Wolfmother
are an Australian hard rock band that formed in Erskineville, Sydney in 2000. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett, the band has released one studio album, Wolfmother
(2005), which reached number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. The album also won the 2005 J Award and 2006 ARIA Awards for Best Breakthrough Album and Best Rock Album. "Woman", a single from the album, won the band their first Grammy Award, for Best Hard Rock Performance, in 2007.
In August 2008, co-founding members Ross and Heskett left the band due to "irreconcilable personal and musical differences," though Stockdale stated that he would continue using the Wolfmother moniker with new members in the future. After a brief hiatus, Stockdale returned with new musicians: bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres, guitarist Aidan Nemeth and drummer Dave Atkins. The new lineup's first album, Cosmic Egg
is set to be released on 9 October 2009.
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WOLFMOTHER TICKETS
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History
First years and debut album (2000–2006)
Wolfmother formed in 2000
[1] and made their way into the public spotlight in 2004 after "years of jamming and anonymity".
[2] They were signed to Australian record label
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 debut
extended play (EP),
Wolfmother
. The record was relatively successful for such a new band, reaching number thirty-five in the
ARIA Singles Chart.
[3]
After "6 months of nonstop Australian and overseas touring",
Wolfmother began work on their first full-length album, for which they enlisted the help of
Dave Sardy, producer of
Slayer's
Undisputed Attitude,
Don't Believe the Truth
(
Oasis),
Get Born
(
Jet) and
Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia
(
The Dandy Warhols). The band moved to Los Angeles in May 2005 and rented Hollywood recording studio
Cherokee, recording home of such artists as
Aerosmith,
Korn and
Lenny Kravitz.
[4] After six weeks of rehearsals at the studio, work moved to Sound City where the album was recorded in just two weeks.
Before the release of the album, the band first released their debut single;
double A-side "
Mind's Eye/Woman" was released on 16 October 2005 in Australia and managed to reach number twenty-nine in the Singles Chart.
[5] On 30 October,
Wolfmother
saw release in the trio's home country. The album entered the ARIA Albums Chart at its peak of number three and remained in the chart until mid-2007,
[6] by which time it had been certified five times platinum.
[7]
By the end of the year,
Wolfmother
had won
Triple J's
J Award for Australian Album of the Year,
[8] and "
Woman" had been nominated for Single of the Year and Best Breakthrough Artist (Single) at the
ARIA Music Awards.
[9]
International success (2006–2008)
thumb
The
2005 Triple J Hottest 100, announced on 26 January 2006, featured a record six songs by Wolfmother: "Mind's Eye" (number six), "
Joker & the Thief" (number nine), "Apple Tree" (number sixteen), "
Dimension" (number thirty-seven), "Colossal" (number thirty-nine) and "
White Unicorn" (number eighty-four).
[10] On 6 March,
Rolling Stone
published their Annual Readers' and Critics' Poll results, in which Wolfmother were featured a number of times, namely in the following readers' lists: Top 10 Albums (
Wolfmother
, number one), Top 10 Singles ("Mind's Eye", number one; "Woman", number nine), Artist of the Year (number two), Best Band (number one), Best Tour (number two), Best Album Cover (number one), Best Hard Rock/Metal Band (number one), Best Rock Artist (number one), Best New Artist (number one), Year's Biggest Hype (number one) and Best Video ("Mind's Eye", number two).
Frontman
Andrew Stockdale also featured in the poll for Best Dressed (number three).
The band's next single was "
White Unicorn", released on 26 February, which charted lower than its predecessor, at number thirty-three.
[11] The band also released a second EP,
Dimensions
, on 2 March.
Wolfmother
was not released outside of Australia until 24 April in the
United Kingdom, 2 May in the
United States, and 12 June in
Europe. In the UK it peaked at number twenty-five
[12] and in the US at number twenty-two.
[13]
Thanks to the success of their album 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
,
Saints Row 2,
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
,
Shoot 'Em Up
,
Shrek the Third
and
The Hangover (2009 film)
and video games
Need for Speed: Carbon
,
Rock Band
, and
MLB 07: The Show
, as well as commercials for both
Mitsubishi and
Peugeot cars.
