Five Points of the Pentagram: An Interview with In The Presence Of Wolves Lead Guitarist Chris Capitanio

When The Pentagram is thrown at a band, it is common practice to have it returned to us with some snarky, yet informative responses attached. However, when we threw one at In the Presence of Wolves, not only did we get some over-the-top responses, it also came with a plethora of sheet music and some off-the-cuff new music from them to boot! Read on!

Check out Chris’ radical “Pythagorean Theorem Experiment”

Could you guys put the Pythagorean theorem to music and if so, what do you think it would sound like? I’m serious…
Capitanio: Yes, and I took it upon myself to do so! For those that don’t know, Pythagorean theorem states that to find the hypotenuse of a right triangle, you use the equation A(squared) + B (squared) = C (squared). My piece involved finding values for A, B, and C (in this case 3, 4, & 5, respectively). I figured out that the key of F includes A as the 3rd interval, B flat as the 4th interval, and C as the 5th. The A section uses a 3 note triplet pattern of stacked thirds in ¾ time repeated in a 3 measure pattern with ascending triad chords that is then repeated 3 times. For the B section, changed all those 3s to 4s and moved them to B flat. Then for the C section, changed everything to 5 and the chords to C BUT, to maintain the A+B concept, the melody consists of the 3 note A pattern and 4 note B pattern overlapped in the 5 rhythms. I’ve attached the sheet music and a sample of what it would sound like. TL;DR Yes, we can and it sounds like some really weird shit.

So your band is called In The Presence Of Wolves and your new album is entitled, The Ape and the Cage. If there was a real life scenario where you were in the presence wolves and there was an ape in a cage nearby, what would you do?
Capitanio: We would tame the wolves because on the inside they’re just big ol’ doggies. We’d also free the ape because we don’t wish to anger the spirit of Harambe. #HarambeWasAnInsideJob

Being from the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, you must have some kind of hellacious accent going on. Whose accent is the most annoying in the band and why do you say that?
Capitanio: Most annoying accent in the band goes to Vini. The majority of people with accents in South Jersey tend to be people with parents from Philly. Vini’s dad is a South Philly Italian with a very thick accent that occasionally rubs off on him, particularly when he gets angry. He also indulges in his fair share of South Jersey slang, bro.

On your Facebook page it lists the band’s interests as “Playing in 7, making dirty jokes and watching Purple Rain.” I didn’t know how to incorporate “Playing in 7” into the question, but can you come up with a dirty joke about Purple Rain? If you can figure out how to get the “Playing in 7” into the joke, that’s a bonus!
Capitanio: What did Prince get when Apollonia stopped having sex with him to tell him she just joined Morris’s group? Computer Blue Balls. We couldn’t fit “playing in 7” in there but then again, Prince wasn’t one for playing in 7.

Who wins in a hypothetical “Prog Off” contest between In The Presence Of Wolves and Animals as Leaders? Your judges would be Robert Fripp, Keith Emerson (R.I.P.) and Neil Peart.
Capitanio: Animals as Leaders would probably win in every single category. HOWEVER, if Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel were the judges, we MIGHT stand a chance. That Tarzan soundtrack though…

BONUS 666 Question! Which team is most likely to bring a championship back to Philly anytime soon, Eagles, Phillies, Flyers or 76ers?
Capitanio: Well, if the Flyers could be the first that’d be amazing. We all know the luck of the Eagles, you have to be a sceptic even now that we have Carson on our side. Sixers and Phillies still have a lot of building to do. I think the Flyers have the best shot after a few more off-season moves, but with the Eastern Conference being stacked with talent it’s gonna be a tough road. Suh, dude.

Check out the song “The One Who Fell To Earth”