Wolfmother
by Laura Matsue
Wolf Parade, Wolfmother, We are Wolves, Wolf Eyes, Aids Wolf, if your band has the word Wolf in it you’re automatically going to get some attention because this trend is still riding high. Having been recently de-Canadianized by American culture I now have one of those handy sidekicks and am currently in the fascination stage of such a novel device, most importantly the WOLF ring tone, which turns all my incoming text messages, t-mails whatever, into a howling at the moon like it’s my calling to answer whatever semi-purposeful message my friends trying to send me. Not by some network of digital communicative bleeps and bloops, or a few lines out of a Three Six Mafia song, but by a call of a noble animal. I’ll get over this in about 2 weeks, but wolves in all forms are satisfying my life with immediate entertainment that lasts for short periods, and that’s what we’re all really after, isn’t it?
About Wolfmother: they’re the Queens of the Stone Age and Black Sabbath mixed-breed; choppy guitar riffs covered in a wailing voice whose talking about taking you into another dimension that’s a purple haze with angels in the sky. Now, I don’t think they could’ve written these songs in the midst of an acid trip but they seem like they’re making references to a time that they were, and that’s just as good.
They’ve been listed in Rolling Stone as one of their 10 bands to watch, and since that magazine is let’s say, at least 6 months behind, that means Wolfmother are going to be all over your friend’s Ipods in about 2 months, after they’re done killing the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs new album, of course.
I spoke with Chris, one-third of what is Wolfmother while he was in Atlanta. Both in obvious states of sleep deprivation the conversation strayed as far away from music it could’ve possibly went, and never returned.
L: Explain the wolf band phenomena. C: I have absolutely no idea. We did a tour with a band called Wolf and Cub. We came up with the name when there was no other wolf bands. Something was going on, because all these wolf bands popped up. I got our name from the Tom Robbins book. It’s bizarre how all these wolf bands started showing up? It wasn’t the year of the wolf. What does this mean? Hey, I heard the sparrow is the new wolf.
L: You said that your producer is ‘pretty LA’ can you define that?
C: Ordering mocha frappachinos, fish tacos and having a car. Everyone’s traveling around in their own little bubbles. None of my friends in have cars. We travel on trains and buses, whatever.
L: What about by Monorail?
C: We DO have a monorail! Monorail monorail monorail. Those things are never about practicality, they’re tourist run
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L: Exciting! How futuristic.
C: Yes, I believe it is the way of the future.
L: I heard you spent most of your time recording playing pinball.
C: I’m a really good pinball player and I don’t mind saying so. I grew up playing with my brothers and listening to the Tommy Pinball Wizard thing. The way I play it I get into the zone, I get really focused. In the studio I got this huge high score and I was out while Andrew was doing his vocal bits, and the crew would try to beat me. They finally did, and I came in the next day and beat that score on the first day. The machine just wigged out, never worked again. YESSSS!!
L: What's the theme of your favorite machine?
C: That one was Star Trek, but I’m really into the Addams family and the Terminator, the Dr Who one is pretty cool. I really want to make a Wolfmother pinball machine.
L: Kid will have to be bringing a lot of money to your merch table.
C: No, I just need that one. Yeah, that’ll be just for me.