The band performed at big-name local and international festivals 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.
[14] On 25 September, bassist
Chris Ross' wife had a baby, which meant the band had to cancel 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 4 November 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.
[15] On 14 November, when legendary
hard rock band
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.
The
2006 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on 26 January 2007, in which Wolfmother appeared twice ("Woman (MSTRKRFT Remix)", #55; "Love Train", #80).
[16] At the
49th Annual Grammy Awards held in February, Wolfmother won the
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance for "Woman".
[17] On 30 March 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.
On 28 May, the band performed on
Pinkpop's main stage. The band played on the first day (8 June) of the
Download Festival. On 28 June, the band headlined at Summerfest in
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. Finishing up their US Tour in
Detroit,
Michigan on 30 June. On 7 July, 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."
[18]
Wolfmother released their first DVD on 1 September in Australia, 10 September in the UK and 20 November 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.
[19]
Hiatus, lineup change and Cosmic Egg
(2008–present)
On 12 April 2008, Wolfmother played at the Andy Warhol
Up Late
program after taking a nine 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,
[20] it was confirmed on a that the band had not begun proper recording sessions for the album yet.
[when?]
On 4 August, following the band's performance at
Splendour In The Grass, popular Australian radio station
Triple J speculated that rumours 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 5 August, 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".
[21]
On 7 August, 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 working on new material.
[22] Ross and Heskett played a one-off show as "Doom Buggy". Ross and Heskett are now working on their new band, Palace of Fire, adding the guitar and vocals of Matt Blackman.
[23] [24] A new four-piece band featuring Stockdale, a second guitarist Aiden Nemeth and
Ian Peres as bassist and keyboardist (in the same mould as Chris Ross) and a drummer, Dave Atkins from the Resin Dogs all performed on 6 February.
[25] The band, billed as White Feather performed again, in Sydney, on 8 February.
[26] During both performances, the band played five original songs and six new songs, possibly from their next album. Two of the songs were previously played during the original line up. The four previously unheard of songs were "Pilgrim", "Phoenix", "Far Away" and the band's cover name "White Feather". The band has booked Brisbane's Valley Studios to complete writing and recording the album.
The new members joined officially on 5 January 2009
[27] and were confirmed as guitarist Aidan Nemeth, bassist and keyboardist
Ian Peres and drummer
Dave Atkins in February.
[28] On 24 February it was confirmed that the band would perform at two benefit concerts to be held in Melbourne and Sydney on 14 March for
Sound Relief, supporting victims of the
Victorian bushfires.
[29] The new lineup is due to begin recording its first album at the beginning of March; approximately eighteen songs, described as "heav[y]" and "riff driven", have been written by Stockdale for these sessions.
[30] The reformed group also headlined the Clipsal 500 event in Adelaide in March 2009. The new Wolfmother also played a new song confirmed as Back Round live at the MTV Australia Awards on the 27th of March. In an interview Stockdale said that he and his bandmates were leaving for L.A. the next day to start recording. The song
Back Round has been released as a free digital download on the Wolfmother official site. The song will also be the first single off the upcoming album. According to an update by Stockdale on
Twitter, the new album will be a
double album containing at least eighteen tracks; it will also contain the songs "Inside the Mountain", "The Violence of the Sun" and "Pilgrim", as were mentioned on the Twitter page.
[31] In an interview with NME, Andrew Stockdale stated that the new album will be titled Cosmic Egg. In relation to the title, Stockdale said, "I did a yoga class and one of the poses we were doing was called 'cosmic egg', and I thought yeah, that's it. It's like the fetal pose".
[32]
Wolfmother are touring
North America supporting
The Killers this summer,
[33] and they are touring
Australia in 2010 supporting
AC/DC on their
Black Ice World Tour [34]. They will be performing in
Melbourne,
Sydney,
Brisbane,
Adelaide, and
Perth.
Australia's triple j radio played the worldwide radio exclusive of Wolfmother's first single "New Moon Rising" from their album 'Cosmic Egg' on Thursday 13th August 2009. The track has now been released for streaming on
AOL's Spinner site.
