“Homebrewed” Lead Guitarist: Drew Wilkinson ’16

Name: Drew Wilkinson

Nicknames: Downtown Funky Stuff Malone, Jaranamoe Stanson, Drew-bee-doo-bo-witz

Age: 21

Class Standing and Major: Senior, Global Supply Chain

All right collegiettes, we’ve got a fire campus cutie for you this week. In fact I think that’s the sound of a fire truck siren now, it must be coming to cool us down! As a new groupie I might be biased, but Homebrewed is definitely my new favorite band. Normally I’m not one for favorites, but if I were, Drew, their lead guitarist and vocalist, would definitely be up there in my top ten! Check out some of the fun things we talked about while hanging out at our favorite local coffee place, Cool Beans.  

How did you find out about Homebrewed?

“I was just looking around on Facebook the summer after my sophomore year and I knew I really wanted to find a band,” said Wilkinson. Soon enough he came across Homebrewed and sent in a few recordings. He tried out that September and has been a member of the band ever since.

You guys play at a lot of venues. Do you have a favorite?

“I like Breakers Live because it’s always packed, but the people there are always sloshed. My ultimate favorite bar to play at is Jakes though. It’s a happy medium – people are still with it enough to listen and appreciate the music and at the same time, they’re willing to have fun and dance.”

What is your ideal audience?

“I think the best audience is anyone who appreciates what you’re doing and who is present. It always feels great when someone comes up to you and says something along the lines of, ‘I really liked this or that about the show’ afterwards.”

How do you and your band prepare for a show?

“It really varies, if we’re in tip-top shape, we don’t need to practice everything. We do spend a lot of time figuring out which songs to play and what order we should play them in. We also spend a lot of time making sure we sound good with our horn section. They only play in a few songs, but they’re all incredibly talented.”

What do you do to get amped for a show?

“Dance competitions, having a few beers and blasting the song, Give it to me Baby.”

Do you think you’ll continue to work with music when you graduate?

“The other day I was driving and I was like, I really can’t imagine not playing. So I kind of came up with a plan to make sure I’ll still be able to play a little bit,” Wilkinson said as he pulled out his notebook where he writes down song ideas and anything related to his music. “I really want to save money. My plan is to not increase my standard of living even though I have a job set up for when I graduate. I want to build a jam room and just be able to play in there with great musicians and friends.”

What’s the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you while playing a set?

“I play the guitar behind my head sometimes,” Drew started. I’ll bet there are a lot of people out there who wouldn’t have broken out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter after hearing this, while interviewing someone no less, but naturally I did. Drew continued on though, “I do this move, and it gets the people going. I was using my dad’s guitar during this set, which I don’t normally do and when I put the guitar behind my head, the whammy dropped down and covered the strings so I couldn’t play. I fiddled with it for ten seconds or so then tried to quickly recover to keep up with my solo. That happened this semester, I felt like an idiot.” For those of you as clueless as me, the whammy is basically at the bottom of the strings and is typically used to add vibrato by changing the tension of the strings. ~Shoutout to Drew on the music lesson!~

What’s the weirdest thing that has happened to you while you were performing?

This one definitely took some coaxing, but finally, Drew came clean and dished the funniest (oddest) thing that’s happened to him while performing. Apparently, while playing a set, a girl reached up past the raised platform the band was on and grabbed Wilkinson’s crotch. It all happened so fast that Wilkinson “doesn’t even remember how it happened.” Apparently, the girl in question was with her beaux. When I asked what Wilkinson thought about this he said, “I don’t even know what the angle could’ve been, possibly a threesome?”

How would you explain the mix of personalities in Homebrewed?

“We’re all just always pushing each other to do ridiculous things. We also have this thing with doors.”

I needed to know more about their “thing” with doors, so here’s how the conversation went down:

Lexi: So, do you guys have a vendetta with doors or do they just get in the way? You know, kind of like bad timing?

Drew: No, we don’t have a beef with doors, they just always pop up at the worst times- they’re innocent bystanders!

Lexi: How many doors have you guys broken?

Drew: I think only three, but they’ve been broken repetitively.

Lexi: I don’t know if this is a weird question, but why do you keep replacing the doors? I mean, especially if you keep breaking the same ones?

Drew: One of our old band mates would always fix stuff around the house, so he would just do it for the guy who owned the house. It eventually became a punishment; if you pissed him off he’d remove your bedroom or bathroom door.

Now for the fun part, ladies!

Are you single, Drew? Have you ever dated a fan?

“Yes, I am single! No, I have never dated a fan.”

What’s your go-to pick up line?

“Well, I don’t really have a line, I just try and be genuine when I meet a girl. I’m not about gaming girls. I mean I wouldn’t say I’ve never tried to though! When I used to have a Tinder, I would make poems for girls that were specific to their bios.”

You don’t say! Can you make a bio for a tinder profile if I make one up on the spot?

“Yeah, go for it!”

OK- so you and Sarah both swiped right. Here’s what Sarah’s bio says: “Love long walks on the beach, if you don’t like cats swipe left.” GO!

 “Outside my window, rain falls softly on the grass.

When we walk down the beach, I’ll only look at your a**.”

Kudos to Drew, I’m already putty in his hands! What a way with words!

What’s your go-to dance move while you’re performing?

“Well, we were all taught a few moves to fall back on, so we wouldn’t look rigid on stage.”

Is it possible for you to show me one or two? I realize that we’re in a public place, but for the readers?

Well ladies, there you have it! Like Homebrewed on facebook here and be sure to check them out at their upcoming event at Breakers Live on April 26th from 11pm-2am. That’s the last day of classes, so this is a perfect way to celebrate! Also keep your eyes peeled for an album in the near future, complete with covers and an original song!

• cutie
• Guitarist
• usc
• vocals