I’m
done trying to sell the public on the importance of Wolf Eyes. All
music, as far as I can tell, is equally important in this world;
what’s important to you is all a matter of taste. Thus, some
people like Glenn Miller, some Sam Cooke, some Stravinsky, some
Journey, and so on forever. I just happen to be someone who likes
Wolf Eyes, which for a while made me feel kind of like I had to
be some kind of missionary for them.
You know what, though? To hell with that. Enough of my raving and
hyperbole. Instead, I will point to some facts about Wolf Eyes:
1. Since 1998, this Ann Arbor band (by way of Brighton, Chelsea,
and East Lansing) has forged a noisy electronic sound that is ever
striving to be wilder, more abrasive, heavier, and more fun (at
least for them) than it was a week, month or year prior;
2. They put on a great live show, in which they often inflict on
the crowd tones so low and loud that they’ll knock the wind
out of you if you breathe at the wrong time;
3. They released a new album, Burned Mind, on Seattle mega-indie
Sub Pop Records (whom, as you may recall, invented the 1990s). It’s
probably their best record since their 2001 effort Dread (BULB/Hanson/American
Tapes), which by this writer’s estimation is their highest
recorded achievement prior.
In mid-September, I sat down with Aaron Dilloway (guitars, tapes,
electronics, etc.) and John Olson (electronics, horns, gong, etc.)
outside the Detroit Art Space to talk about their new record, their
recent tour with Sonic Youth, the cancellation of this year’s
Lollapalooza (which they were slated to play on before it fell apart),
and other miscellany. Nate Young, the band’s founder, vocalist,
and fellow electronics manipulator, was notably absent, but we made
do nonetheless. In fact, it ended up being a pretty long interview,
not to mention a decidedly drunken and obscene one, so for the benefit
of Ann Arbor Paper readers, I have trimmed it all down into convenient
bite-sized pieces. As for the obscenity, about one fifth of it or
so has remained intact. You’re welcome! ON WOLF EYES’
PROBLEM
Ann Arbor Paper: What is Wolf Eyes’ problem?
John Olson: Alcohol, drugs, and rent.
A2P: That’s not what Arthur magazine said [In a recent review
of Burned Mind]. You don’t get enough grooves going, that’s
your problem.
ON PUBLICITY
JO: Isn’t this for that magazine that you already did? [clarification:
I interviewed Wolf Eyes about a year ago for my own publication,
Shuttle Bus—DK]
Arron Dilloway: No, it’s for the [Ann Arbor] Paper. Front
cover, dude. They’re gonna hate it.
JO: Dude, say we’re Saturday Looks Good To Me.
ON “GETTING IT”
JO: Man, people need to get over the idea that they need to “get”
something… that’s just stupid. I mean, if you listen
to an REO Speedwagon song, you ain’t supposed to get nothin’.
You’re supposed to check out the jam.
AD: That’s other people’s own personal shit. It has
nothing to do with us.
JO: There’s nothing worse than some homeboy who thinks he’s
got it all figured out.
ON PUNK ROCK
AD: When we played with Andrew [W.K., who, incidentally, briefly
played in Wolf Eyes and produced their Fortune Dove EP] I felt pretty
punk, when people were spitting on us and throwing shit. That’s
the only time I felt like we were punk.
JO: Well, Dilloway’s the only guy in this band who has a car.
Crass didn’t have a car, so I guess we’re punk. AFI
has a bunch of cars.
AD: We’re skunk rock. Stinky and horrible, and you wanna run.
JO: …but you also kinda wanna play with it.
AD: “Man, I’ll check it out, but it might spray me!”
JO: That’s Wolf Eyes, dude.
ON LOLLAPALOOZA GETTING CANCELLED
AD: Whatever, we got paid.
JO: I really wanted to meet Colonel Sanders, though…
A2P: You guys got paid for Lollapalooza even though it got cancelled?
AD: Fuck, yeah!
JO: We ain’t chumps.
ON BURNED MIND, PART I: RECORDING
AD: It’s totally what we’ve been doing live for the
past two years. There hasn’t been a record in the past two
years of what we’ve been doing live, but that’s what
this record is.
JO: It’s already way out of date.
A2P: I heard that you guys scrapped the original recordings for
it and started over.
AD: Yeah, we went into our friend’s studio, but we couldn’t
relax in a studio.
JO: They didn’t have chairs or couches…
AD: …or a TV.
JO: We had to stand the entire time.
ON BURNED MIND, PART II: REVIEWS
JO: In the last week, I’ve read three reviews [for Burned
Mind]: one that said it didn’t have any structure, one that
said that it sounded like it was recorded in 10 minutes, and one
that said it had too much structure.
A2P: When people say it has no structure, does it piss you off,
since it’s not really true?
AD: I don’t give a shit. Whatever some dork at a magazine
says has nothing to do with what we do. We make this shit for the
dudes who like this shit. It someone doesn’t like it, fuck
‘em. A2P
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