[35]
Critical response
While the band has gained much success, reception is divided. James Gange of music magazine
Malestrom, favorably noted the band to be similar to
psychadelic rock group
Blue Cheer, that they were "more like
Blue Cheer put in ten times the effort and creativity" partly disagreeing with comparisons to blues/hard rock bands like
Led Zeppelin and
Black Sabbath.
[36]
Chris Nixon of the
San Diego Union-Tribune also responded favorably to the band's rock sound comparing it to "the pre-punk angst of
MC5 and
Steppenwolf's hard-edged psychedelia" and that they add "sparkle with modern recording techniques", comparing them with
Kyuss, early
Queens Of The Stone Age.
[37] Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia notes the similarities between Wolfmother's original power trio and
Blue Cheer's sound.
[38] E.C. Gladstone of
Rhino Zine thought the Sabbath, Led Zeppelin comparisons were partly vague and "pretty limiting", noting Wolfmother to be influenced by a mix of "bluesrock ooze", including
Yes,
MC5,
The Nice,
Blue Cheer,
Jethro Tull and
Grand Funk, noting them to be "the best version of great rock available at the moment."
[39] A
Total Guitar
review calls Wolfmother's music "ruddy marvellous",
[40] and
Pitchfork praises them for "how capably they strike a balance between meaty vintage metal and crisp, stoner-rock melodies".
[41] 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",
[42] [43] An
Allmusic review is more critical, calling their music "precious, inarticulate, [and] confused"
[44] when compared to that of their musical influences,
Led Zeppelin,
Deep Purple,
Cream and
Black Sabbath.
Radiohead frontman
Thom Yorke has stated that he is a fan of Wolfmother.
[45]
Alice Cooper has described Wolfmother's sound, stating they are "like a teenage
Jimi Hendrix,
Steppenwolf kind of band".
[46]
Lars Ulrich of
Metallica has also been noted as a huge fan, stating at one point, he would listen to the band's debut "every day", noting that they are "awesome".
[47]
In his 'List of the Day', Yahoo! critic
Rob O'Connor noted them as number 15 on his list of 'The Greatest Australian Acts'.
[48] Furthermore, he compared their sound to be more reminiscent of
psychedelic rock bands like
Blue Cheer,
Toe Fat Revival,
Bloodrock and
Frijid Pink, rather than comparing them to straightforward
hard rock bands like
Black Sabbath.
[48] On the contrary,
Mike Patton famously bashed Wolfmother upon hearing them in concert while VJ'ing a music video countdown.
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'.
[50]
Influences
Yahoo! music critic Rob O'Connor has traced Wolfmother's sound to '60s
psychedelic rock bands like
Blue Cheer,
Toe Fat,
Bloodrock and
Frijid Pink.
[48]
Guitarist
Andrew Stockdale noted in a
Triple J interview, that '90s
stoner metal band
Kyuss was highly influential on their sound, noting the band's second album would follow with "
Kyuss kinda riffs".
[52]
The works of
Jimi Hendrix have been influential in the works of Wolfmother, with lyrical references to
Purple Haze in their song
Dimension (song).
[53] While Wolfmother has been identified as being influenced by '70s rock bands such as
Black Sabbath and
AC/DC, and 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. They also featured the French electronic group
Daft Punk in their MySpace list of influences.
[54]
Andrew Stockdale also lists
The Doors as a major influence, stating they were one of his favourite bands growing up.
[55]
During Stockdale's appearance on ABC's
My Favourite Album
, Stockdale stated
AC/DC's
T.N.T.
to be a favourite, claiming it gave him "shivers".
[56]
Andrew Stockdale has described the bands sound as "a mix of the playfulness of
Earth Wind and Fire with the intensity of
Black Flag".
Band members
- Andrew Stockdale – vocals, lead guitar (2000–present)
- Ian Peres – bass, keyboards, backing vocals (2009–present)
- Aidan Nemeth – rhythm guitar (2009–present)
- Dave Atkins – drums (2009–present)
Discography
- Wolfmother
(2005)
- Cosmic Egg
(2009)
Awards
Upon its release, Wolfmother's debut album won the 2005
J Award for Best Australian Album.
