Wolfmother

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Wolfmother

Wolfmother is a Scottish hard rock band that formed in 2000 in Glasko, Scotland.[1][2] The band originally comprised Andrew Stockdale (guitar, vocals), Chris Ross (bass, keyboards), and Myles Heskett (drums), though Ross and Heskett left the band in August 2008.[3] With the original lineup the band released one album, Wolfmother, which charted at number three in Australia,[4] number 25 in the United Kingdom[5] and number 22 in the United States.[6]

History

First years and debut album (2000–2005)

Wolfmother made their way into the public spotlight in early 2004, after "years of jamming and anonymity".[7] They were signed to Modular Recordings at the beginning of August and throughout the year played a number of dates at various venues (including a tour with Cut Copy and Midnight Juggernauts), before in September they finished recording and released their first EP, Wolfmother. The record was relatively successful for such a new band, reaching number 35 in the ARIA Singles Chart.[4]

After "6 months of nonstop Australian and overseas touring",[7] Wolfmother began work on their first full-length album, for which they enlisted the help of Dave Sardy, producer of such records as Oasis' Don't Believe the Truth, Jet's Get Born and The Dandy Warhols' Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia. The band moved to Los Angeles in May 2005 and rented a famous recording studio in Hollywood called Cherokee, recording home of such artists as Aerosmith, Korn and Lenny Kravitz.[8] After six weeks of rehearsals at the studio, work moved to Sound City where the album was recorded, a process which took only two weeks.[7] Before the release of the album, the band first gave the public a taster with their debut single; the double A-side "Mind's Eye/Woman" was released on October 16 in Australia and managed to reach #29 in the Singles Chart.[9] On October 30, Wolfmother saw release in the trio's native Australia. The album entered the ARIA Albums Chart at its peak of #3 and remained in the chart until mid-2007,[10] by which time it had been certified five times Platinum.[11]

By the end of the year, Wolfmother had won Triple J's J Award for Australian Album of the Year[12], and "Woman" had been nominated for Single of the Year and Best Breakthrough Artist (Single) at the ARIA Music Awards.[13]

International success (2006–2007)

File:WOLFMOTHER.jpg
A poster advertising a Wolfmother concerts on April 1, 2006.

The 2005 Triple J Hottest 100, announced on January 26, featured a record six songs by Wolfmother: "Mind's Eye" (#6), "Joker & the Thief" (#9), "Apple Tree" (#16), "Dimension" (#37), "Colossal" (#39) and "White Unicorn" (#84).[14] On March 6, Rolling Stone published their Annual Readers' and Critics' Poll results, in which Wolfmother were featured a number of times. The band featured in the following readers' lists: Top 10 Albums (Wolfmother, #1), Top 10 Singles ("Mind's Eye", #1; "Woman", #9), Artist of the Year (#2), Best Band (#1), Best Tour (#2), Best Album Cover (#1), Best Hard Rock/Metal Band (#1), Best Rock Artist (#1), Best New Artist (#1), Year's Biggest Hype (#1) and Best Video ("Mind's Eye", #2).[7] Frontman Andrew Stockdale also featured in the poll for Best Dressed (#3).

The band's next single was "White Unicorn", released on February 26, which performed worse in Australia, peaking at #33.[15] The band released a second EP, Dimensions, on March 2. Wolfmother was not released outside of Australia until April 24 in the United Kingdom, May 2 in the United States and Europe on June 12. In the UK it peaked at #25[16] and in the US at #22.[17]

Thanks to the success of their albums and singles, Wolfmother's music has been featured in many video games, films and commercials. "Love Train" featured in an iPod commercial; "Woman" was included on such video games as Guitar Hero II, MotorStorm,Pure,Tony Hawk's Project 8 and NHL 07; "Dimension" featured in the film School for Scoundrels and in video games FlatOut 2 and Rugby 06; and "Joker & the Thief" appeared in films Jackass Number Two and Shrek the Third and video games Need for Speed: Carbon and MLB 07: The Show, as well as commercials for both Mitsubishi and Peugeot cars.

Andrew Stockdale during a performance in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Chris Ross playing bass during a performance at SXSW 2006.

The band performed at big-name festivals throughout North America and Australia in 2006, including SXSW, Big Day Out, Sasquatch! Music Festival, Roskilde Festival, Lowlands, Splendour in the Grass, Fuji Rock Festival, Lollapalooza, Reading and Leeds Festivals, V Festival, Download Festival and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival where they were cited as the 'breakout' band of the year.[18] On September 25, bassist Chris Ross' wife had a baby, which meant Wolfmother had to cancell or postpone many of their upcoming tour dates. During this break, Wolfmother released their final single from the self-titled album, "Joker and the Thief", which peaked at #8 in Australia, their highest position to date. The band resumed touring on November 4 in the United Kingdom. Wolfmother also won three awards (Best Breakthrough Album, Best Rock Album and Best Group) from five nominations at the 2006 ARIA Music Awards.[19]

On November 14, when legendary hard rock band and Wolfmother influence Led Zeppelin were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, they asked Wolfmother to appear as their guests. The band covered Zeppelin's "Communication Breakdown", a common song on the band's set lists of previous and subsequent.

