Incase We Crash (IWC) is a pop-punk band who pride themselves on their authentic and unapologetic sound that gives you something your ears want to hear. Influenced by bands of the golden era of emo/pop-punk like The Starting Line, The Story So Far, Cartel, & Taking Back Sunday, IWC brings the beloved classic pop-punk sound into a new decade with fresh in-your-face guitar riffs, anthemic radio-worthy choruses, and powerful vocal performances all woven together with delicate emo undertones.
Based in Toronto, ON & NY, Simon Austin, Alex Koval, and Kyle Malfa have successfully crafted the IWC sound into something that has a live pulse, making the listener feel connected to the band, and transports them to their own intimate sonic space.
How do you feel the internet has impacted the music business?
We feel the internet has changed the music business in ways unimaginable. There are pros and cons to everything, so we’ll start with the cons– it’s much harder to get people’s attention these days because there’s just so much content out there. As well, the advent of streaming has consistently encroached on the profits of an artist. Long story short, although streaming has generated massive amounts of money for the music industry and given opportunities to lots of new artists– most of that money has gone to the massive corporations and not the artists. Now for the PROS of the current online music landscape. We now have the technology at our fingertips to basically fully produce your own music and videos and content and put it out into the world for low cost compared to the typical massive budgets of the past. This makes entering the music industry more accessible than ever and that’s a good thing no matter how you swing it. And in that manner, it’s also easier than ever to connect with the people who support your music, and build genuine rapport with those fans, hopefully leading to a career with healthy longevity.
Where have you performed? Do you have any upcoming shows?
We’ve performed at venues all across Ontario and some of Quebec. We’ve hit up pretty much every spot in our local circuit, but we’ve never made it out of Canada (which is sure to change in the near future). We’ve currently got a headlining set booked at Sneaky Dee’s in Toronto on Nov 5th, which just sold out. It’s gonna be our first show back after the pandemic; we’re incredibly excited to jump back into things and we couldn’t think of a better way to return to live music than a sold out show in our hometown. We also finally get to play songs from our “Soul Paint” EP live, as well as a few new tracks that we’ve been working on!
Do you have any other plans relating to this release? A video? Online Shows?
We indeed have some plans to release some new music, we’ll be dropping a new single titled “Autumn Rain” on Nov 3rd. The track will feature a high energy performance video set to some warm and nostalgic fall-themed colours, sure to give the listener a good dose of season-appropriate “Pumpkin Spice Pop Punk”.
What are your ambitions as a songwriter and musician from here?
Of course, being a musician and touring for a living is the ultimate goal for all of us in the band. There’s a balancing act that every artist must take to supplement their career, I (Simon) am currently working as a songwriter for a company called Songfinch on the side where I produce gift songs for people, and on top of that I am a Guitar Technician as well. It’s all within the same realm for me, it’s not about the money, it’s about using music to fuel more music, and I’d love to continue my career with that principle.
When you create music, what is your personal purpose or goal?
We always aim to invite the listener into our world, let the songs tell a story and play out like a movie in which you feel like the main character. There’s elements of nostalgia, heartbreak, existentialism and more along the way. Even in our more straightforward “poppy” songs, we still try to create details and story elements that a listener might relate to and reference in their own lives. I’ve always loved listening to other artists that use their music to interact with the listener that way– sometimes I’d feel like “wow it’s almost like this song was written for me/ about the things I’m going through”.
What would be the ideal food to have cooked for you on a date night?
If anyone knows me, they know I’m a sucker for an authentic bowl of ramen. If someone was able to make that for me at home, I would be gobsmacked and enthralled.
What was the last TV series you watched on TV?
Like pretty much everyone else in the world– Squid Game. Absolutely loved it, and I’m really happy that some South Korean Film Culture has made its way to the mainstream. For the longest time film and TV has been quite nationalized with only a bit of crossover, Anime is a good example of where Japanese film/tv culture has trickled into the mainstream here in the western world. But with the power of Netflix, we’re seeing media from all over the world having successful crossover into different markets and I think that’s a great thing. I also love the story of the director of Squid Game, it took him more than 10 years to get his art out into the world with many setbacks along the way– and as a fellow artist I can totally relate to that.
What makes you nostalgic?
I am a sucker for Nostalgia. I grew up in the early 2000’s so a lot of that late 90’s/ early 00’s media really gets me in the feels. I love to play video games from that era rather than newer games for the most part, I grew up on a lot of Pokemon and Legend of Zelda. As well, I have been watching Degrassi The Next Generation; I used to watch a lot of those family channel/ teen dramas. Most of them are crap looking back, but Degrassi definitely stood the test of time.
If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?
I would make myself 2″ taller haha. I’m pretty happy with being 5’9″, but who knows, life might be different from up there.
What’s your most expensive piece of clothing?
I’m not one for luxury, I’d much rather buy more music gear or something aha, but I did used to have a Mackage Jacket that was a gift actually. It was worth about $1000 but I felt like a snob wearing it, so I sold it and got a more modest “The North Face” Jacket instead. As for currently– I am a mild watch enthusiast, so I have a Seagull “1963” watch that I wear every day. It’s worth about $300, I’d be hard pressed to spend more than twice that on a watch currently though. Down the road though my dream watch is a Tudor Black Bay, maybe I’ll buy it for myself when I turn 40 or something.
Thanks for reading
Connect With Incase We Crash:
