Click here to see the VENTS MAGAZINE interview with Robert Andrew Wagner of The Little Wretches
How would you classify your music?
What box does it go in? What shelf does it go on? Is it a chick flick or an action film? The Little Wretches’ music cuts across genres, but UNDESIRABLES & ANARCHISTS is solidly in pop/punk territory. I call what we do “Musical Portraits and Cinematography of the Soul.” Almost every one of our songs works as well acoustically as with a full roaring band. We just so happened to record this with a full roaring band. Mostly, I perform solo with an acoustic guitar, so that puts me in the box people call acoustic, folk or singer-songwriter. Really, though, I’m a teacher. I teach through stories, and I tell stories through songs. If you look at the bands previously mentioned by writers as a comparison, you’ll see mention of The Velvet Underground, The Beatles, and Mott the Hoople. You’ll also see words like, LITERATE and POETIC. One of my favorite reviews said, “The Little Wretches play the kind of music to win a jaded girl’s heart.” So please put us on whatever shelf is frequented by jaded girls.
Who are some of your top 5 musical influences?
The rock poets like Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Ian Hunter, Leonard Cohen.
The British Invasion groups like The Beatles, The Kinks and The Who.
The political revolutionaries like Gil Scott-Heron, Phil Ochs and Woody Guthrie.
Singer-songwriters like Michelle Shocked, Peter Himmelman, and Jonathan Richman.
From a vision standpoint, I feel a kinship with The Velvet Underground inasmuch as Lou Reed spoke of the band’s work as a whole, each album like the chapter of a book. That’s how I feel about The Little Wretches. Take us as a whole, like Victor Hugo’s LES MISERABLES. Each album is a section, and each song a chapter within that section.
What do you want fans to take from your music?
I want you to see yourself in my songs, to recognize yourself, to see your own beauty, your strength, your reasons to be hopeful. I want you to leave my shows thinking about people you’ve never met but feeling like you’ve known them all your life. I want you to wake up in the morning with one of my songs in your head, “Hey, that’s a Wretches’ song!” I want you to be energized, inspired, more aware of your inner strength. Look, I’m a fanatic. I get it that I’m just some guy who writes songs, but I’m here to save your life.
How’s the music scene in your locale?
I can’t offer an honest assessment of the local scene, especially now that every thing is in lock-down for the quarantine. I’ve heard some amazing writers, singers and players in the region, but I came up during the Punk Era, and we were very ambitious. We wanted to change everything about everything, little Davids who were completely serious about going head-to-head with Goliath. A lot of the artists I encounter these days seem to be happy in a niche, a safe space. I prefer a warrior spirit, artists foolish and courageous enough to think they can turn the course of history with a song. One thing I’ve learned about myself is that I’m never going to feel like I fit in. No matter how much praise or encouragement I receive, I’m always going to feel like an outsider. Locale? My locale is eternity.
What is the best concert you have been to? What do you like most about playing live?
I saw Iggy and the Stooges on their reunion tour at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, maybe 2006. They played the first two Stooges albums. The band just stood in front of their amps and played. No light show. No special effects. House lights up. And Iggy showed why he is a legend.
As for me, my favorite thing when I’m playing live is when I can see an entire room move from distraction to focus. Conversations stop mid-sentence. Pool cues and beer glasses are set on the table. Everybody in the house turns at once to watch the stage. And there’s really nothing to watch, just some people standing there, singing and playing their instruments, but everybody seems to sense that there is something special going on, and they don’t want to miss it.
Is there a song on your latest CD release here that stands out as your personal favorite, and why?
Just one? That’s like choosing your favorite son or daughter. But I like RUNNING (is the only thing to do) because I was asked by Rosa to write a song for her to sing. Rosa left home at the age of 15 and managed to support herself. She graduated #2 in her class from Point Park University without ever having finished high school. I wrote the song from the point of view of a girl who sees her chance to run and follows her heart. She does her best to honor her father and mother, but she’s out of there. I was thinking about what it would have been like to be with the Hebrews escaping Egypt. Bad odds. Impossible odds. Nothing but faith to go on. I love listening to he sing that song. Very simple lyrics. Not too wordy. Nice melody. And I think I nailed what I was going for.
How have you evolved as an artist over the last year?
I had a writing teacher at the University of Pittsburgh named Maggie Anderson. Maggie assigned us to purchase and read her book of poetry, YEARS THAT ANSWER. The “title poem” said something like, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” I didn’t grasp the idea when I was younger. But I came out of my first band, NO SHELTER, having answered the questions, “What am I, and what am I trying to do?” I am a writer, a teacher and a performer. I teach through stories. I tell stories through songs. THE LITTLE WRETCHES is my vehicel. I’m ready to build a new audience, trying to figure out how to do what I do in this new post-pandemic world. It’s like the time-lapse between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder.
If you could meet, play a gig, co-write a song, have dinner, have a drink with any band or artist (dead or alive) who would it be?
I wish I could have traveled with, talked with and shared the stage with Phil Ochs, maybe a little songwriters-in-the-round with me, Phil Ochs, Michelle Shocked and Peter Himmelman, sharing songs, exchanging banter. Phil was at once a revolutionary and a true believer in the promise of America. I’d love to be able to say I’d earned Phil Ochs’ approval. I strongly encourage people to see the documentary, PHIL OCHS: THERE BUT FOR FORTUNE, or to pick up a copy of DEATH OF A REBEL: A Biography of Phil Ochs, by Marc Eliot.
What’s next for you?
I want to wake up in the morning with the knowledge that I will be taking the stage somewhere tonight, opening eyes, changing minds, warming hearts, stirring souls and shining my little light. I have about three albums worth of songs waiting to be recorded, songs that have been woodshedded, workshopped and stage-tested. But the foreseeable future is dedicated to creating opportunity, introducing my music to new audiences, giving people a reason to want to see and hear me.