Splender: Hard Hitting Melodic Rock
by David Chiu

Splender is a band that wears their hearts on their sleeves. That is quite evident in this New York City-based band if you heard their music. Wrestling with typical everyday human emotions in their lyrics, Splender also makes melodic hard rock that has crossover appeal to both rock and pop fans.

Splender consists of Wayman Boone (vocals), James Cruz (bassist), Jonathan Svec (guitars), and Marc Slutsky (drums). Their debut album Halfway Down the Sky was produced by Todd Rundgren known both as a musician ("Hello It's Me," "I Saw the Light') and a well-respected producer of many acts (Patti Smith, Meatloaf, Psychedelic Furs, Cheap Trick, etc.) Led by the distinctive singing and songwriting of Wayman Boone, Splender makes splendid music-melodic, garage-sounding rock. It is driving hard rock that is also to the point: "I Don't Understand," "Yeah Whatever," the sweetness of "Space Boy," and the angry-sounding "Supernatural." The songs all have a common thread of expressing a sense frustration and of detachment written with acumen.

I had a chance to talk to Wayman Boone after Splender's soundcheck at Irving Plaza, where the band was performing as part of the DKNY show. Boone sat down in the dressing room, sounding energetic as he and the band were during the soundcheck which was like a concert in itself. Charming, affable, and more than outgoing, Boone spoke about the band, the music, the road to get where they are now, and their future plans.

What sets your band apart from the other bands? How would you describe Splender's sound?

I would hope the songs. The basic chemistry of putting together four guys would be different than putting another four guys together. I would describe our sound as very melodic rock and roll.

Describe Halfway Down the Sky.

Our record is really melodic. We worked it to the bone. There are different levels that are hard to zone in on. But it's a fleeting moment on stage.

How did you hook up with Todd Rundgren?

He was sort of a name that was like a drop in the well. We were sitting in a circle discussing what producer we were looking for. We needed someone to pick and choose, and select a direction of the record. Todd's name came up as one of the people that can do that. Eventually he got a hold of the right demo and he called me up. He said, "I love these demos and I would like to do the record with you." We were floored-we weren't expecting it.

What was it like working with Todd?

It was crazy. It was the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows because he was a very intense person. In the beginning of meeting him, there was nothing but the intimidation factor. We had a lot of crazy, freeflowing stuff. It was great. If it weren't for him, we would probably still be in the studio doing our record. He prided himself on [being that way]. We were extremely happy with that.

What goes into writing a song for you Waymon?

I always look at our album as a series of stories. They are all based on truth. It's really about experiences that wither directly happened to me or someone in the band or someone that we know.

Who did you listen to growing up?

The first act for me was the Jackson 5. When "ABC" came out, I lost my mind! I progressed to the Beatles, Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, and the Police. I love all this '70s music.

How did you come in contact with the rock and roll lifestyle early on?

[My mother] basically did what I'm doing now except she had a kid. I became sort of like human luggage because I became born in a situation where I was staying with her parents while she was touring. And one of them passed away so I ended upliving out of the back of her car, train, and plane [accompanying her on tour]. So that's how I sort of became semi-planted in Canada.

How did Splender get signed to Sony?

James and I met and we started a band. After years of playing, we played every spot there is in the NY scene 80 times over. We were getting absolutely nowhere. We got lucky and the tape got into the hands of Hit and Run. The company has heard something that no one else did to give us some kind of a break. We were actually one of the few bands that had a chance to develop. Then we were able to tour the world without having a record deal. Even though this is our debut album, we're veterans.

One tape ended up getting into our A&R guy and even then he heard something special. He came down to a gig at CBGB's, liked the band and started a relationship with us. It took about a year with the courtship. It had a good side/bad side. The bad side was waiting. But the good side was by the time we got into the company, we had given them instead of four songs, we had given them 80. Everyone in the company was fully aware of who we were and what we do. In the end, we were lucky the tape got into the right hands.

I actually got a phone call that said, "Waymon I welcome you into the Columbia family." That was the most incredible phone call of my life. That was like getting my Publisher's Clearinghouse check.

What has been one memorable experience for you so far as part of Splender?

We did a show with the band Kula Shaker in Washington DC. We were in the dressing room and I wear these sneakers on stage and I always forget them in the vehicle that we were in. Five minutes before we go on, I'm always yelling at our techie, "You gotta go get my sneakers in the car!" This one time, this techie had enough of me. "No, get them yourself." So I went outside to the van. There's this huge line for Kula Shaker. I remember going to the van and these two guys screamed out my name. They came over to me and said they had driven three hours just to come see us play and they knew every song from the record. it blew me away I never imagined someone would get to hear [my songs]. That was one of the first moments where I was [saying] This is working. So I brought them upstairs and gave them special treatment. We're not one of the bands that take a fan for granted.

Do you like performing live?

I think doing the record was a lot more painful than doing the live show. Playing live was like no body told us wheat to do and nobody gets in our way. That's what we know how to do best. It's still nothing better.

What are the band's immediate plans?

We plan on existing for the next few years. What we want to accomplish is to continue for longevity and to continue to make records. We really wanna do well enough to make another record and another one and another one. We came for the long haul. This is like my dream band to be in, so I'm the luckiest guy in the world.