Will Wilde Interview

Will Wilde is a singer and world renowned blues and rock harmonica player, but his talents don’t just end there. He also teaches the art to students across the world (including myself) and has developed his own custom harmonica tuning; the Wilde tuning. In this interview we cover all of this and talk about his new band, Bad Luck Friday, and their eponymous ground-breaking debut album, released in September 2022.

When and why did you get into harmonica?

I found a cheap plastic Guinness harmonica at a house party when I was 16/17 and started teaching myself to play. I grew up hearing a lot of my Dad’s blues and classic rock records, and the song that inspired me to learn was Help Me by Sonny Boy Williamson. That sound always resonated with me. I used to play for hours a day, playing along to Muddy Waters albums until my lips bled. I was touring and recording by the time I was 19.

What are your musical influences?

Eclectic. When I was young, Michael Jackson was the biggest influence that made me want to become a musician. Then in my teens I got into rock and metal, bands like Marilyn Manson and Rage Against the

Machine. I’m also into a lot of classic rock like Thin

Lizzy, Free, AC/DC and a lot of old blues and soul too.

What led to you to start a rock band?

I started on the harp with blues music but I really found my own voice on the instrument through rock. To me rock and roll is empowering, whereas blues is more introspective. When I play rock songs on stage I automatically project more and perform more outwardly. I think that’s why I decided to go down this route.

Why do you think harmonica is so linked to blues music but rarely used in other forms of music like rock?

In the 50’s, harmonica and guitar were pretty equal as lead instruments in the blues, but then guitar went on a journey from blues

by Paula Braynion

into blues rock with artists like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, then players like Van Halen took it further still. I feel like the harp got left behind in the 50’s/60’s. There wasn’t really a pioneer that took it to the next level. There have been more recent pioneers like John Popper or Jason Ricci, but there was never a big artist like a Hendrix in the harmonica world who enabled the harp to make the transition from blues into rock. My mission is to prove that the harmonica can hold its own with the guitar as a lead instrument in the rock world.

Tell me about your new band and debut album?

My new band is called Bad Luck Friday. It consists of myself (vocals, harmonica), Steve “The Beak” Brook (guitar), Jack Turnbull (bass) and Alan Taylor (drums). Our sound draws from a wide mix of influences, from classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin through to more aggressive contemporary bands like Black Stone Cherry, Halestorm and Alter Bridge. This is absolutely not a blues album, it’s a hard-rock album primarily. There’s not been a record of anything like this before with a harmonica as the lead instrument, it’s pretty groundbreaking in that respect.

What is Wilde tuning?

I’ve always been frustrated with Richter tuning as a lot of what I play is more inspired by guitarists rather than harmonica players. It’s not possible to play a lot of guitar licks on standard tuning because of the way the notes lay out. I started experimenting to find the ultimate tuning for second position blues and rock playing that allows me to get all notes I need across all 3 octaves of the instrument and put as much expression and vibrato on those notes as possible. On my tuning you can bend all the draw notes from holes 1 to 10, this was inspired by Brendan Power’s Powerbender tuning. Wilde tuning allows me to play a lot more guitar-like licks in

the upper octave with a lot more vibrato.

As a tutor, are there key tips you can give to any harmonica player who wants to develop?

Work on scales and improv. Make sure you’re accurately hitting all bends. Listen to as much music as possible. Not just blues and not just harp players. Later this year I’m bringing out a course called The Ultimate Blues Harmonica Soloist. It’s aimed at anyone who wants to get better at improvising and improve their vocabulary on the instrument.

I started playing the harmonica during lockdown as a way of dealing with stress, releasing emotions and finding a way of being in the moment. What does playing the harmonica do for you?

It does that for me too, in fact I think it’s a great way of not only releasing stress but expressing all emotions, joy, anger - the whole range. It’s just something I do. I couldn’t imagine not playing now.

How do you want to be remembered in 100 years time?

As the greatest rock harmonica player. As someone who took harmonica beyond the blues and introduced it to a new generation. Bad Luck Friday’s debut album is due to be released on 2nd September 2022 and is a blend of hard rock riffs and blues-infused melodies, big choruses with strong hooks, and face-melting harmonica solos that owe just as much to Slash or Angus Young as they to do Sonny Boy Williamson or Little Walter. A full review of Bad Luck Friday is available in the reviews section of the magazine www.willharmonicawilde.com/news www.facebook.com/badluckfriday www.facebook.com/willwildeofficial https://youtu.be/1sNO1X2fpE4 Stream album // MP3 Download // Music Video