Chronic Wolf

"We are getting ready to release our first full length album on February 7th at our record release show at Siren Records in Doylestown, PA."

popVLTR: You've been making moves in Pennsylvania, how'd you get into music? Chronic Wolf: We all met each other while going to Pennridge High School but we didn't all start jamming together until the end of senior year. Over the summer we all decided not to go to college to play music.

popVLTR: Congrats on the busy show schedule, who are some of your influences? CW: We're very influenced by 60's and 70's rock like Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Cream as well as a lot of modern blues influenced rock like Radio Moscow, The Black Keys, Sublime, Tame Impala, Graveyard, and Blues Pills.

popVLTR: What are some of your proudest moments in music? CW: We recorded our first two albums by ourselves in Andrew's basement and two months after releasing the first one, we got a few songs on radio WXLV in Schnecksville, PA.

popVLTR: What cool stuff is on the horizon for Chronic Wolf? CW: We are getting ready to release our first full length album on February 7th at our record release show at Siren Records in Doylestown, PA. We're playing with stoner metal band Brontide and reggae-punks The Mahlors. - PopVulture

Chronic Wolf is a Pennsylvania based band that has me completely hypnotized. With band members Andrew Craig (Lead Guitar/ Vocals), Dan Hagen (Rhythm Guitar/ Vocals), Nick Grandinette (Drums) and Joe Thomas (Bass), you become enthralled with their sound. I first saw them at World Café Lives’ Philly Rising and they blew me away. I was lucky enough to get one of their free CDs, which was great. What I noticed most was the amount of detail they put into the instrumental sound of their songs. The first song of their CD “Throw it All Away,” is the perfect introduction to their CD. When you listen to regular music played on the radio you can barely tell what instrument was used, or if any instrument was used at all, but you don’t have that problem with Chronic Wolf. My personal favorites are “Moon’s Rock,” and “Down About Me.” The beats are enticing and the lyrics leave you wondering what the back story is. I was lucky enough to interview them and ask them about themselves.



How long have you guys been a group?

Nick and Andrew have been jamming for about 3 years and we just got together as a four piece in October of 2013

Are you all from the same area?

Yes we all live in Perkasie, PA about 45 minutes from Philly if you don’t hit traffic on the Schuylkill. We all graduated from Pennridge High School in 2013.

What was the inspiration, if there was any, behind playing the instruments the way you do?
Big inspirations include 60s and 70s rock, radio Moscow, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Jack White, The Beatles.
Your song “Moons Rock” is great! What is the story behind it?
Dan says “When I wrote that song I was still developing my abilities to write lyrics. I came up with the tune with joe in a music class we were taking and we both liked it a lot. I pulled inspiration from how I taking anti depressants any the time “these pills they got me thinking” but there really isn’t any message or theme. When I began writing the first line it was simply a description of the way the tune made me feel. As the tension builds “there’s a burning in my heart” and right before the chorus breaks out “I’m gonna let it go”. I find this style of writing enjoyable because it helps me bridge that gap between what I’m saying and the melody I’m singing to. In the end the title “Moons Rock” really doesn’t apply to jack s**t it just kinda stuck.”
I remember when seeing you guys perform that one of your members stated you performed at gigs in different areas, where have you guys traveled to perform?

We have really only been playing local shows in Doylestown and Lansdale with a Philly show here and there. The farthest place we’ve traveled to play is Atlantic City, NJ in December.

Is this a hobby for you guys or do you want to go to the next level? If not do you have any fall back plans?

We would love to take it to the next level. We’re very eager to book as many shows as we can to get the music out there because we have been getting a great reaction from people wherever we go.

What’s up next for your music adventures?

We have a few shows coming up in May including Molly Maguire‘s in Jim Thorpe on May 16th, and The Perk in Perkasie on May 17th. We are also happy to announce that we have been added to the Musikfest 2014 lineup in Bethlehem, PA. We will be playing Thursday, August 7th on Main Street Stage from 8:30-10:00pm. We have a few more dates posted on our website. If you want immediate alerts for our upcoming and newly announced dates you can track us on the Bandsintown app. We have some other big shows lined up in the future so stay tuned!



Be sure to check them out at the The Sixties record release show in Lansdale on June 21!



Websites:

https://www.facebook.com/chronicwolfpa

http://chronicwolf.bandcamp.com/



Feature Photo Credits: PopVulture - Rock On Philly