Short Biography
The trio known as Wolfmother is one of the most exciting andunique rock groups to emerge from Australia in recent years. Theirmusic, while entirely fresh and original, recalls such pioneering '70s-erabands as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. Wolfmother's spectacular liveshows and retro sound have already won them a devoted following in their nativeAustralia.U.S. audiences now have chance to enjoy this incredible band with the releaseof a new EP, Dimensions, on January 31,2006, followed by the group's debut full-length Wolfmother in May and a U.S. tour in support of the two releases.
Wolfmother's bassist Chris Ross recently spoke with Ticketmasterabout the band's history, the new EP and full-length album, and one of the group'sfavorite pastimes—pinball.
Ticketmaster: There'sa nice jam-band quality to the music on your full-length album. Why did youchoose to keep a looser, live feel to the recorded songs?
Chris Ross: That's a key element for us. I think that's howwe did the EP, and that's pretty much what we wanted to do (with the album). Then(producer) Dave Sardy heard it as well, and he realized these guysare a jamming kind of band and he wanted to keep that vibe in there. So we werealways about making is as live sounding as possible and as big as possible.
TM: Do you enjoyperforming live more than recording in the studio?
CR: We really like both, which is cool. We love playinglive. That was the thing with the EP as well. People would come and see theshow and go, "Oh my God, it sounds so much bigger live." So for the album wehad to make it sound as big as we sound live, which we didn't manage to do withthe EP. We're quite comfortable working in the studio and playing on the stage.So we're both. We'll do anything.
TM: Tell me how theband got together. Were you all friends before the band formed?
CR: No, we weren't. We met through friends of friends. Weshould have called our band "Friends of Friends." I met Myles our drummer, wholived with a guy who collected synthesizers...who my girlfriend introduced me to.Myles and I were playing together for a little while. Then we moved into ahouse together, and we had a jam room. We used to have a lot of parties andAndrew came to a party, because he was a friend of a friend that came to aparty, and that was about it. Then we had like three or four years of justhanging out and jamming and trying to avoid doing work. And drinking lots ofcoffee and just jamming. And then eventually we decided to do a show. Actually,Andrew and Myles decided to do a show. I was never really interested in playinga live show, which is very bizarre now that I think about it, because once weactually did it, I loved it. I loved being put on the spot. You got to do it righthere and now or that's it—no one's going to like it. I really enjoyed playingmusic with them and I didn't realize how exciting it would be to put it infront of an audience. So once we kind of did that I was fully addicted and weall started working on doing more shows.
TM: The album art forWolfmother was done by Frank Frazetta(a respected science fiction and fantasy illustrator). What made you choose hisartwork for your album cover?
CR: I remember in high school I had a friend who loved hisstuff. I was never really a big fan, but I had always been exposed to it. Thenwe were in the studio, talking about what we were going to do for the artwork andSardy said, "Have you seen Frank Frazetta's stuff?" And I said, "Oh, I rememberthat. I had this friend in high school who really liked him." We couldn'treally visualize any pieces. So Myles and I went to a bookshop and I pulled outa book. As soon as I started flipping through it, I was like, "My God, this isperfect." And I showed it to Myles, and he was like, "Oh my God, this isperfect." And then we showed it to Andrew and it was the same reaction. Andeveryone who knew us and the music...was like, "Yeah, that's perfect." So that'skind of how it happened.
TM: Some of yourinfluences include rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and AC/DC.You've also cited influences that may not be as apparent: Boards of Canada(experimental electronica), Bob Marley (reggae) and Jon Spencer (indie rock). Howdo you feel those bands have influenced your own music?
CR: That's something that a lot of people don't realize...we dohave a lot of contemporary influences as well. People kind of make the obviousassociations...Andrew listens to a lot of folk, Devendra Banhart and things likethat. A lot of lyrical, melodic, inspirational stuff. And I listen to a lot ofelectronic (music)...I like really solid bass lines with a kind of groove thatyou can dance to as well. And Myles listens to a lot of Boards of Canada andWarp Records stuff and abstract hip-hop...I can see how different elements bringsomething. We all bring something different. You know, Myles has a very organicstyle on the drums. It's not something very straight up. There are just littletinges of something different, but I think that it all comes together. It all adds up. It's not very apparent atfirst, but I think once you realize that, it kind of makes sense.
TM: You've wontremendous praise from fans and the press. Many have proclaimed Wolfmother Australia'sbest new rock band. What do you make of the band's success?
CR: It's just great. It was nearly two years ago that we hadour first show. It was just the three of us in a room playing this music,going, "Wow, I really love this." All three of us really loved it and we werekind of thinking, "Is anyone else going to like it?" But we liked it so much we didn't reallycare...No one else was really doing anything like that, especially not in Sydney. So we reallydidn't know how it was going to do down. And we were on the bill with some glammetal band, which was really cool, because they really loved us. Everyone saidthat the three of us were like rabbits in the headlights. We were so used toplaying these songs. A song would finish and we'd go, "Yeah, I think we shouldchange that song to a G." But instead we had this whole audience going, "Yeah!"And we were like, "Far out!" It's positive. It's cool. It just encourages us to keep doing whatwe're doing, which we would probably do anyway, but I guess with moreintensity.
TM: I hear the band lovesto play pinball. How did your pinball obsession begin?
CR: Oh, this is good question. You directed this at the rightperson, because I love pinball. I remember as a kid going on family holidaysdown the coast and I remember my brother used to like pinball. I liked mybrother and I wanted to be like him, so I wanted to play pinball. I remember heused to listen to The Who and the song "Pinball Wizard" and stuff. I kind of wasidolizing my brother and all The Who music. So that's where it really came fromfor me. And I love it. I just feel an affinity with the machine.
In-depth Biography
Truly a band out of time, Australian power trio Wolfmother were conceived in 2000 -- about 30 years too late, considering that their psychedelic brand of proto-heavy metal sounds like a ringer for late-'60s/early-'70s bands such as Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist/organist Chris Ross, and drummer Myles Heskett, Wolfmother took the initiative of recording a four-track demo in 2004 for the purpose of getting booked for shows. But so sterling were the results that they soon found themselves re-recording it for official release via local Modular Records. A second EP, Dimensions, appeared in 2006, and Wolfmother made the jump to the majors in early 2006 courtesy of an American distribution deal for Modular through Interscope. Their self-titled album debut appeared in May and reached the Top 40. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
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