Wilmah: The Greatest Band In NYC

Matt Connolly(Left) and Will O'Connor(Right) enjoying the sun in the grass

Wilmah is a local indie band consisting of Matt Connolly (vocals and guitar) and Will O’Connor (bass). Having grown up together, the two began making music in high school and are now on their way to make their mark in the NYC music industry. Matt and Will “try to find the meaning in everything and anything”, as Will says in the interview, and their music is just that. They connect themselves to the world through their music and it shows.

Their songs have amassed over one million streams on Spotify. Being a local band, based in Brooklyn, we thought Wilmah would be perfect for the I <3 NY issue, as they have just released their new single on April 14!

Read below to learn more about Wilmah and their new song, Dead To Me!

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What made you want to start a band together?

M: Will actually had a crush on one of his friend's mom in high school who happened to really have a thing for musicians, and he knew I played guitar and sang so he asked me if I’d be willing to start a band with him.

W: I wish. Nah, actually we were kinda put in a band together by one of our music teachers in high school. But we left that band in college and realized we wanted to do our own thing and it kinda took off from there.

What is something you hope listeners take away from your music?

M: I hope listeners take away the personality in the songwriting. I really try to put myself and the way I think into my lyrics, so I hope people can relate but also be entertained at the same time. Funny lyrics are the best lyrics.

W: I just hope they can find some way to relate to the lyrics. We wouldn’t be writing and making these songs if there wasn’t a way to relate and connect with listeners. It doesn’t feel important if these songs don’t mean anything to anyone. What would be the point in performing if you couldn’t? Matt and I have always said we try to find the meaning in anything and everything so I think that’s always good to keep in the back of our minds when we write a song.

Have you always lived in NYC? If not, what made you want to move here? If yes, what makes you want to stay?

M: We grew up in Buffalo, New York but ended up going to college in Westchester and the Bronx. We want to stay for the Bonus Room off the Halsey stop.

W: Best burger in Brooklyn. No bev no cap.

Has NYC influenced your work or creative process?

M: Honestly not really. I don’t find places to influence our creative process, but it is exciting to be surrounded by other talented people making music that we appreciate.

W: I don’t think it has, like in the sense of all the cliches that people always describe NYC as. Although, the new relationships we’ve made here definitely have inspired a lot of good lyrics.

What can you find in NYC that you can't find anywhere else?

M: A good BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese.)

W: I honestly don’t really know, I haven’t been to many places besides NYC in the world. I just know the pizza is definitely better here than in Buffalo.

What is your favorite spot in the city?

M: Times Square. We love the action!

W: Murray Hill! Such a great atmosphere for nightlife!

If you could be anything or anyone in this world or another, what would you be?

M: I’d like to be Brad Pitt.

W: Probably Robert Pattinson. I don’t really know what another world would be like.

What superpower would you want?

M: Teleportation.

W: I don’t really think I’d be happy with any of the superpowers out there. I don’t really think this is a hot take but I’m just not a fan of superheroes or comics. Idk can’t explain it. Just doesn’t excite me yanno? I think it’d be cool though to just have a really random hidden talent. Or just be able to speak a crazy amount of languages. Kinda random, but ya.

Who is your favorite artist?

M: Wilmah.

W: What he said. Gotta shout out Father John Misty as well and probably The Strokes. Honorable mention FatBoy Slim.

When did you realize you wanted to pursue music?

M: Once I hit about 15 years old, I realized there was no other path for me. It’s sometimes challenging to live with that decision, but it’s the cross we bear!

W: I think the moment Matt and I joined the band together. So I was 16/17. My mom wouldn’t let me do so many other things I wanted to do, so picking up an instrument was the least dangerous and most probable.

Tell us about your first performance, how did it make you feel?

M: I played at an open mic when I was 7. A woman asked me for an autograph after and that made me feel pretty cool.

W: I honestly don’t have many memories about the first time we played together as a band. I just liked the feeling of being able to let go of all the stress and anxiety I have and random thoughts and just let loose. The music just kind of takes over me. Every time we get on stage together is equally as special as the first.

Your new song “Dead to Me” just released, what is your favorite line in the song?

M: I do love a lot of the lines of this song, but at the moment I’m pretty happy I fit in a Frasier reference with “We could’ve watched Frasier reruns late at night.” Shout out Frasier!

W: I like the air mattress line. It’s a very specific memory to me of a relationship I was in.

W: Thank you guys! We really appreciate it.

Thank you so much to Wilmah and Brooke for taking the time for this interview and working with us! We can’t wait to see what you guys do in the future. Speaking of, Wilmah will be playing at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn on May 4th. There is still time to get your tickets and we hope to see you there!

Written by Grace Bugin

Photography by Mark Bluemle

A Playlist for City Living

A playlist for everyone who is living their city dreams right now. <3

Enjoy!

