Evan Rachel Wood Has a New Band

Evan Rachel Wood has formed a new band with Zach Villa, called Rebel and A Basketcase. They recently sat down for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss their collaboration. Here's what they had to say:

Tell me about the inspiration behind “Oh Yeah.”

Evan Rachel Wood: "When Zach and I met, I was in a time in my life where I was tired of making myself smaller for other people and I was ready to overcome oppressive situations and begin a time of rebirth. And when Zach showed me this song, it immediately spoke to me."

Zach Villa: "That song actually started, I want to say, maybe three years ago now? I was traveling home, trying to move into a different area of music production and was just experimenting around and created that opening lick. It sat on a hard drive for a very long time, and then right before Evan and I met, I was in a place where I was questioning a lot of things. The caste system in society, wondering if someone can achieve any kind of greatness beyond their own given level in life. So I began approaching music like that and finished writing the lyrics after we started working together."

It's very androgynous-looking, and Evan, you specifically are known for bending the boundaries of gender norms in terms of beauty, fashion and sexuality.

Wood: "Absolutely. I think that's another reason why this song spoke to me. I've struggled with gender norms my whole life, always feeling like I wasn't black-and-white; I was in this gray area, and gray areas really scare people because you can't define them. And that, you know, that's the inspiration behind this as well. I finally got to a place where I wasn't going to do it anymore, and I was finally just going to be me."

Was David Bowie a big inspiration for you?

Wood: "I grew up idolizing David Bowie, and we were in the middle of writing the album when he died. It gave us a whole new source of inspiration, a feeling like we had to keep the torch burning."

Villa: "We felt like we had to fill the void, and we talked a lot about that after he passed: how we needed to make up for lost time because the time is now. If he's not there to carry that place in society, then the rest of us have to take a stab at it. For better or for worse."

Wood: "I met Bowie when I was 15 backstage at his Reality tour and blacked out completely. I have no memory of the encounter except just looking into his different-colored eyes. He's been propping me up throughout every chapter of my life. And so it was so strange losing him the second I decided to put music out into the world. … I guess that’s very profound. But he saved my life."

In what way did he save your life?

Wood: "You couldn't define him, and when I was growing up, that’s how I felt about myself. It was like he was always producing this message of hope and understanding, always reaching out. He was so in your face, but never in a “fuck you" way. He was an ever-revolving, ever-changing work of art; so fluid, so unapologetic, but uplifting at the same time."