Band: Jokerz Wyld
From: Houston, Texas
Their formation story:
(Max, aka Laff Trax, vocals): "It started from a literal joke. What if a band of clowns gatekept 'real klown' culture the same way that hardcore dorks gatekeep 'real hardcore' music?
"The forming members (Andrew 'Da Klown Printz,' Cole 'Killer Kole From Outer Space,' Scott 'Punchline,' and Myself 'Laff Trax') riffed on this bit for days, eventually coming up with track names and song ideas until we had accidentally written our first EP."
Their sound in their own words:
"If I had to describe our sound I’d call it 'laughable,' but like in a good way. Cartoonishly heavy and surprisingly competent hardcore music. I think the goal is for people to be like 'wait is this a joke? ‘Cause the riffs are actually pretty hard?' The same way you see brilliance and precision hidden within the buffoonery and comedic presence of a performing clown.
"Big influences for all of us would be 2000s hardcore bands like Terror and Trapped Under Ice as well as the timeless genius of 'Weird Al' Yankovic. Honestly, as long as we put in clown horn samples and crack wise about being 'real ass klowns' we have a pretty wide breadth of genre and style to work within. It’s bizarrely freeing in its nicheness."
Latest release info:
"For the new record, Thanks For the Klownery!, we made the active choice to write it in D, a much lighter tuning departure from the seven strings on previous EPs. As a result, the album carries a broad spectrum of riffage from beatdown hardcore to crossover punk to even nu metal and groove metal depending on what song you’re listening to.
"It’s also vocally diverse with lots of contrast between myself and Da Klown Printz who lent his voice for a majority of the tracks creating a nice juxtaposition and energy that wouldn’t be present otherwise. No matter what genre of hardcore you lean into there should be something on this LP for you. It’s also dedicated to our friend, fellow klown and guitarist Karl 'Ouchie' Boyd who tragically passed away last year."
Future plans:
"Full disclosure, we don’t have a drummer or a guitarist at the moment. Hopefully we can find some real silly and talented goofballs in the Houston area who are willing to commit to the bit.
"We have a split with our friends in the slam band Brain Hang coming out this summer. In an attempt to keep up with them, we’ve written what are most likely our heaviest tracks yet."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"Houston’s heavy music scene is something special right now. Claymore (TX) dropped two of my favorite heavy hardcore EPs of 2024. Their song 'Decadence' has one of the most must-mosh breakdowns I’ve ever heard. XDerisionX is a big leader in straight edge here in Houston, too. They have a real 2000s hardcore sound that people here are latching on to.
"Isolate brings a similar no-nonsense hardcore sound that is hard to ignore, especially live. Gang Busters shot out the gate with one of the most exciting EPs of the year so far, indicative of the fast paced hardcore that seems to be picking up steam lately. Numb Generation have been doing their thing in Houston for almost a decade now and they just came out with a new EP that may be their toughest yet.
"Special shout outs to our friends in Bosh out in Austin, who are doing some awesome stripped down and fast hardcore. Some insane talent coming out of Houston/Texas right now with a lot of unique takes on the genre."
Jokerz Wyld on social media: Instagram
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