A phone conversation with members of Wayward Sons, eighties arena-rock cover band, is not your typical interview. First of all, you are stepping into 1983, the year in which the band exists. Secondly, you are speaking with characters, fully developed personas with back stories that the guys have committed to wholeheartedly. To understand all of this better, watch the documentary on the band’s website, waywardsonsmusic.com
I had the pleasure of chatting with lead singer Hugh Jass, a Brit whose wit evokes Russell Brand, and the equally hilarious Lou Bido who plays guitar and keyboard. And I learned that the brilliance of the band goes far beyond popular covers and terrible mullets.
Alyssa: Hi, guys. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to talk to me. I know you’re a brick-layer, Lou. And don’t we have a male model in the group, too?
Hugh: Moe, yes. He’s in Bora Bora. A swimsuit shoot for International Male, I believe it is.
Lou: Yes, a full spread of Moe with turtles.
H: And when you say spread, you mean they are basically spreading his butt cheeks for Bora Bora.
L: And, amazingly, spreading the turtles’ butt cheeks, as well.
A: Well, that’s fantastic news. How are you feeling about coming to Hermosa to perform on the beach?
L: It’s our second home. We love it there.
H: We actually earned our chops at the Light House on Pier. And we’ve played at the Brixton and the old Sangria. And we’ve played Saint Rocke many, many times.
L: Ya, if the Beatles had the Cavern, we had the Light House.
A: So have you guys ever played on the beach before?
H: Not on. Overlooking the beach on a cliff in Mexico but not with the sand on our toes.
L: I plan on stripping down naked and running into the ocean during an instrumental break.
A: Wonderful. And what kind of songs can we expect to hear?
L: Well, we only play originals. Some of our catalog of our greatest hits are “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Fat Bottom Girls,” “We are the Champions…”
H: “Sail Away”
L: I’m working on a new one right now. It’s about falling in love with a 17-year old. I was also 17, of course. I think I’ll call it “I Love Rock and Roll.”
A: You know, they say when you hear a really great song for the first time, it feels like you’ve already heard it before. And your new song sounds really familiar to me like that.
H: Thank you. Every time we play a song for the first time in public, people sing along and know all the words. It’s like we wrote it together.
Wayward Sons will perform their “original” monster hits of the 1980’s at the Hermosa Beach Summer Concert tonight.
