Wayne Sermon

[on album "Smoke + Mirrors"] We wanted the album to have some of the warmth of the vinyl we grew up listening to. As important as radio is to what we do - and we do love that part of the music industry - it's really frustrating to hear this record on radio, just because it gets so smashed. Everyone is competing with everything else, but we have this very dynamic record that we put a lot of thought into, and radio just smashes the hell out of it. There's not much left after that happens, just one level. There's no loud, there's no quiet. It's just smashed. Show less «

[on album "Smoke + Mirrors"] It's a very dynamic record, because the lows are very low and the highs are very high. Dynamically speaking, it needs to be played in a high-resolution form, which is the way I'd much prefer it be listened to. Show less «

[on the studio used to record "Smoke + Mirrors"] We bought this old, weird '70s house outside of Vegas and gutted it to turn it into our studio. It has a really strange layout, but it's perfect for a studio. Show less «

[on his love for vinyl] I think it's cool. Unfortunately, a lot of music on vinyl isn't recorded analog, but some of it's magical. I grew up listening to it. The first time I heard a Tom Scholz guitar solo was on vinyl with my dad, on an audiophile-grade tube receiver. I'd just sit there and listen to [The Beatles'] Abbey Road, Iron Butterfly, Boston, Badfinger; all kinds of stuff. That's how I got into music and playing guitar - hearing it and listening to it on vinyl. To me, it has a special place in my heart. It's such a snobby thing for people to say, but it really is true - nothing sounds as good as old vinyl on a tube receiver with an amp. There's something that's just magical about that. Hearing a saxophone solo on vinyl - you can hear the breathing. You just can't hear that anywhere else. Show less «