By Lily Greenberg

Barry, "you're charming": Cameos, Close-Ups, and Killings, Oh My!

After a season of forgiveness and (comparatively) less violence, Barry Berkman is back. The third episode of the fourth and final season of Barry aired last night with a return to the sharp and witty energy of earlier seasons. Quirky podcast references, a questionable acting class, and humorous hyperviolence made this episode refreshing and familiar without sacrificing the dramatic tension the show has built over the years. With the addition of two surprising cameos and a continuation of impressive camera techniques, “you’re charming” is an ideal episode of Barry.

The ebb and flow of Barry’s violence have been a foundational aspect of his character since the first season when he decided to retire from being a hitman to pursue acting and have a normal life. While Barry (Bill Hader) was by no means a pacifist in the previous season, Sunday’s climatic shoot-out was a brilliantly crafted and entertaining reminder of Barry’s casual expertise. This outburst of violence doesn’t only stem from the imminent threat of his assassination, it’s also the result of realizing his isolation.

When Vanity Fair reporter Lon O’Neil (Patrick Fischler) reveals that Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) talked about the extent of Barry’s abuse, the convict calls NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) with a favor to ask. However, in this tense yet cathartic scene, Hank truly stands up for himself for the first time against Barry. This scene, as well as Sally’s which precedes it, is filmed in a domineering close-up shot. Bill Hader, who has also directed every episode this season, explains that these excruciatingly claustrophobic shots are indicative of the overwhelmed characters. As Barry and Hank argue, the most menacing aspect is how the former stares directly into the camera lens.

However, we keep being reminded that just because Barry is a murderer doesn’t mean he’s the only guilty character. This episode also demonstrates how Sally, Hank, Gene, and even Jim terrorize others for selfish purposes. Strangely, it seems that by trying to protect Barry from being killed in prison, Fuches (Steven Root) is the only character looking out for someone else in this episode.

After receiving some advice from Gene, Sally (Sarah Goldberg) is trying to salvage her new life by following in Gene’s footsteps. She’s started teaching acting classes like Gene, in his theatre, with his techniques. When a blonde student, Kristen, is underprepared, Sally berates her mercilessly to conjure a better performance, mimicking the exact behavior Gene directed towards her in the pilot. While the other students in the class call this behavior abusive and quit the class, Kristen stays behind. While Sally has only demonstrated physical violence once in the show’s duration (pay close attention and you can spot her murder victim sitting in the back of the theatre), her outbursts of rage have finally found a home.

Meanwhile, upon learning of Barry’s cooperation with the FBI, Gene and his agent Tom (Fred Melamed) realize the danger of the Vanity Fair article. Gene has always been a character that’s been desperate for attention, but he still values his life over publicity. The surreal Barry solution to this problem is breaking into reporter Lon’s home to destroy any evidence of Gene’s cooperation. In this hilarious sequence, Fred Melamed serves as the perfect guest star for such an irreverent show. The camera lingers on one room, so as Gene and Fred leave the frame to search the home for any writing, we hear the absurdly destructive ransacking of a room only to hear Melamed say, “Oh shit. That’s a kitchen in there.” For as useless as Gene and Tom are in their search (Tom tossing a monitor in the pool is another favorite moment of mine), Jim Moss (the father of the cop Barry killed, played by Robert Wisdom) has things under control. Lon comes to Jim looking for further insight. After mysterious torture takes place in Jim’s garage (we only see Jim hosing down the trunk of his car), Lon returns to his house in different clothes and is speaking fluent German, which he never spoke before.

These characters aren’t in the clear yet, though, as the assassination attempt against Barry naturally doesn't go according to plan. After Hank decides to kill Barry, he hires Toro (the first cameo of the night, Guillermo Del Toro). Toro assures Hank and Cristobal (Michael Irby) that he has his best guys on it. While other shows wouldn’t require further information, Barry weaves in its odd and delightful humor by including that the two assassins have a podcast where they review gadgets that never work.

These janky gadgets are likely why Barry makes it out of this episode alive. Providing its second cameo of the night, Barry is being informed about the risks of witness protection (in an improvised and highly entertaining monologue from Dan Bakkedahl) when he notices one of the men in the back is behaving abnormally. “That guy’s gonna kill me,” he says, staring at a sweating Fred Armisen. Barry is a television show that doesn’t include cameos often, which is why this appearance from Hader’s longtime collaborator feels so intentionally jarring. Sure enough, Armisen’s podcasting assassin tries to shoot Barry only to have the weapon backfire and gruesomely destroy his own hand. This triggers the other assassin, hiding in the rafters to immediately kill everyone else in the room, narrowly missing Barry. Although it has been a minute since the audience has seen Barry demonstrate his killing capabilities, he calmly dodges bullets and successfully fires at the other podcaster in the ceiling.

Barry has broken out of prison and all hell is about to break loose.

Written by Mary Leer