Water Seed loves “nerdy” stuff.
Whenever they’re on the road, hanging in a hotel room or just chilling in the studio, Water Seed’s talking about the newest superhero movies or sci-fi graphic novels. For a band, they hardly talk about music. Even their nickname, “Future Funk Stars” came from Water Seed’s keyboardist J. Sharp answering the question, “What would be our superhero team name if we had our own comic book?”
Now, Future Funk Stars are a step closer to being on the dotted pages of a comic book with the release of “Sounds of the Wasteland,” debuting this Friday, November 18 at The Rabbit Hole at 9 p.m. Artists Kr3wcial and Raj Smoove will perform with Water Seed. There will also be appearances from special guests Terrance Rosemore of Guardians of the Galaxy, Stanley Aughtry of both Black Panther movies, famed Marvel host Angelique Roche and local comedian DC Paul.
It’s the first issue of a new comic book series released with an original soundtrack composed by Water Seed. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the plot follows a lone musician roaming a world where the only other life is angels and demons.
The idea came to vocalist Lou Hill on one of his many road trips to L.A. The band would often fly to the city to record music but to save money, two volunteers would drive the gear up on a 20-hour drive through the American Southwest. Hill often volunteered.
“While on the far side of Texas, which is just completely undeveloped space,” Hill said jokingly, “I was just thinking, there’s no way certain musicians would survive an apocalypse. If this is what it is and they can’t survive riding in a car, there’s no way they’ll actually survive.”
Hill says Water Seed has always felt incomplete without the visual element of their music and that this is the first step towards bringing their artistic vision to fruition. As new issues release, Water Seed will continue to compose new music for the 12-book series.
The comics are written by Hill and illustrated by local artist Design Sunset. In addition to the “Sounds of the Wasteland” series, Water Seed is teasing a “Quest For Fresh” comic series fully realizing the “nerdy” superhero team that is the Future Funk Stars.
The band will continue putting their full attention into releasing new music as well, with three albums and some tours planned for 2023.
“We’re still musicians. We’re still touring. A lot of stuff is happening but the great thing about it is when we’re sitting in those hotel rooms or hanging out, we’re writing,” Hill said “It’s not about finding time to do all of it, it’s about getting the creative energy out.”
