The Metro D Interview: Wolfmother (Part I)

I was lucky enough to interview Chris Ross from Wolfmother on Wednesday, May 17th. I was on my lunch break from work and Chris was resting up in his hotel room in Toronto, after a gig there the night prior.

Chris: Hello...
Metro D: Hey, how's it going, man?
Chris: I'm alright, how're you doing?
Metro D: I'm doing great...are you guys somewhere between Toronto and...did you guys play in Canada last night?
Chris: Yeah, yeah, we played Toronto and I'm still in the hotel...feeling, kind of shitty.
Metro D: Oh, really?
Chris: Yeah, but its good.
Metro D: Well, hey, I just wanted to say congratulations on the APRA nomination for "Song of the Year."
Chris: Oh, cool. Thank you.
Metro D: Are you guys going to make it to that awards show, or...?
Chris: I have no idea what is planned (laughs)...
Metro D: Oh, really...
Chris: Sorry...
Metro D: That's no problem, man, you guys got a busy schedule...
Chris: Indeed, I try not to look at it too much.
Metro D: Hey, we caught you out at Coachella, man. You guys were great.
Chris: Oh, thank you. It was a good vibe that day, it was cool.
Metro D: Yeah, it was a really good vibe. Whose idea were the big black balloons?
Chris: Um, that was the record company.
Metro D: Yeah, that got the place pumped.
Chris: Yeah, yea. Everyone dug 'em. It was cool.
Metro D: Did you guys get a chance to check out any of the shows out there?
Chris: Yeah, I saw Daft Punk. It was fucking amazing.
Metro D: That was an unreal show.
Chris: Oh, man. It's one of the best things I've ever seen. The stage show was brilliant and having them mash-up their own songs was brilliant. And just the crowd, the energy. I felt so alive being there, it's great.
Metro D: Is there much of a difference for you guys playing a place like Coachella than like, Big Day Out Festival in Australia or even like South By Southwest?
Chris: Ummm, Big Day Out, no, not so much, like it's a big festival, but-
Metro D: Yeah, it's the same thing, but-
Chris: -there's lots of energy. But, South By Southwest is just a bit more, um, guerilla style, like, you seem to be in and out of places real quick and everything's a bit of a blur. Mainly because we've been on tour and I knew that we were going to hook up with some friends with…some friends from back home when we got to South By Southwest so..we spent the whole week having a really great time. (Laughs)
Metro D: Do you guys prepare for a gig like an open air festival much differently than you prepare for playing a smaller gig? I mean I’ve caught you in Brooklyn and Baltimore now, in really tiny places, do you approach a show like that the same as you would Coachella, or is it different?
Chris: I don’t know how does it seem to you, like….?
Metro D: You guys seem to come out with the same energy and that’s definitely awesome, to come out to a tent at Coachella where maybe people aren’t necessarily familiar with you and come out with that same energy, I think, is awesome…
Chris: I think we, I think we try to put everything into everything that we do, because you only live once and you only get these experiences once. Why not just fucking go for it?
Metro D: Absolutely…
Chris: We, you know, we generally try and get backstage together at least a half an hour before we go on stage, you know, at least 20 minutes, something, hang out for a bit, kind of vibe each other up and stuff and make sure everyone is cool then we have a group hug and then we play..
Metro D: Awesome, man. I noticed a little more of a solo at the end of “Woman” kind of a little more…
Chris: Aww, yeah, the reprise…
Metro D: Yeah is that kind of a direction you guys are going with a lot more of the showss, you’re playing a lot more, so you’re getting comfortable kind of throwing stuff –
Chris: Yeah, we are kind of in this weird transition like we used to have a lot of time in between shows to write new songs for the next show and now we are doing so many shows that we just have these little jams and we’ll kind of mutilate a song a bit and then go, aw yeah, let’s just throw that in there and see what happens. With that reprise we just thought, oh yeah, that’s cool, let’s bring it back.
Metro D: Nice, man. So I’m just looking at the schedule, you guys are in Europe, Canada, Japan, do you have a chance to – and I know you said you don’t like looking at the schedule – but, I mean, how much opportunity do you have to write new stuff and that kind of thing? Or are you going to wait until you get back and catch your breath a little bit?
Chris: Yeah, maybe…maybe the latter. I mean we try to – we had a great jam last night before the Opera House show. It’s all, all of us try to get to the soundcheck early and I have been downloading all of these chords and stuff because I am really trying to learn how to play the keyboard properly. We had this kind of prog session yesterday and I was playing all of these new chords and shit and I was like, oh, yeah, that’s interesting…so…it’s a jam at the moment. I guess we really do need some time for structuring new songs.
Metro D: You guys put together your most recent album, you recorded most of that in LA, right?
Chris: Yeah, that’s right.