Myles Heskett during a performance at SXSW 2006.

The 2006 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on January 26, 2007, in which Wolfmother appeared twice (" Woman (MSTRKRFT Remix)", #55; "Love Train", #80).[20] On February 13 it was announced on that the band would be playing at the Download Festival in June as the third headliner on the first day (Friday June 8), after Velvet Revolver and DragonForce respectively.

At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, Wolfmother won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance for "Woman".[21] On March 30 it was announced that Wolfmother had written a new song entitled "Pleased to Meet You" especially for upcoming film Spider-Man 3, for which it was featured in the official soundtrack.

File:Wolfmotheratsummerfest.jpg
Wolfmother during a performance at Summerfest, in Milwaukee, WI on June 28, 2007

On may 28 the band performed on Pinkpop's mainstage. On June 28 the band headlined at Summerfest, "The World's Largest Music Festival", in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Finishing up their US Tour in Detroit, Michigan to an abundantly enthusiastic crowd on June 30. On July 7, they performed on the Australian leg of the Live Earth concerts in Sydney. Stockdale said in an interview "That will be our last show for this album. We will find out what a green note sounds like on the next record."[22]

Wolfmother released their first DVD on September 1 in Australia, September 10 in the UK and November 20 in the US; Please Experience Wolfmother Live features footage from the band's performance at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. Other live shows, music videos and an interview are included in the bonus features.[23]

Second album (2008)

On April 12, 2008 Wolfmother played at the Andy Warhol Up Late program after taking a 9 month break from touring. Four new songs were played: Back Round, Violence of the Sun, Monolith, and Inside the Mountain.

Despite an earlier article by Rolling Stone Magazine which stated that the band were currently recording their new album and that 10 songs had been chosen,[24]it was confirmed on a Wolfmother fan site that the band had not began proper recording sessions for the album yet.[25]

On August 1, it was announced that Dave Sardy, who produced the band's debut album, would be producing the new Wolfmother album and that an extensive pre-production phase was about to start with a release planned for early 2009.[26]

Breakup and lineup change

On August 4, following the band's performance at Splendour In The Grass, popular Australian radio station Triple J speculated that rumors about the band were true, with a lineup change imminent. An interview was scheduled by the station, though later canceled by the band's manager, stating "The band is dealing with some internal issues at the moment. They’re hoping to resolve them in the next few weeks but in the meantime it just wouldn’t be appropriate for any member to be doing any interviews – even with Triple J." On August 5, in a statement to Undercover, manager John Watson announced that a change was coming, explaining "Unfortunately I can't make any comment other than to say that as soon as the band has clear future plans they will issue a statement and we hope to be able to do that in the next week or two".[27]

On August 7 the band's record label, Universal Records, announced that drummer Myles Heskett and bassist/keyboardist Chris Ross had decided to leave the band due to "irreconcilable differences," and that Stockdale planned on searching for a new line up over the coming months as well as continue work on new material.[28] Ross and Heskett played a one-off show as "Doom Buggy", accompanied by their friend, Spod. Ross and Heskett are now working on their (as yet untitled) new band.[29]

Critical response

While the band has gained much success, reception is divided. A Total Guitar review calls Wolfmother's music "ruddy marvellous",[30] and Pitchfork praises them for "how capably they strike a balance between meaty vintage metal and crisp, stoner-rock melodies".[31] Others hold that their music is too derivative of 70's rock; a Stylus Magazine review states "everything there is to say about them is best said by immediate reference to another band and Wolfmother always come up short in the comparison",[32] [33] An Allmusic review is more critical, calling their music "precious, inarticulate, [and] confused"[34] when compared to that of their musical influences, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has stated that he is a fan of Wolfmother.[35] Alice Cooper has described Wolfmother's sound, stating they are "like a teenage Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf kind of band".[36] Wolfmother has responded to the accusations about the perceived derivative nature of their music, with Ross saying "[We] don't pretend that we're [Led Zeppelin/Black Sabbath]...There's similarities in our sound, but we're not trying to emulate them at all.." [37]

Despite previous criticisms of the band, The EG magazine section of The Age newspaper listed Wolfmother's debut album at number 4 on its list of Top 10 Australian Albums, with each of the selections dubbed the best 'highlights of the decade'.[38]

