Indietronica Band War and Peace of Placerville
Aug 29, 2016 09:39AM ● By David NorbyL to R: Stephen Geller, Teo Weldon, Nate Weldon and Michael Christofferson
The best things in life often come organically, as it has for Weldon brothers Teo (vocals and rhythm guitar) and Nate (vocals and keyboard). Artists their entire lives, the pair began collaborating musically and soon met Michael Christofferson (lead guitar and drums) and Stephen Geller (electronic drums) and—serendipitously—War and Peace began. “With the foundation of Teo’s great compositions and the chemistry and incredible talent these new mates brought to the picture, we found ourselves expanding to new horizons and challenging our own strengths and weaknesses,” Nate shares. “You could say it felt like destiny—chapter one.”
HLB: How did the band take off?
TW: War and Peace began with several songs I’d written over the last couple of years. I began working out how to play them live with my brother and soon after, met Stephen and Michael. The sound just came together like magic.
NW: I was working on building a studio conducive to creativity and production—an artist retreat if you will—and being just uptown of Placerville, couldn’t help being drawn to the wealth of talented musicians.
HLB: What’s the meaning behind the name “War and Peace”?
TW: The internal war and peace encountered in my life and [that I] see in the lives of others. In no way do we endorse war, but it’s a reality we’re faced with—the dark side of life alongside the peaceful and happy. There’s also war and peace within the music itself—heavy tension building and finding release on a harmonic level.
NW: War and Peace are dualities everybody gets in their own way. Further, war and peace can be looked at internally as we cleanse, heal and grow from within.
HLB: How would you describe your sound.
TW: Indietronica—indie rock with electronic elements. We cover a lot of ground musically, but many of the songs [have a]dance-infused indie [sound].
NW: I believe our music to be in line with this global and spiritual consciousness that’s uprising.
MC: Electric surf-rock. We all enjoy the same music, so our influences are back to the roots of the classics.
HLB: Tell us about your debut album.
TW: Our self-titled album will be released this month. It’s completely from the heart, no pretension. It’s set to an original sound that we’ve developed featuring solid and memorable foundations but pushes tonal exploration with electronic textures.
NW: We put consideration into what serves the songs to their utmost potential, without overcooking them, ensuring to pre-serve their initial raw energy while allowing the band’s talents to fuse together and evolve with an experimental cohesiveness. It’s a beautiful album.
HLB: What are your goals for the future?
TW: We’re very open to what the future holds. It’s exciting when you feel like you’re part of something way bigger than the sum of its parts.
NW: To tour the world. We didn’t make this come to life for ourselves (though we do have a lot of fun)—we made it for you!
MC: Start a secluded recording studio of our own and get people out of their comfort zone musically. It’s easy to stick with the same routine, but it’s liberating to branch out, seeing different perspectives of music and creativity.