INTERVIEW: Steel Wool on Crafting Their Shoegaze Sound, DIY Roots, and Making Music in the Streaming Era
The LA-based quartet discusses their gear setups, the creative process behind their debut EP, the challenges of the music industry, dream collaborations, future plans, and more.
Rising from the reverb-soaked corners of Los Angeles' DIY scene, Steel Wool is a four-piece shoegaze/dream-pop outfit born in a bedroom studio and raised in garages and backyards across the city. The band - Sean Lissner (guitar/vocals), Jaden Amjadi (bass/screaming), Sam Schlesinger (guitar), and Evan Landi (drums) - quickly carved out a name for themselves, catching the attention of local tastemakers.
Their self-titled debut EP channels their patchwork of influences - shoegaze textures, analog distortion, and a healthy dose of punk energy - into a release that feels both deliberate and wonderfully unhinged.
In this interview, we dig into the gear that shapes their fuzz-drenched sound, the struggles and realities of the music industry, aspiring collaborations, future plans, and more!
Chris Roditis, Musicngear: Welcome to MusicnGear, Steel Wool! Your self-titled debut EP combines shoegaze textures with powerful dynamics. What gear do you rely on, and were there any unexpected or DIY elements that helped shape your sound?
EVAN: With Steel Wool, we like to use whatever vintage equipment we can get our hands on: a vintage Ludwig kit from the '70s, a chorus pedal from the early '80s, etc.
On the production side, I’ve taken an approach of combining traditional band recording techniques with modern sound design. I’m influenced by producers like J Dilla and Flying Lotus, while also looking up to the old school production of Billy Joel, Elton John, and Bruce Springsteen. This band has given me the opportunity to combine both of those ideas in an original way.
I’ve relied a lot on Ableton and in-the-box plugins from SSL and UAD. Most of the recording was done in the box at my house or live at Summit Studios in Pasadena. As far as DIY elements go, we keep a pretty open mind about what can make it into the final mix. For some songs, we try to record as professionally as possible, but one of the guitar parts in “Another Sunday” is a basically unedited voice memo recording.
Musicngear: If you had an unlimited budget to buy any gear, no restrictions whatsoever, what would your dream setup look like?
EVAN: My favorite album, production-wise, is Random Access Memories by Daft Punk. If I had an unlimited budget, I would do whatever the hell they did on that record. I believe it cost a million dollars to produce and was all analog.
Hopefully, one day we can make something on vintage consoles (think Abbey Road or Electric Lady Studios), running through all those expensive and amazing sounding racks of compressors and preamps.
Musicngear: Steel Wool started in a bedroom studio and built a reputation in DIY spaces. What were the biggest challenges you faced transitioning from that scene to releasing your debut EP? Any advice for bands navigating similar hurdles?
SAM: Well, you kinda have to do everything. You can’t just write songs in your room and put them online and expect anything miraculous to happen from that. You have to go to shows, talk to other musicians, be physically present in a space.
I go to a few DIY shows a week and film/photograph all the bands that are playing. It’s a nice way to have something to offer, and I’ve met a lot of really cool bands that way.
Musicngear: Now that your EP is out in the world, what’s the main goal for its release? Are you focused on streaming numbers, booking live shows, blog coverage, or something else? How do you plan to achieve that?
SAM: We have an EP release show on April 22nd, and we hand-dubbed some cassette tapes for the occasion, but outside of that, we just wanted to have something on the internet so that our friends and family can hear what we’ve been getting up to.
All four of us come from pretty different places - Sean is from Switzerland, Jaden’s from Iowa - so a lot of our people can’t actually come to our shows and hear our stuff in person. There’s something to be said for the challenge posed by getting in the studio, too. It’s a totally different world from playing live.
You can’t just write songs in your room and put them online and expect anything miraculous to happen from that
Musicngear: If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why? And while we’re at it, what’s a dream venue or festival you’d love to play?
SEAN: I think Brian Eno is such a transgressive artist. He’s contributed to some of my favourite records and has built so many incredible sounds over the course of his career, I’d love to see how he approaches a new song.
There’s this perfectly-sized club venue back home in Lausanne, Switzerland called Les Docks. I’ve seen some of my favourite acts there, like King Krule, Courtney Barnett, and Explosions in the Sky, and it would be so rad to return with the band.
Musicngear: Given that Spotify pays musicians mere pennies while raking in billions, do you believe the music industry would be better or worse off if the platform disappeared overnight?
SEAN: It’s frustrating to say but probably worse. If Spotify disappeared, it would just be another race to the bottom as other companies rush to fill the power vacuum. It’s amazing what streaming has done for the consumer, but the current profit-sharing model is just not at all sustainable.
If we better incentivize making great music, then I think more of it will be made!
Musicngear: Now let’s get weird: Your pedalboard accidentally falls into a radioactive vat and mutates into a living creature. What does it look like, what powers does it have, and is it a friend or foe?
JADEN: Sean’s becomes a wyvern, Sam’s becomes a bear, mine becomes a raccoon, and Evan’s becomes an orangutan. They’d probably go off, flying from place to place on the wyvern’s back and getting into adventures.
The band would end, but it might bring us some comfort to look up at the night sky and know they’re out there.
Musicngear: If you could form a band with any historical figures, who would you choose and what instrument would each of them play?
JADEN: Gimme Sean Lissener on vocals and rhythm guitar, Evan Landi on drums, and Sam Schlesinger on lead guitar. Oh, those aren’t historical figures? Well, hey, give it a couple years! You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff in their manifestos…
Musicngear: If you could replace the soundtrack of any movie with Steel Wool's music, which movie would it be, and which song of yours would you choose?
SEAN: I recently watched an insane crime drama called Cure (1997) that really freaked me out. I’m not a huge fan of lyrics in soundtracks, but I think the fuzzed-out, distorted guitar sound could really bring a ton of atmosphere to a film.
Musicngear: If from now on you had to choose only one format to release visuals for your music, what would that be? Official music videos or TikToks/Shorts/Reels? And why?
SAM: Music videos. I’m allergic to TikTok.
Musicngear: With streaming payouts being so low, how do you navigate the challenges of making a living as a musician today? Is music your main source of income, or do you have other ways to sustain yourself financially?
JADEN: Streaming payouts are low? Tell that to the 10$ we made off Eyes Closed. Like taking money from a baby with a $110,000,000,000 speculative value. I was a vegan cook, Sam was an office drone, Sean worked in a photography lab, and Evan was an emissions checker.
But we all quit as soon as that check cleared.
Musicngear: With the EP release and your LA show at El Cid coming up, what’s next for Steel Wool?
SAM: More shows, more writing. There’s a festival out in the desert we’re excited to play in early May, in front of a giant boulder in the Mojave.
I’d like to play more shows in unconventional venues. A week ago, the four of us went to a shoegaze show at a boxing gym where all the bands performed in the ring, and it was incredible. Maybe we’ll start hitting up batting cages or mini golf courses, see if anyone bites.
Connect with Steel Wool
Facebook / Instagram // Spotify
About Chris Roditis
Chris Roditis has been an active musician since 1995 in various bands and projects across a variety of genres ranging from acoustic, electronic to nu metal, british rock and trip hop. He has extensive experience as a mixing engineer and producer and has built recording studios for most of the projects he has been involved with. His passion for music steered his entrepreneurial skills into founding MusicNGear in 2012.
Contact Chris Roditis at chrisroditis@musicngear.com
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