photo from Mint Wad Willy's The Fucking Sidewalk album cover
interview and album release show photos by Chevy Anderson | words by Michael Todd
Derek Levasseur sounds like he's in strong disagreement with his bandmate Nick Johnston. As one of the two songwriters for Omaha's Mint Wad Willy, Johnston is responding to a question that asks who or what he writes music for, and his answer is that his songs have little to no meaning, that he writes lyrics only according to how they sound.
Levasseur interrupts with various synonyms of "no" and "stop it," but Johnston doesn't seem to hear. This is why a phone call needs explanation of place.
"Catfight," Levasseur says, referring to his cats and not to any argument between him, the band's other songwriter, and Johnston. After breaking up the unseen disagreement, Levasseur continues, explaining his side of the band's story.
"If I had to pick who I want to listen or be affected by my music, I think it’s the working class. My songs are for the 20- to 30-year-old generation that didn’t go to college because it’s silly or because they couldn’t afford it or whatever their reason. I think it speaks for 20- to 30-year-olds that never had a silver spoon in their mouth."
Levasseur takes most of the time during the conversation, talking about the band's ever-changing cast of characters, now stable, and its origin in Iowa City in 2003 after he and Johnston chose not to go to college but rather play music in a college town. For all of Levasseur's command of storytelling and metaphors, the duality of Johnston's purely-for-the-sound style of writing and Levasseur's more meaningful intentions helps define the debut full-length of material premiered online below. (Note: After a period of the full album streaming, only a selection is now available for listening. Buy the album via the button on the player to hear more.)
The Fucking Sidewalk, released this past Saturday at a Slowdown concert alongside Knife Fight Justice's own record, is testament to the increasingly available home-recording means bands can possess. "We are lucky enough to have tricked the world into giving us the ability to record in our basement, and I love it," Levasseur says. It's also proof of more than eight years of give-and-take between Levasseur and Johnston as they have written music for Mint Wad Willy.
"I think (writing songs together) comes with the longer you spend doing anything, whether it’s rowing a boat with someone or writing songs or building birdhouses, you’re either going to quit because you’re no good at it, or you’re going to get better and better. Over time, we have evolved to work together.
"And we can’t build birdhouses, and we can’t row boats," Levasseur says with a laugh.
Michael Todd is Hear Nebraska's managing editor. Michael thanks HN intern Chevy Anderson for conducting the interview with Mint Wad Willy as he appreciated the beautiful but often reception-less Highway 2 of Nebraska's north-central region. Reach Michael at michaeltodd@hearnebraska.org and Chevy at chevya@hearnebraska.org.