Interview with Ethan Wynner/Heaven Seventeen

Ethan Wynner / Heaven Seventeen Interview About Theo and His Music

How did you come up with the name Heaven Seventeen?

It’s in Clockwork Orange. It’s one of the “hot new bands” that is advertised in the record shop. It’s actually already taken, a new wave band, but they spelled it with numbers instead of the word.

How would you describe your music?

Mediocre. The music I have released online is kind of half baked and I don’t try to record it professionally, it’s also because I like the aesthetic of Daniel Johnston, indie rock, and lofi. I don’t have an analogue eight track, so I just record it on my phone because I guess I just want to sound a little shitty.

What do you write about mostly in your songs?

I write about emotion. I write about mental objectives and challenges that one would go through, not necessarily me. I write about other people. I try to keep my lyrics pretty ambiguous. I don’t like revealing exactly what it’s about.

What is a typical process for you when you write your music?

It’s just very spontaneous, I’ll just be playing guitar and I’ll come up with something cool. Like “OH!” and I’ll play it a bunch of times and add to it. Eventually it turns into a song that I am sort of content with.

When and why did you get into music?

I got into music when I was in eighth grade. A family friend gave me a Black Flag record, and I was instantly intoxicated by punk rock. I turned into a punk rock junky - it’s part of my identity.

What do you do when you have writer's block?

I never really try to write music, I don’t like to force it. It happens when I’m writing words a lot, usually when I’m trying to write my book. I just write a page or two at a time, and if it ever gets to the point where it’s not the best, when it isn’t the most accurate I can portray, I will just stop. This goes for my music too. So I never play guitar trying to write music, I just play and sometimes it comes to me, sometimes it doesn’t.

What inspires you the most? Any specific bands or musicians?

Well, it changes every couple of weeks, I get totally different inspiration. Right now it’s a lot of indie rock. I make a lot of music with my friends, full band music with electric guitar and stuff, and that right now the band Grandaddy and Built to Spill is really influential to me. Those bands are basically the two different sides of indie rock. Grandaddy is pretty lofi and it has electronic influence, like synthesizers, which I really like. And Built to Spill which is genius guitar writing. I like loud music. I will always be influenced my punk.

What is your primary instrument to write with?

Guitar. I play bass and piano. I have written songs on piano, but mainly guitar. That’s definitely my primary instrument.

You’ve been in a decent amount of bands. Are you still in them and also doing your own thing?

My band Theo still exists. Theo was down for the count, it was knocked down, but Theo is being revived, and I have my solo songs on Bandcamp.

Do you plan to release your Bandcamp songs onto Apple Music or Spotify?

No, not those ones. Some of those songs I plan to turn into a Theo song and recording it with a full band and in kind of a different style. But never those recordings, they will never go anywhere other than Bandcamp. Those were just for the purpose of having music out.

Do you want your music to be your career or is it just a hobby?

I want to be a writer, I want to write novels, and I want to be a filmmaker. I want those two to be my main ambitions. I will always be a musician though, I will always make music. I definitely couldn’t live without music.

What is one song you wish you wrote?

Fuck, there are so many. Probably “Protect Me From All the Bad Things” by Loft & Lillow. Also “Sometimes” by My Bloody Valentine because it’s simply beautiful and has the effect of detaching you from reality for a little while.

https://heavenseventeen.bandcamp.com