Longwave’s Steve Schiltz On The Future Of Longwave & What Its Members Have Been Up To

With a few years of forming in 1999, the quartet known as Longwave had a big deal with RCA Records. Touring was done alongside The Strokes, The Vines, and OK Go, music videos were made for singles like “Wake Me When It’s Over,” “Everywhere You Turn,” and “Tidal Wave.” The group went on hiatus shortly after 2008’s Secrets Are Sinister, yet none of the members of Longwave gave up music.

Last month, Longwave announced on its social media accounts that it was returning for an April 7th show at New York’s Mercury Lounge, also noting plans of releasing new music. To learn more about the future of Longwave — which consists of vocalist/guitarist Steve Schiltz, guitarist Shannon Ferguson, drummer Jason Molina, and bassist Christian Bongers — I had the pleasure of doing Q&A with Schiltz. More on Longwave can be found online at www.longwavetheband.com.

Had everyone in Longwave been talking since the band went on hiatus? What inspired the reunion?

Steve Schiltz: We’ve been talking about it for a few years now. We got together in 2013 or so, got a rehearsal space together, and went in and played a bit. The rehearsal space was terrible, cold and smelly. In one way, it was a bit like our first spot, in the old days! But in another way, it was just not really much fun.

In the end, the timing wasn’t right. We all have families now and it just took a few things lining up, and everyone wanting to do it again. that started happening about a year ago.

Not everyone in Longwave lives in the same city. How does that affect rehearsals?

Steve Schiltz: That’s true. our guitar player, Shannon, lives in northern California. So what happens now is, we all decide on a few dates, and Shannon flies in to play. We get together at my studio in Dumbo.

It makes some things tougher, like doing a press photo, or if we have an idea we might have to wait until Shannon comes back. But it’s actually worked out to be very productive, when we DO get together.

What have you been up to while Longwave has been on break?

Steve Schiltz: I had a band going for a while called Hurricane Bells. We toured a little, but we’ve been on a bit of a break now too. I’ve done a bunch of sideman guitar stuff, playing on records and shows for people. I’ve just played most of the guitar on a new record for our friends Blue October, and wrote a little bit with them, too. That’s the fourth record I’ve done with them now.

I also do TV commercial stuff, movie composition and guitar stuff; studio work. It’s good work to have, when you have a family and can’t/don’t want to tour all the time.

What about your bandmates?

Steve Schiltz: They’re involved in music too. Shannon does similar composition and studio work. He had a web series he was doing for Google for a bit. He and our drummer Jason had a band called Falcon for a while, with our friend Neil Rosen. Jason has also been playing on and off with a band here in town called Dead Heart Bloom.

We’ve got a new bass player named Christian Bongers. I say “new”, but he filled in on tour in 2005 and he’s also done time in Hurricane Bells AND Falcon, so he’s seasoned. But Christian has played with a ton of people — Angela McCluskey, Botanica, and he does a weekly dance band gig at the McKittrick Hotel. It’s a great dance band, cool music.

Is Longwave here to stay? Is this just a one-off reunion show?

Steve Schiltz: We’ll see! Definitely not a one-off show. We got into this again to make a record together, and we have the songs, and we have my studio. Once we got the songs all ready to play and record, we decided to do this one show to play a few of them! So, off we go…

I remember when Kristen Bell referenced Longwave as one of her favorite bands in an article a few years back. Had you ever seen her at a gig?

Steve Schiltz: Mmmm, I don’t think so? I actually think she and Shannon had a mutual friend. Shannon could answer that better. That was really nice, she mentioned the band in a few places.

We DID have Drew Barrymore at one Mercury [Lounge] show, long ago! She was going out with Fab [Moretti] from The Strokes. Fab stopped me on my way to the stage — “Hey Steve! This is Drew!” “Oh, HI Drew.” You know…

When not busy with your career, how do you like to spend your free time?

Steve Schiltz: Eh, I don’t have too many other things I like to do, except spend time with my family. I take my kids places, we hang out. They’re alllllmost old enough to get into music. We have a little guitar at home and I sing to them at night. My one son watches my hands while I play. I think, “GOOD, GOOD.” Then I think, “NO! Oh, NO!”

Finally, Steve, any last words for the kids?

Steve Schiltz: I’ve had this title banging around in my head, which might make it into Longwave somehow. “you’re never gonna live forever.” I think about that a lot, with respect to the band. We’re lucky that people already have been so positive when we say we’re playing again. You only go around once. Might as well get your friends together, book a show, and kick some ass…

SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER

Tags: Blue October, Dead Heart Bloom, Drew Barrymore, Google, Hurricane Bells, Kristen Bell, Longwave, Steve Schiltz

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."