around our relationships, and just getting to really get to know each other better. And so I don’t even know if I can pull out a favorite memory. But of just conversations of us encouraging one another better, and how can we love each other better. And that spills into the live shows and other spaces and figuring out how to act like a family on tour.
MD: Kind of like leaving someone better than you found them mentality.
I just have a couple more questions for you, David. What are you looking forward to tonight’s show at World Cafe Live?
DW: Gosh, just connecting with people and just being in a room with everyone and connecting over the music and stories. I am really excited for the ending we have for the show. It’s just feels really fun to me.
I know we spoke of this earlier today. If you could give advice to your younger self, what would you say?
DW: I think it would be to try and stay present. I think my younger self was always trying to find out the ‘what’s next’ in the future. And how can I make the next thing bigger and better. I think that’s always good and that’s been a good drive. But I just feel like I missed a lot of moments that as a younger musician just by always thinking about the future. And not really soaking in what’s really going on. So yeah that’s what I would say.
Personally, I am so grateful for your music and perspectives on life in all aspects. So thank you for always being the best and authentic selves. And thank you for chatting with me prior to your live show tonight. You take a lot of care into being your authentic self and it comes across so naturally. So thank you for that. Core memory made tonight.