[57] Also in 2005, the song "
Woman" was nominated for Single of the Year and Best Breakthrough Artist – Single at the
ARIA Awards, eventually losing out to
Ben Lee's "
Catch My Disease" and
End of Fashion's "
O Yeah", respectively.
[58] In 2006 Wolfmother's Australian success continued – they received nominations for Spankin' New Aussie Artist, Best New Group and Best Rock Video (for "
Mind's Eye") at the
MTV Australia Awards;
[59] and were nominated for the
Jack Award for Best Live Band. At the
2006 ARIA Awards, the band won Best Breakthrough Album, Best Rock Album (both for
Wolfmother
) and Best Group, and received nominations for Album of the Year (for
Wolfmother
) and Single of the Year (for "Mind's Eye") – a total of three wins from five nominations.
[60] [61]
In 2007, Wolfmother received their first award nominations from outside of their home country. At the
2007 BRIT Awards, they were nominated for the award for International Breakthrough Act,
[62] ultimately losing out to American band
Orson. In the United States, the band won the
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the
2007 ceremony for their song "Woman".
[63] Wolfmother were re-nominated for Best Live Band at the 2007 Jack Awards, and this time the trio won it.
[64] Several nominations were again received at the MTV Australias, this time for Best Group, Viewer's Choice Award, Best Rock Video and Video of the Year (both for "
Joker & the Thief").
[65] In 2008 Wolfmother received one award from one nomination – the
APRA Award for Most Played Australian Work Overseas, for their song "Woman".
[66]
;APRA Awards
The annual
APRA Awards are presented by the
Australasian Performing Right Association. Wolfmother has received three awards from three nominations.
Year
| Nominated work
| Award
| Result
|
2006
| Andrew Stockdale Chris Ross Myles Heskett
| Breakthrough Songwriter Award
| Won
|
2007
| Songwriter of the Year
| Won
|
2008
| "Woman"
| Most Played Australian Work Overseas
| Won
|
;ARIA Music Awards
The annual
ARIA Music Awards are presented by the
Australian Recording Industry Association. Wolfmother has received three awards from ten nominations.
Year
| Nominated work
| Award
| Result
|
2005
| "Woman"
| Single of the Year
| Nominated
|
Best Breakthrough Artist – Single
| Nominated
|
2006
| Wolfmother
| Best Breakthrough Album
| Won
|
Best Rock Album
| Won
|
Album of the Year
| Nominated
|
Wolfmother
| Best Group
| Won
|
"Mind's Eye"
| Single of the Year
| Nominated
|
2007
| Wolfmother
| Best Group
| Nominated
|
"Joker & the Thief"
| Highest Selling Single
| Nominated
|
2008
| Please Experience Wolfmother Live
| Best Music DVD
| Nominated
|
;BRIT Awards
The annual
BRIT Awards are presented by the
British Phonographic Industry. Wolfmother has received one nomination.
Year
| Nominated work
| Award
| Result
|
2007
| Wolfmother
| International Breakthrough Act
| Nominated
|
;Grammy Awards
The annual
Grammy Awards are presented by the
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Wolfmother has received one award from one nomination.
Year
| Nominated work
| Award
| Result
|
2007
| "Woman"
| Best Hard Rock Performance
| Won
|
;J Award
The annual
J Award is presented by Australian radio station
Triple J. Wolfmother has received one award from one nomination.
Year
| Nominated work
| Award
| Result
|
2005
| Wolfmother
| Best Australian Album
| Won
|
;Jack Awards
The annual
Jack Awards are presented in Australia and sponsored by American
Tennessee whiskey company
Jack Daniel's. Wolfmother has received one award from two nominations.
Year
| Nominated work
| Award
| Result
|
2006
| Wolfmother
| Best Live Band
| Nominated
|
2007
| Wolfmother
| Best Live Band
| Won
|
;MTV Australia Awards
The annual
MTV Australia Awards are presented by television channel
MTV Australia. Wolfmother has received seven nominations.