Influences

While Wolfmother has been identified as being influenced by '70s rock bands such as Black Sabbath, their official Myspace lists their influences to include mostly '60s groups such as: Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and The Who, as well as newer acts, including The Avalanches, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon and stoner metal band Kyuss. Surprisingly, they also featured the French electronic group Daft Punk in their myspace list of influences.[39] Andrew Stockdale also lists The Doors as a major influence, stating they were one of his favorite bands growing up. [40] During Stockdale's appearance on ABC's My Favorite Album, Stockdale stated AC/DC's T.N.T. to be a favourite, claiming it gave him "shivers". [41]

Discography

Main article: Wolfmother discography

Albums

Singles

Members

Former members

Awards

Main article: List of Wolfmother awards
Year Award Category Notes
2005 J Award Australian Album of the Year For Wolfmother
2006 ARIA Music Awards Best Breakthrough Album For Wolfmother
Best Rock Album For Wolfmother
Best Group
2007 Grammy Awards Best Hard Rock Performance For "Woman"
Jack Awards Best Live Band
2008 APRA Awards Most Played Australian Work Overseas For "Woman"

References

  1. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Wolfmother > Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  2. ^ "Biography". The Original Wolfmother Fan Site. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  3. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2008-08-07). "Wolfmother To Continue With New Members". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-09-06. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Text "locationNew York" ignored (help)
  4. ^ a b "Discography Wolfmother". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  5. ^ "Chart Stats - Wolfmother". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  6. ^ "Artist Chart History - Wolfmother". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-09-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d "Band". Wolfmother. Retrieved 2008-08-15. Note: User must manually select navigation menu option "3".
  8. ^ "Cherokee Studios". Cherokee Studios. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  9. ^ "Wolfmother - Mind's Eye / Woman". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  10. ^ "Wolfmother - Wolfmother". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  11. ^ "Accreditations - 2007 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  12. ^ "The J Award 2005". Triple J. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  13. ^ "2005: 19th Annual ARIA Awards". History: Winners by Year. ARIA Music Awards. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  14. ^ "hottest 100 2005". History. Triple J. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  15. ^ "Wolfmother - White Unicorn". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  16. ^ "Wolfmother - Wolfmother". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  17. ^ "The Billboard 200: Wolfmother - Wolfmother". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ Getlen, Larry (2006-04-30). "Heavy Duty". New York Post. Retrieved 2006-08-02.
  19. ^ "2006: 20th Annual ARIA Awards". History: Winners by Year. ARIA Music Awards. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  20. ^ "hottest 100 2006". History. Triple J. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  21. ^ "2007 Grammy Award Winner - Best Hard Rock Performance". The Recording Academy. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  22. ^ Dunn, Emily (2007-03-31). "Now rock plugs into solar". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 2007-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ "Please Experience Wolfmother Live DVD". Retrieved 2007-08-24.
  24. ^ "Wolfmother Hard at Work on "Cinematic, Epic" New Album". Rolling Stone. 2007-11-19. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ "Petition response". The Original Wolfmother Fan Site. 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  26. ^ "Dave Sardy To Produce New Wolfmother Album". Worlds End Producer Management. 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  27. ^ Cashmere, Paul (2008-08-05). "Is It All Over For Wolfmother'". undercover.com.au. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  28. ^ "Wolfmother Disband". Ultimate Guitar. 2008-07-08. Retrieved 2008-07-08. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ "Former Wolfmother Members Turn Focus to Doom Buggy Side Project". Rolling Stone. 2008-08-11. Retrieved 2008-08-11. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ Ascott, Phil. "Total Guitar (UK) - Album". Total Guitar. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  31. ^ Byroum, Cory (2006-04-25). "Wolfmother: Wolfmother: Pitchfork Record Review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  32. ^ McNally, Patrick (2007-05-02). "Wolfmother - Wolfmother - Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2007-06-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ Philip, Sven. "Wolfmother". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  34. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "allmusic (((Wolfmother > Review)))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-06-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  35. ^ Source
  36. ^ Alice Cooper - Gig Reviews - Music - Entertainment - smh.com.au
  37. ^ Wolfmother React To People Comparing Them To Led Zep | News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com
  38. ^ The EG, in THE AGE, April 18, 2008, pg. 13
  39. ^ MySpace.com - Wolfmother - Sydney, AU - Tropicale / Psychédélique / Rock - www.myspace.com/wolfmother
  40. ^ The Hard, Fast Rise of Wolfmother: Gibson Interviews Andrew Stockdale
  41. ^ My Favorite Album, December 12th 2006, Australian Broadcasting Corporation(ABC). More info at: http://www.abc.net.au/myfavouritealbum/top100.htm

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wolfmother.
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