Metro D: And you guys were at places where Nevermind, Rumours, Pink Floyd’s The Wall were recorded, and is that kind of surreal to walk into a place like that and recognize the history behind a Cherokee or a Sound City?
Chris: Yeah, it is quite interesting, but, you know at the same time, it’s the kind of place you can walk by outside and not notice it. It’s kind of weird like that, too. And those things are kind of secondary when it comes to playing the music. I mean it’s not like they don’t influence you. Like, you know, I find everything in my life influences my music from, you know, like, how I got out of bed, if I miss the bus, if I got a shit cup of coffee or something, you know, it’s what you’re gonna do when you step in there and turn on your equipment and stuff, and how you’ll interact together. And the fact that those people had been in those places, yeah, it was cool, you know, we talked about it between playing music and stuff. But, when you’re playing music, you’re playing music.
Metro D: How did you guys link up with your producer? Did you look at his work with Autolux, The Dandy Warhols, and Helmet –
Chris: I love the Dandy Warhols albums. That was a real draw card for me. He totally gets songwriting, space and texture. I think there’s a lot of subtleties,…there’s a lot of big riffs, but there’s a lot of textural subtleties as well. He was,…he was really into that. I can tell the Dandy Warhols, you know, I love how all of those songs kind of blend together. I was a big fan of that album and then we met with Dave [Sardy] and he was really cool and we kind of felt that he’d push us, as well. Not the kind of guy to just hit record and let us not think about it. He came in, you know, “I want to help you guys make the best album you can,” which is a great way to start. (Laughs.) And then he’d push us, you know, “well, is that what you really want to be doing?” making a stink about everything and he was really open-minded, too. And we’d just bounce around these ideas, try them out…and he really taught us to communicate with each other really well, which is good. Yeah, we wanted someone who was like a fourth member of the band, which is what he was. It’s kind of a weird relationship as well…like the last time I saw him, I immediately gave him a huge hug, you know he’d been literally like a fourth member of the band…and then he’s gone. It’s kind of weird. Like you have this totally intense relationship and then all of a sudden it’s gone…wow.
Metro D: Are you guys going to seek him out for the next album, or…?
Chris: Oh, I’d definitely work with him again. He’s an amazing producer, he’s a great guy, he’s got a lot of talent and I’d be hard-pressed to find someone else that would impress me enough to decide to go with instead of Sardy…
Metro D: …so you guys are doing some support for Pearl Jam, Flaming Lips, and Sonic Youth coming up…is this, I mean, that must be absolutely crazy to be playing with these time-tested bands like that…
Chris: Fuck yeah!
Metro D: I mean that's fucking nuts, Pearl Jam is one of…
Chris: If you, like, two years ago, someone had said all the stuff…the things that are coming up, we'd be, like, "no way…" but it’s all happening. It’s great.
Metro D: Oh, it's awesome. Do you feel like every place you guys go, these different countries, do you still walk out there every day and feel like you're proving yourself to a majority of the audience? Do you feel in certain spots that – I mean the tent at Coachella was fucking packed before you guys even got out there. So, the word's out, people know, but do you feel like, to a certain extent, you've got to prove yourself?
Chris: Ummmmmm. I actually don't really care. You know? I'm doing it for me. It's my life, I guess, and that fact that other people like it as well, that's excellent, but if people didn't like it, I'd still struggle through it. That part of being an artist. My immediate family, God bless them, I love them. The whole time I'd go home and see my folks and the'd be like, "how's everything going?" And I’d say, "oh, I’ve been hanging out with these guys and we’ve been playing music,” and mom’d be like, "oh yeah? That's nice. How's your job going?" (Laughs)
Metro D: (Laughs)
Chris: …and I'm like, "Ohhh, it’s good, it’s nice.” Then when it starts to infiltrate their world, they're like, "oh, it's great, keep doing what you're doing…" And you laugh. You’re trying to do something artistic that you believe in, and it’s a battle until you reach a certain level and then it’s all support from all directions. It’s kind of weird. So, I think I've been very unaffected by it, for ages, I've got to believe in what I’m doing, if someone else doesn’t get it, then I don't really care…it makes me happy. So you know, now that its turned around and everyone's loving it, it's cool, it's positive, but at the same time, I’d still be doing it.
Metro D: …Well, yeah, if you didn't believe in it, you'd be going crazy. You’re going city to city every night.
Chris: It’s pretty deep, you know, and I think the fact that we're a bit older, as well, like, I can imagine someone young, still really impressionable and stuff, could be really distracted. It could be a real mindfuck. Everyone telling you how great you are…if you don't approach everything with a bit of cynicism, you know about skeptical – you know, I’m not surprised that young bands get really messed up, I mean, Jesus, this stuff gets…it's pretty weird.
Metro D: Well, that's good to hear that from you, because it gives me the feeling that Wolfmother will be around for a while.
Chris: We’ll see what happens…we’re doing good now…