Wolfmother: “Rekindling the Essence of Rock and Roll”

It’s been quite a while since the world saw the renaissance of rock and roll in its most down and dirty form. Back in the 1970s, bands such as Led Zeppelin and later on The Sex Pistols encompassed this version of rock where the music was hard, fast, electric and catchy. Nevertheless, music aside, just as important in establishing this “dirty” rock was the attitude. For what they lacked in musicianship, the Sex Pistols made up for in demeanor and appearance; they didn’t care what people thought about them and they played music the way they wanted to. A new band which possesses many of these Zeppelin and Sex Pistols type qualities is the hard rock, punch to your face three piece known as Wolfmother. These guys have been taking the rock world by storm with their classic rock inspired hard rock riffs and attitude, but it may come as a shock that this band has only been creating music for barely three years.

The origins of Wolfmother as a band go back about six years to 2000 when the three members, singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Keskett all met through mutual friends. For the next few years, the band went through a real experimental stage, trying to discover what sound suited them the best as a band. During this time, the members all experimented with their instruments; all while never recording a single note or playing a single show. Finally in late 2003, the three of them decided that it was time to get serious about the band and began writing proper songs.

When they finally started playing shows as Wolfmother, the years of meticulous practice ended up paying off. The band immediately impressed with their awesome musicianship and cohesiveness which led to interest from various record labels. Eventually, the band chose to sign with an Australian indie label called Modular Recordings which released Wolfmother’s self-titled debut EP in September, 2004. The release of the EP was followed by some intense touring across Australia for the next six months. One by one, Wolfmother began to win over new fans, but the popularity of the band was still quite localized.

After touring behind the EP, the band finally set about to record their debut full length album in 2005. To do so, they packed up their gear and moved to Los Angeles where they rented an abandoned Hollywood studio to write and record the album. The main goal of their writing and recording sessions was to capture the rawness and intensity of their live show. To achieve this, the band enlisted the help of producer Dave Sardy, an experienced producer who had previously worked with Oasis, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Marilyn Manson. The entire album was completed in a relatively short period of time; with six weeks of brainstorming and jamming ideas and only two weeks of actual recording. The record was finally released in early 2006 and thanks to an outstanding performance at the Big Day Out Festival in January, the hype was on.

The present and future are looking great for Wolfmother as their debut album has caught on with worldwide appeal. Arguably, they are currently one of the biggest rock bands in the world. The band has been touring almost non stop for the whole year, including many stops at festival dates such as the recent inaugural Virgin Music Festival in Toronto and the upcoming Download Festival on September 30th in San Francisco. Expect to see Wolfmother on the road for the rest of the year and into 2007. All in all Wolfmother seems like a band that is here to stay. If you miss the days of hard, down and dirty rock and roll then definitely check this band out, you won’t be disappointed.  [ END ]