Wayside on The Powers of Guitar Music and Anime on Their Side

If you’re of a certain age, anime was likely your introduction to guitar music. Whether it be a jangly OP or Deftones making surprise appearances in ***Dragon Ball Z ***movies, many fans and artists alike saw those visuals mixed with those sounds and never looked back.The same is true for Australian band Wayside. Their new single, “Invisible Strings,” takes that sound and amplifies it with a bit more edge, getting listeners ready to take on any shonen-style challenges they may face while also getting stuck in your head for days.I spoke with Wayside bassist Izzy De Leon about the inspirational power of anime and the debt of gratitude she owes to Cheez TV.

Tell me a bit about the new track “Invisible Strings!”

Izzy De Leon: We are so proud of this one. We recorded it late last year in the new Memory Music Studios in Philly. Will Yip produced the track and actually played drums on it too. We feel so insanely lucky to have this be our first release on Will’s label Memory. The writing process was really fun, it was a real team effort from the three of us. We’re so excited about this whole next era of Wayside.

Do you use anime for creative inspiration at all? Is it on or around when you’re writing/recording?

Izzy: I am always watching anime. I’m always talking about it, I’m always thinking about it. Definitely way more so than the boys hahaha. I get a lot of inspiration from anime in all areas of my life but I think that’s the beauty of Wayside because we all bring very different interests and inspiration to the table. So, serendipitously yes. I was rewatching Neon Genesis Evangelion while we were writing this one earlier last year. I’ve been on a bit of a tear for the last year revisiting some classics from the ‘90s, the art style is just so cool and there’s such a charm to the animation. I also remember right before we left for the US I’d just seen the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle movie in cinemas in Australia which I absolutely loved :’)

Where did your anime journey begin? Where are you on your journey now?

Izzy: My anime journey began at 11 years old watching Naruto. I remember my family had about 25gb of internet per month to share between four of us (LOL) and I binged the Chunin Exams arc and capped the family internet. Everyone was so mad at me hahahaha.Before that I used to watch Pokémon, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Dragon Ball Z before school on a program we had in Australia called Cheez TV.I love a good shonen anime (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, JUJUTSU KAISEN, Naruto Shippuden) but I have really loved revisiting classics recently. Movies like Angel’s Egg, Ghost in the Shell and shows like Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Sailor Moon.

Does anime feed into the type of music you make? Anime does tend to feature a lot of guitar music…

Izzy: For sure! We’re all huge Deftones fans and their iconic sync with “Change” in Dragon Ball Z was a cultural reset for all of us. I’m in the UK right now about to play at Download Festival and I was watching the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie on the plane over. There’s a scene where Kaiba is going to visit Pegasus and he’s flying a Blue Eyes White Dragon-shaped plane (amazing) and this rock song is playing as he’s taking off. A Wayside song would totally suit that kind of vibe, or a fight scene/powering up scene in a shonen.

Why do you think anime fans are drawn to heavy music and vice versa?

Izzy: I think both genres express emotion very viscerally. Personally, I felt very drawn to both of these as a teenager. When you’re growing up with really big feelings and you’re looking to art and media to help you feel seen and understood. I understand why the audience Venn Diagram between anime and heavy music has an exceptionally large overlap hahaha.Some of the plot points/subject matter in the shows I loved as a kid deal with such a huge spectrum of emotions. “Bye Bye Butterfree” for example (tearing up at the thought).

**Are there any anime openings or endings (or soundtracks) that helped guide you on the road to making music? **

Izzy: Oh absolutely, the ***Pokémon ***and Sailor Moon theme songs were such huge parts of my childhood.There are so many iconic intros I could touch on, but when I boil it down I think I just appreciate great songwriting in all forms. I could only ever dream of writing something as iconic as “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” (Neon Genesis Evangelion), “Tank!” (Cowboy Bebop) or “Bluebird” (Naruto Shippuden).

**What is the anime scene like in Australia? **

Izzy: From my experience, it’s pretty alive and well. I would say 80 percent of my friends are super into anime, which I think is so sick. I think it’s huge in Australia, especially for creative people.

Why do you think anime is such a big part of Australian heavy music in particular?

Izzy: I touched on it earlier but any kids growing up in the early 2000s were probably watching Cheez TV before school. When you already have that familiarity from your childhood it was pretty easy to just keep it rolling into angsty high school years. I think a lot of alternative kids had probably graduated to watching shows like Death Note, Bleach,*** ***and Naruto Shippuden at the same time they were learning guitar and writing songs.I also think Australia’s proximity to Asia in general makes the cultural exchange a lot easier for people who are already looking for it. It’s so easy to access amazing food, fashion, art, and cinema from all over Asia (not just Japan!) so if you’re already tapped into the culture in one way (which a lot of the heavy scene here is) it’s easy to keep learning more and immersing yourself.

What is your watch list? Is there anything you’ve been putting off that you want to watch now that the album is done?

Izzy: OMG I’ve had ***NANA ***and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure on the watch list forever! They’re so iconic and I’ve been waiting until I’ve had enough time to properly enjoy them. I’ve watched so many video essays breaking down the fashion references/inspirations and I just think the art styles of both of those shows look incredible.

If you could have any anime character join the band, who would it be and what would they do?

Izzy: Hear me out: Itachi Uchiha on stage/lighting design and every time we play a show he could cast a genjutsu over the entire audience and we could build out a crazy immersive world to play the set in. It would be like a 4D visual experience for everyone and then at the end instead of walking off our genjutsu stage we all dissolve into crows hahaha.

Is there anything else about upcoming new music that you can share?

Izzy: We really tried to push the Wayside envelope a bit. We really wanted to make the heavy sounds heavier and the lighter parts more atmospheric and explore the space more. I like to think of Wayside’s sound like a sphere and we’ve just been exploring all the light and shade around it.

Is there anything you’d like to plug or say to the Crunchyroll audience out there who may not be familiar with your music?

Izzy: If you were a fan of the Dragon Ball Z Super Saiyan Deftones moment I think you’ll definitely like our music. Our new song “Invisible Strings” is out everywhere now. :)

Stream “Invisible Strings” now.Follow Wayside here.