By Stephen Appezzato
MIDDLETOWN – The Wag is a well-known name in the local music scene. The four-piece band consisting of Brian Ostering, Alicia Van Sant, Don Lee and Joshua Van Ness can be heard in venues ranging from coffee shops to The Stone Pony and even international concert halls.
This year The Wag is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Since the band formed in 1998, its popularity skyrocketed. The Wag has played alongside household names like Jason Mraz, Rick Springfield, Gavin DeGraw and John Cafferty. The Middletown-based group is recognized for its upbeat tunes, skillful cover songs and unique original pieces.
In reflecting on the band’s past 25 years, founding member Ostering discussed an array of topics with The Two River Times, offering a behind-the-scenes look into the area’s well-known foursome.
The Two River Times: Where did the name The Wag come from?
Brian Ostering: “Our music was very upbeat and happy and one of our friends suggested that we use The Wag because when a dog gets excited and happy, they wag their tails. She thought it kind of fit our music and our personalities and our positive songs, so we decided to go with that and it kind of just stuck.”
TRT: What style of music would you say that you play?
Ostering: “I would say upbeat, pop rock, influenced by the ’60s. We do a lot of harmonies and catchy hooks in our songs.”
TRT: Which musical artists have inspired you?
Ostering: “The Beatles. No. 1, The Beatles. I think their songs are great. I think they’re going to last forever. And what I like about them, too, is that there’s such a huge variety of songs and genres.”
TRT: When did you begin learning to play music and what’s the story behind that?
Ostering: “I was about 12 years old when I picked up the bass guitar. My family had a lot of musicians in there – my dad was a guitar player and my cousins were all into music. So we kind of all started playing and practicing together at family get-togethers and it kind of took off from there. I guess I always wanted to be in a band like my dad and it was just something that was always a lot of fun growing up.”
TRT: What is the songwriting process like for you?
Ostering: “I would say now it’s more of a group effort. So we kind of come up with some ideas and get together and see what we like, add to it, and go from there. It’s more of a collaborative process now.”
TRT: How often does The Wag perform?
Ostering: “We probably play once or twice a week. Some of the band members, this is what they do full time.”
TRT: The Wag is a pretty big name around here. What was the journey of building your fanbase like and at what point did you realize that your band was popular and successful?
Ostering: “You know, it’s funny, I guess. Everything was just homegrown. (When) we started off nobody knew or heard of us. We played small clubs and over the years I guess we started to develop a following.” (The Wag gradually began playing in larger and larger venues for a wider audience, growing its name.)
“It’s kind of neat when the club owners and the venues contact you now, instead of, you know, 25 years ago where we would be contacting them. So I guess it just gradually grew over time. But you know, we are fortunate for every show that we do and everybody that comes to them. We don’t take any of that for granted.”
TRT: What was the most memorable show you’ve performed?
Ostering: “I think the band would probably agree our show in July at the Vogel Theater. We did a show there where we played an original set of music and then we performed the music of The Beatles. It was basically a sold-out show and it came off very professional. It was a really cool experience for the band and for all the people that were there. I think that was probably one of our most exciting shows.”
TRT: The Wag toured internationally, in Canada, England and even Japan. How did those tours come about?
Ostering: “Halfway through the band’s career, unfortunately, our drummer passed away. And we kind of started to re-form with some different members. The other founding member, Alicia (Van Sant), and myself decided that we wanted to do some different things, make some new memories and new experiences to try to help us through the grieving time. I decided to reach out to different venues in different countries and see if I could put together some mini-tours just to try something new. And, fortunately, they were all very successful. it was just like a small tour of Japan and London and Canada. Everybody received us well and we had such a great experience. We also did some sightseeing while we were out there. It was kind of a win-win for us. It was a very positive experience and we got to get our music out to different places, different areas in the world.”
TRT: What is your favorite venue you have played?
Ostering: “It’s a little hard (to decide) but I can tell you a couple of my favorites. The Vogel Theater in Red Bank, The Strand Theater in Lakewood, we love the Stone Pony, and actually the Middletown Arts Center is really cool, too. Oh, and the Landis Theater in Vineland, that’s a really nice one, too.”
TRT: Do you have any big shows coming up that you would like readers to know about?
Ostering: “Yeah, we do actually. We have a few holiday shows that we have coming up. The first one is Dec. 9 at the Strand Theater in Lakewood. And out holiday show is called The Wag’s Christmas Spectacular. We perform all of the holiday music favorites, along with some dancing and comedy. We kind of put together a full-on show for all ages.
“The second one is the next Saturday, which would be Dec. 16, and that one is at the Middletown Arts Center.” That one is a benefit for the Monmouth County SPCA, so we’re selling tickets for that on our website thewagband.com. And then our final one for the year is on Dec. 23 at the Landis Theater in Vineland and they’re doing a collection for Toys for Tots. We love doing charitable work and giving back, it’s just something that means a lot to us to help out people and animals, wherever we can.”
The article originally appeared in the December 7 – December 13, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