Year
| Nominated work
| Award
| Result
|
2006
| Wolfmother
| Spankin' New Aussie Artist
| Nominated
|
Best Group
| Nominated
|
"Mind's Eye"
| Best Rock Video
| Nominated
|
2007
| Wolfmother
| Best Group
| Nominated
|
Viewers' Choice Award
| Nominated
|
"Joker & the Thief"
| Best Rock Video
| Nominated
|
Video of the Year
| Nominated
|
References
- Wolfmother > Biography
- Wolfmother Bio
- Discography Wolfmother
- Cherokee Studios
- Wolfmother - Mind's Eye / Woman
- Wolfmother - Wolfmother
- Accreditations - 2007 Albums
- The J Award 2005
- 2005: 19th Annual ARIA Awards
- hottest 100 2005
- Wolfmother - White Unicorn
- Wolfmother - Wolfmother
- The Billboard 200: Wolfmother - Wolfmother
- Heavy Duty
- 2006: 20th Annual ARIA Awards
- hottest 100 2006
- &winner=wolfmother&year=0&genreID=0&hp=1
- Now rock plugs into solar
- Please Experience Wolfmother Live DVD
- Wolfmother Hard at Work on "Cinematic, Epic" New Album
- Is It All Over For Wolfmother'
- Wolfmother Disband
- http://www.myspace.com/palaceoffire
- Former Wolfmother Members Turn Focus to Doom Buggy Side Project
- New members, new songs, new Wolfmother!
- Show Details
- Wolfmother Talks About Cosmic Egg, Band Member Changes [capitalisation removed]
- Wolfmother unleash new lineup
- Latest News
- Wolfmother exclusive: Andrew Stockdale on old tensions and new album
- Andrew Stockdale (positron76) on Twitter
- Title Unavailable
- Wolfmother Plot Six Support Shows in the US and Canada
- Wolfmother To Support AC/DC
- Wolfmother premiere new video
- http://maelstrom.nu/ezine/review_iss30_2129.php
- http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060608/news_lz1w08wolf.html
- http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=WOLFMOTHER&sql=11:jbfixquald0e~T1
- E.C. Gladstone, Wolfmother Debut Album, Rhino Zine Review, Issue #806, Rhino Records, http://www.rhino.com/rzine/storykeeper.lasso?StoryID=806
- Total Guitar (UK) - Album
- Wolfmother: Wolfmother: Pitchfork Record Review
- Wolfmother - Wolfmother - Review
- Wolfmother
- allmusic (((Wolfmother > Review)))
- Source
- Alice Cooper - Gig Reviews - Music - Entertainment - smh.com.au
- http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=KriA1okBU8g&feature=PlayList&p=DBE8EAC575BEE064&playnext=1&index=13
- http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/listoftheday/100064/the-25-greatest-australian-acts/
- http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/listoftheday/100064/the-25-greatest-australian-acts/
- The EG, in THE AGE, 18 April 2008, pg. 13
- http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/listoftheday/100064/the-25-greatest-australian-acts/
- Andrew Stockdale interview, Triple J Breakfast, Robbie, Marieke and The Doctor, 29/2/09, Triple J.
- Purple Haze, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced, 1967, Track Records
- MySpace.com - Wolfmother - Sydney, AU - Tropicale / Psychédélique / Rock - www.myspace.com/wolfmother
- The Hard, Fast Rise of Wolfmother: Gibson Interviews Andrew Stockdale
- My Favourite Album, 12 December 2006, Australian Broadcasting Corporation(ABC). More info at: http://www.abc.net.au/myfavouritealbum/top100.htm
- Wolfmother take out inaugural J Award
- 2005 ARIA Awards Nominees & Winners
- MTV Australia Awards nominees
- Media Release - 2006 ARIA Awards - Everyone's a Winner!
- Urban hops as pop
- Wolfmother tastes Grammy glory
- Wolfmother wins Grammy Award
- Wolfmother wins at Jack Awards
- Justin Timberlake + Pink Dominate Noms For 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
- Silverchair's Daniel Johns Makes APRA History!