INTERVIEW: WOLVES — Music Musings & Such

INTERVIEW:

WOLVES

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THE Los Angeles boys of WOLVES…

talk with me about their latest single, Freaky, and the story behind it. I ask them about the songs mix of Rock and Pop and whether that was a natural unity; how the band got together and what Los Angeles is like in terms of sound/feel.

The guys look ahead at ambitions this year and discuss touring plans; I ask about influences and which artists are important to them; they recommend some new artists and tell me how they chill away from music.

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Hi, guys. How are you? How has your week been?

Hey! Doing well, thank you! This week’s been really good to us so far. Freaky is already at #90 on the Mediabase Activator Charts and it just went live on Spotify/Apple Music/etc. yesterday!

For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please?

We’re WOLVES and we’re made up of three guys: Marc Avery, Sean Carney and Rocky Sands. Marc is our lead vocalist, Sean plays guitar/keyboards/sings background vocals and Rocky plays drums/guitar/keyboards.

Tell me about the new song, Freaky. Is there a story behind it?

Freaky is all about embracing who you are and letting that freak flag fly! Like we sing in the chorus: “If you freak/ let it show!” Like 99% of our songs; Freaky was written and produced by the three of us. One day, we were in the studio and I came across this crazy vocal chop sample and started playing what became the song’s lead melody line. Sean laid down the chords underneath it and we knew we had a little piece of magic on our hands. The song came together pretty fast…I think the whole track and topline were done by the next time we got together.

It was kind of like lightning in a bottle because most WOLVES songs never happen that quickly.

The song matches Pop, Urban and Rock sounds. Does that triple-threat approach reflect a curious musical approach in the band? Are restlessness and experimentation the key to everything you do?!

We kind of just tend to make the music we want to hear and we can’t help how our influences come through in the creative process. I think we’ve come across a (really) unique sound in WOLVES that’s entirely reflective of our three diverse musical backgrounds. We definitely do love experimenting in the studio - I guess you could say we are a bit restless. We try to hit a new creative level with each song that we do, and we strive to be different every time.

How did WOLVES get together? When did you meet one another?

All three of us actually met a while ago. We were all writing and producing songs for other people and had been trying to crack into the Pop songwriting world for a long time. Sean and I met at the ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO back in 2014 and stayed friends ever since. I met Marc during a friend’s birthday party at Dave & Buster’s in Hollywood. I was pretty drunk at the time and he and I randomly got to talking about how we were both songwriters. I don’t know how I remembered but I texted him the next day and we started writing songs together shortly thereafter.

At some point, when we were working, he looked at me and said: “Dude…I’ve always wanted to be in a band more than anything.” I confessed to him that I did too and we decided on the spot to form a band with each other. I knew we needed a third person who could bring the ‘weird’ into the mix, so I called my buddy Sean and the rest, as they say, is history.

Does that name reflect a hunger and sense of attack? Are you a pretty ambitious band?

It definitely does. We’re all pretty chill guys, but we’re absolutely an ambitious band. We set our goals on the highest level of success. We want to have songs that hit the top of the charts because we know we can compete with the best of them out there right now - and we want to take our show on the road and play in front of as many people as we possibly can. There, I said it; we’re officially putting it out in the universe in hopes that it comes true! (Smiles).

What is L.A. like for the creative mind? Is it a brilliant place to be?

Los Angeles is a beautiful beast of dichotomy. It’s absolutely brilliant and bustling with energy but that energy is bipolar. L.A. is stuck in the past in some parts and catapulting towards the future in others. This city is simultaneously inspirational and disheartening; it’s inclusive on a familial level, yet as cutthroat as corporate America. It’s got its ups and its downs, but I think most of the creative minds here can agree that the highs outweigh the lows and our collective pursuit of passion makes the juice worth the squeeze.

Will there be more music from you guys down the line?

1000% yes. Stay tuned; we’ve got a lot more coming!

Give me a sense of the music you grew up around. What would have been in your record collections?

I (Rocky) grew up listening to anything from The Beach Boys to Guns N’ Roses to Shania Twain. The Pop was strong in me from very early on. Marc grew up listening to a ton of Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye and Sean was a big fan of anything from Jazz to old-school Hip-Hop. When you listen to our music, you can definitely hear all of those influences seeping through from time to time.

Where are you heading on tour? Where can we catch you?

We’re pretty much staying put in L.A. for the time being, focusing on finishing up enough material to roll out our first full-length album. But, hopefully, after that, we’ll be hitting the road everywhere and anywhere!

What do you hope to achieve in 2018?

Honestly, we’d love to see Freaky blow up and become a hit! We think there’s something magical about that song and we hope the world agrees. Hopefully, then we’ll have the opportunity to go on tour and play our music for a whole lot of people.

Have you each got a favourite memory from your time in music – the one that sticks in the mind?

Hearing our debut single, Animal, on the radio for the first time was a pretty insane experience that none of us will ever forget.

If you could support any musician alive today, and choose your own rider, what would that entail?

It would be a total dream come true for us to either open for Coldplay or Kanye West. Those guys are playing the kind of shows that we have always aspired to play and we are obviously huge fans of their music.

As far as riders go, we’re pretty simple guys - we’d be stoked to split a pepperoni pizza.

What advice would you give to new artists coming through?

BE UNIQUE! Everybody is making stuff that sounds like everybody else right now and music never moves forward that way. Don’t play it safe: dare to be different.

IN THIS PHOTO: Evalyn

Are there any new artists you recommend we check out?

There’s a ton of artists in our circle who we really love. Our good friend Evalyn is about to drop an awesome second E.P. and I guarantee you’ll be hearing it all over Spotify and Apple Music in the next few months. She collaborated on the entire thing with our buddy nicopop. another fantastically talented writer/producer. I also have to give a major shout out to my good buddy Evan Blum, the hardest-working songwriter in Hollywood. Look out for him shopping for discounted avocados at any given Whole Foods in West Los Angeles.

IN THIS PHOTO: Evan Blum/PHOTO CREDIT: @bgcinemahouse

Do you get much time to chill away from music? How do you unwind?

We’re all pretty big fans of video games and going out for the occasional whiskey. Working out is important to all of us, too - gotta stay fit for the ladies! Music is never really far from our minds, though, no matter what we’re doing.