It sounds cliché but twins and bandmates Wyatt and Fletcher Shears literally finish each other’s sentences. More than just the name they’ve given, The Garden’s eclectic genre-defying sound, Vada Vada, is their whole world: a world of endless fun and complete acceptance that we kinda wish we lived in, too. Their performances are electric, both giving their all throughout sets of freak-out songs on drums and bass while somehow maintaining a casual air of cool that so many bands crucially lack. Having just toured Australia and South East Asia, we caught up with the boys on the London date of their European run, right before they showed Rough Trade East the most action it’s ever seen ft. Wyatt swinging from the lighting rig. As they say at the start of their brilliant second album, haha, “this is my life and this is how I want to live it. Take control of your life, stand up straight and shake your head.” Do it.
Where will you guys be for Halloween?
Wyatt: Unfortunately Ramsgate. No offense to Ramsgate, but we like to be home for Halloween…
Fletcher: It’s our favorite holiday!
Wyatt: …back in Cali!
Will you wear a costume for your show?
Wyatt: If we can find something. I’ve never not dressed up on Halloween. I still fully get into it and usually start to get in the mood back in August. But as we’re touring, this year I figured I might as well go zombie for the whole thing. Zombie as in, not actually bother.
Fletcher: Yeah, not actual zombie.
Wyatt: Yeah sorry, I should have said autopilot… but I guess that could be a costume too!
Do you ever go for a double costume?
Fletcher: When we were really little we were Lion King lions.
Who are your favorite fictional twins?
Wyatt: Bill and Ben, the twins from Thomas the Tank Engine!
And what’s the coolest you’ve ever felt?
Fletcher: I feel cool riding my bike really fast down huge hills.
Wyatt: Yeah, while listening to music and getting exercise at the same time!
What music do you bike to?
Fletcher: Just whatever I’m into at the time, nothing crazy. I mean… sometimes it gets pretty crazy, but nothing specific.
What do you think your music would be a good soundtrack for?
Fletcher: I’d love to see our music paired with JJ the Jet Plane. That’d be really entertaining.
You could do that though. Make a mash-up for your next video.
Wyatt: Here’s a picture of him in all his glory! He’s pretty chill.
Was he a childhood favorite?
Fletcher: No in our childhood we avoided him.
Wyatt: Yeah, we didn’t like him at all. We still don’t really like him but it’d be a really funny video.
Fletcher: JJ’s a poser, that’s why. Basically a rip off of Thomas the Tank Engine, but we respect him for what he’s trying to do. For society.
They do seem have the exact same face. What about a film?
Fletcher: I’d like to see Jester’s Game in Flubber. I think it’d work pretty well where there’s like a freak-out scene and Robin Williams is just freaking out.
Good call. You guys are pretty big on Instagram… do you care how many followers you have?
Fletcher: No, they don’t really matter that much. Actually, at one point I deleted my personal Instagram cause I was tired of it.
Wyatt: I actually run a Thomas The Tank Engine fan page. I know it sounds like a joke but it’s not. It’s @thomas_and_friends_official and we got a good 285 followers right there!
Yeah you do! Why did you start that?
Wyatt: Because I really like the show. I have posters of it in my room. I know most people are probably like, ‘oh, he’s trying to be a funny guy…’ but I do really like the show.
You need to advertise the fact that you run that. It’d get more followers…
Wyatt: I try. I tag Vice and Pitchfork in all the photos and pretend that I hate them and that we’re a way bigger company but they never respond, obviously.
Fletcher: I have one for this show, Inuyasha, but I only have like 40 followers. I actually put lots of cool pictures from the show on there.
It looks more varied than the Thomas one…
Fletcher: Yeah, it’s not your typical bullshit, it’s actually cool pictures from the show. Nobody gives a fuck but I just do it for fun!
Wyatt: I basically boast about cool fake things that we’re doing. Like, ‘we have a lot going on here at Thomas and Friends… we currently have 30 employees who work day and night to get you guys quality pictures. We’ve got a lot coming up including walk-thrus and special events, so get ready cause this thing’s gonna be huge!’
Fletcher: Sometimes me and my friends comment like, fuck you man! Fuck this page!
Isn’t it frustrating that you can’t just switch between different Instagram accounts and have to actually log in and out?
Fletcher: It almost makes you feel like you’re getting into a different world if you’re logging into a fan page you haven’t touched in like a week.
The dog on your album cover… what’s his name?
Wyatt: His name is Razor and he’s dead.
And he’s an old pet?
Fletcher: An old, not very fun to have pet. But you know, we loved him for who we was.
Wyatt: We ended up giving him away actually because he was a nuisance and he ended up passing away with a different family.
Well it’s nice that you commemorated him.
Fletcher: Yeah that was him in his little stage.
Wyatt: His little bastard stage!
Fletcher: He got even more rambunctious as time went on.
As we all do!
Fletcher: Pretty much… pretty much.
Credits
Text Francesca Dunn
Photography Darren Luk