Inside We Weren’t Invited World of Punk DIY and “Flesh Vehicle”
With a cathartic sound that commands attention, paired with remarkable, boundless energy and a standout presence in the Chicago DIY and punk circuits, We Weren’t Invited is a five-piece hardcore alternative band that have gained a cult following through their ambitious approach in the DIY live music format.
Combining their love of post-punk and classic alternative with subversive hooks to their approach, We Weren’t Invited have created a bewitching sound that grabs you right by the throat. With musical stylings compared to artists ranging from Big Black, Wipers and Mudhoney, the raw sound and talent coming from this band is undeniable – and let’s just say, we’re obsessed.
Within minutes of playing with each other, We Weren’t Invited knew the project was going to branch off into something beautiful. The band is composed of Johnny Wynne (vocals), Isaac Rodriquez (guitar), Walker Wilson (drums), Clinton Coronado (bass) and Michael Locascio (guitar). Upon forming in early 2021, the band challenges what it means to be punk artists with their DIY approach, poetic lyricism and genre-blending musicality that leads fans to skateparks, churches and abandoned banks.
We Weren’t Invited brings their unique energy and a mosh pit with them everywhere they go.
“For us, We Weren’t Invited is such a great word of mouth that goes around Chicago and we’re embracing that,” Coronado says.
Spotting familiar faces at shows is “heartwarming” to the band, as it speaks to the level of community growth happening within their local scene.
“Seeing familiar faces shows a lot about this community and innovation within the scene itself,” Locascio says. “We want to provide new ways for people to have this experience, different interactive opportunities to provide accessible, intimate settings. The skate park shows we’ve been playing combines so many different aspects of Chicago street culture and puts them all into one place and allows that to be a breeding ground for people to make connections. That’s a huge part of what we do.”
Creating accessible music within accessible spaces helped We Weren’t Invited build off the momentum of their growing audiences since their self produced debut EP Broken Hearts Break Hearts.
“All of us are at a point in our lives where we want to support and promote the artists who are doing their own thing,” Rodriquez says. “I feel like these corporations have such a hold on everyday life in all aspects. When we see people doing their own thing, making their own products, making their own music, recording it themselves and throwing their own shows, it feels so much better and authentic. Everybody has the same goal.”
The band’s first single they wrote together, “The Big Parade,” was inspired by a serial killer movie that sparked the inspiration behind the bassline and the rest was completely freestyled in the same night. Wynne welcomes an erratic energy of acoustics and the band’s signature punchy, punk deliveries singing, “Baby your kisses taste like novocaine, so numb me out and put me out of my misery / I just wanna feel something / So tell me what it’ll fucking take to take you home.” The single sparked a load of content that would later be considered the biggest creative spark on the band’s sophomore EP release Flesh Vehicle, Pt.1.
We Weren’t Invited expanded on their heart-on-sleeve, free flowing styling, backed by an industrial sheen of lyrics formed out of frustration and improvisation in their EP release Flesh Vehicle, Pt. 1. The band pushes storytelling elements of the grim and gory macabre as far into reality as they’ll go, and even further than that. The EP contains their five hardest hitting tracks to date, led by the single “Doorman.” Flesh Vehicle, Pt. 1 broadens upon the band’s hardcore influences, concoting a frenzy of thick distortion, blistering drum beats and volatile vocals.
Themes of gore, brutal rage and escapist elements all interlace in Flesh Vehicle, Pt. 1 to fulfill the band’s desire to provoke and inspire.
“The creativity is a consequence of the world around us,” Locascio says. “I think the general discontent with the way things are done, whether that’s the political landscape or circumstantial, inspires creativity for the band.”
“Doorman’s” production is unrelenting and heavy with explosive soundscapes, antagonizing screams and pounding trap drums. The lyrics “Get in line, you’re part of the program” and “All my friends are in my head, am I even in control?” adds to the expansiveness to Flesh Vehicle’s discography in eerie moments of ethereality that resemble 90s industrial and cyberpunk blasts in metal. The track is backed with a ghastly black and white music video that’s immersed in clown makeup, theatrics and packs the bone-chilling chant “Life is a program, death is a doorman.”
We Weren’t Invited excels at creating forbidding moods and a creeping atmosphere, but there’s vulnerability here too – “Tangled” opens up with “Everything is ruined / I don’t want to be human.” “Tangled” exudes a nihilistic approach, electrifying guitars and aggressive vocals. The guttural screams add to an already morbid atmosphere that complements a nightmarish drone and violent eruptions of heavy, industrial instrumentals.
“Applause” begins with catchy melodies, authoritative flows and instrumental fluency. The track thrives off raw, visceral live performance energy that threatens to blow right out of the studio as Wynne sings “I just wanna feel something.”
The third track off the EP “Devour” brings an explosively chaotic energy that gets the listeners’ blood pumping as Wynne screams “BURN IT ALL.” The band clearly has an affinity for 90s industrial music and it further authenticates the ruthless mood and convinces you that you’re in this confined nightmare of what is Flesh Vehicle. “Devour” celebrates the union of genre-blending soundscapes alongside Wynne’s vicious vocal deliveries.
Listeners can expect Flesh Vehicle Pt. 2 to be the “tightest and most dynamic” release from the band with “twists and turns.” Alongside their debut EP and fan favorites such as “Me + U = Heaven” and “The Big Parade” already under their belt, the band said they’re looking forward to an upcoming East Coast tour and continuing to create infectious punk. When stripped to its layers, Flesh Vehicle is a burst of volatile rock and aggression that brings a charm and presence beyond the studio, making We Weren’t Invited one of the most memorable and exciting emerging live bands out of the vibrant Chicago DIY scene.
