Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A Pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Long Island five-piece Waiver. have been gaining traction and picking up fans looking for the next big thing. Having released four melodic-pop-punk singles in 2022 ( “Burnout,” “Cycles,” “Hindsight” and most recently “College Try”) the quintet is ready for a breakout 2023. Frontman Nick Valero was kind enough to take a roll of the dice with us and share his thoughts on who Waiver. is, the benefits of working within of a well-established scene and what’s next for the crew.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats on all thehigh praise heaped upon the releases of 2022 (“College Try,” “Burnout,” “Cycles” and Hindsight”). For our readers not yet familiar with you, what can you tell us about the band and your sound?
WAIVER. is honestly a big mix of so many sounds and influences. Throughout our members, our music taste varies from hardcore, emo, pop punk, metalcore, classic rock and more, so I think in its own way, our music shows a bit of all of it. But mainly the music we write and mostly identify our band with is emo/pop punk, but we really are just a high energy, rowdy, loud rock band. We’re a group of 5 best friends that love writing music, going to shows, and playing shows. And being from such a beautiful place where the music scene is so rich and ever evolving and growing, we’re just trying to have as much fun and make as many memories as we can.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?
Wow haha, there’s so many. Seeing all the emo/pop punk/post hardcore bands come up in the 2010’s was probably the biggest influence for the band. Stage dives, crowds yelling lyrics, moshing, all that good stuff is what made us want to do this. Bands like Title Fight, The Story So Far, Citizen, Basement, Movements etc. Just seeing how crazy those shows were for those bands when this wave first started was insane, I’ve never seen anything like that before and I knew it was something I wanted to experience.
Long Island, for a long time, has had a reputation within the scene. How has the “LIPP” or “LIHC” tag affected the band? Is there a pressure and/or credibility that comes along with the locale?
The Long Island scene is beautiful and an actual blessing. It’s crazy to be from somewhere where there’s such a strong community and where so many incredible bands come up from. This band formed during covid so coming out of that we really saw how abundant the scene became and how many bands have done and continue to do such cool shit. We’re beyond proud to and will rep Long Island forever, but as far as any credibility that comes from being a Long Island band goes, that’s not up to us to decide or claim haha, all we can do is be ourselves, support the scene, and play as many shows as we can. In regards to any pressure from the “LIPP”/”LIHC” tag, I would say none honestly. Actually I’d say it’s just straight up motivating instead. Seeing bands like Pain of Truth, Koyo, and Stand Still (only naming a few out of so many) come up and do what they’re doing is inspiring, and whether we’re tagged “LIPP” or “LIHC” by anyone or not, WAIVER. is Long Island Music, and we’re grateful to have access to and be a part of such a great scene in any way we fit in.
Everyone who listens is going to connect to Waiver in a different way, but what lyric or musical moment are you most proud or feel the strongest connection to?
All these new songs we’ve been releasing are honestly like one big proud musical moment for us haha. But one that sticks out is a song we have called “Cortland St” that will come out with the EP in March. The song is a rollercoaster of sound, emotion, and energy. When we wrote it we were hype on it for weeks haha. We can’t wait til that comes out for everyone to hear. Another important mention is that our new single coming out jan 27th “Right Here” might have the best WAIVER. music video has yet, we’re all super stoked to share that one too.
My first experience with Waiver was seeing you open for Wheatus and MC Lars back in May. Obviously, all 3 acts have very distinct sounds and fanbases. Does the diversity of sound and crowd have any effect when you get back into the songwriting process?
Depending on the band, yeah for sure. But we would never play with a band that’s different from us and then completely want to change and start doing what they’re doing or anything like that. As musicians and fans of music you can’t help but be influenced by something if it appeals to you though. We love high energy music and shows, and we hope for our shows to have that energy, so we’ve picked up on what invokes that and what doesn’t through playing shows with bands in different genres.
The world has been going through some shit over the last few years. What effect, if any, have the cultural and political landscapes of the last few years had on your music?
None to be honest, we’re not a political band like that, lyrically our music is introspective, reflective and personal. The personal, spiritual, and mental growth that I’ve experienced going through all this shit over the last few years is definitely reflected in our music for sure though.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should know about?
Moss Tongue, Heavy Hex, Private Mind, Innerlove., Rose Parade
What’s next for the members of Waiver?
So much. Going to many more shows to supportamazing LI band, playing many shows ourselves, writing and recording new songs, making new merch, just forever evolving and keeping this train moving.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
These were amazing questions that really gave us a chance to talk about some things we’ve been wanting to, thank you so much!
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
