Image Credits: Photo Taken by @youknowitsallgood, via @flavorwaveband and @youknowitsallgood on Instagram
For the members of Flavor Wave, friendship came first, but the music followed soon after. Singer Kyle Loedel says, “I met our rhythm guitarist Pat in first grade, and we became best friends right off the rip.” He adds, “Our guitarist and drummer and bassist, they kind of had their friend group, but then the bassist was also my neighbor. So we all just kind of had this connection, this kind of invisible string throughout middle school and high school.”
Throughout school, they were all involved in musical activities, but it was not until high school that they started jamming together. They met up to play cover songs from bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Arctic Monkeys. They did that every once in a while but ended up going their separate ways in college before eventually finding their way back to each other. “Eventually we were just like, why don’t we just jam again? And then we did, and there was just kind of like a spark,” Loedel recalls. “We always kind of had these ideas for original music and then we kind of pieced some things together and said, why don’t we try these out live and maybe down the road record them. And that’s kind of what led us to be where we are now.”
They first started performing together in 2019 in their apartment on Gay Street, but their first ticketed gig was in 2020 at Fenn’s, which is now Turks Head on Church Street.
Flavor Wave primarily makes alternative rock and indie rock music. Loedel explains, “It’s really hard to kind of define the genre, but that’s kind of where it stands. If you were to just kind of look at a playlist that says alternative rock, you’d probably find our music in there, with the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kings of Leon, The Strokes, something like that. So, you know, alternative rock, indie rock, classic rock, probably just from rock and roll.”
Their producer, Tyler Ripley, also influenced their sound. “He kind of opened us up to some more kind of modern sounds, some synths, kind of like spacey sounds. So we incorporated kind of indie electronic elements to our rock music as we went along.”
Flavor Wave has been inspired by many artists, but above all, they have always loved the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The way they create music and perform has deeply influenced them. “We definitely take something new from each time we see them or experience them,” Loedel says. Each member also has individual influences that shape their sound. For Loedel, that is the band Coldplay, specifically their earlier, more melodic work. Other members draw inspiration from bands such as Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes.
When it comes to songwriting, Loedel explains, “When we first come up with an idea, it usually comes from one person, and I think that part of the songwriting process is very collaborative where we kind of hear what this one person brought to the table and then we kind of just jam it out and then add things there to kind of create a cohesive thing.”
Their most recent release, following their first album, “A Taste of Something Sweet,” is an alternative rock album called “Lonely Animals.”. They had a lot of ideas when creating it and struggled with narrowing down what would make the final product. “That was a very tough process, but I think in the end we picked the group of songs that really resonated the most with all of us musically and sonically,” Loedel explains. He says that once everything was finished, “In the end when you’re listening to it and it’s finally pieced together, you kind of realize these were always meant to be the songs that were gonna be on the album.”
He added, “Like I was mentioning earlier, there’s a lot of influences that are coming into play with these, so in a way each song has its own kind of style or kind of vibe with them.” Their album, “Lonely Animals,” is available on all music streaming platforms.
When asked if the local music scene in West Chester and Philadelphia has influenced the band, Loedel says, “Whenever we’ve played at a place in Philadelphia, we like to look at bands that have played there in the past and see that they also were in the position that we are in and they probably gave their all in that performance. So we think, ‘just why wouldn’t we give our all in this?’ Even though maybe there’s not that many people there or it’s a Sunday night or something like that, just kind of realizing that this is what we love, why not give a hundred percent in any performance that we have? So I think with all the artists that we’ve met in our journey from the area and in West Chester and in the Philly shows, they’ve kind of inspired us to continue giving 100 percent in our performances because one, it’s what we love to do, and two, you never know who’s gonna be listening and who will pass along your music to the next person.”
Loedel was not aware of how expansive the local music scene was until they played at the Look Around Festival. “It’s kind of cultivated by West Chester artists, specifically the band onyx&honey,” he says. “They created this festival to kind of bring together the community in Chester County, specifically West Chester, and we went and we played and it was an incredible experience.” Talking to other musicians at the festival opened his eyes to the fact that there are so many people in Chester County who make music just like him.
One of his favorite band memories was performing at Penn State University at 4 a.m. “It was very surreal being in that arena and performing to all the people in there, regardless of what time it was. I think just being in there and being in front of all those people kind of gave us the energy we needed to perform. It was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life.”
Flavor Wave has goals to travel and perform more widely, but they also love playing locally. They often perform at Leonie’s in Downingtown, a place they all grew up going to. “We’re always trying to play in Philadelphia, we’re always playing locally, we always try to play at West Chester, like Borough events,” Loedel says. In December, they will perform in New York City at Arlene’s Grocery on the Lower East Side. The band shares all updates and show information on their Instagram, @flavorwaveband.
“After our gig in New York, we’re gonna kind of take a little break and maybe get back to write some new tunes,” Loedel says.
When asked what being in a band means to him personally, he says, “It means the world. We all work full time jobs, but this is a dang good side gig. These are my best friends, and I look forward to the weeknights when we practice and then the shows on the weekends when we play. Don’t get me wrong, I love my day job, but when it comes to playing music, there’s not much more freeing or gratifying for me. The music, the versatility of it all, the kind of worldwide language that is music, that’s the most important thing to me. It’s allowing other people to hear our music and be moved by it.”
Flavor Wave is a promising band bound by friendship and a shared love of music. As Loedel puts it, “We’re all just able to be us with each other,” and that is what truly makes them special.
Jaleih Cruz is a second-year Criminal Justice major.