Wolf Gang Q&A

[Nattatouille]

Hey everyone!

 

Now I'm sure a lot of you are aware that the amazing Wolf Gang are currently supporting Coldplay on their US leg of their tour.

 

Over here at Coldplaying we've been lucky enough to get Max McEllingott (the lead singer) to agree to an exclusive Q&A.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tD34hPG1-c]Wolf Gang - Back To Back (Official Tour Video) - YouTube[/ame]

 

That's where you all come in. We want to collect a bunch of questions that you want answering! Do you want to know more about the band? How they ended up on tour with them? What it's like behind the scenes? Or do you just want to find out utterly random things?

 

We'd like to collect as many questions as possible by Friday 6th July. Before we throw as many of them as we physically can at Wolf Gang.

 

So get your thinking caps on-- and post some questions!

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbFUcqMbpU4]Wolf Gang - 'Life is for Living' (Coldplay cover) - YouTube[/ame]

[getithom]

What has been your favorite memory whilst on the tour thus far? Also: stay awesome.

[Violet]

About Wolf Gang

♦ How'd you come up with the name Wolf Gang?

♦ What has been your favorite gig thus far?

♦ What's your fave/least fave track off "Suego Faults?"

♦ What can you tell us about the progress of your second album?

 

I'm coming up with a list of utterly random things right now. I'll submit that in a bit.

[Corkus]

In a typically difficult American market to crack, what are the advantages and disadvantages to opening for a massively popular act in front of an audience largely unfamiliar with your music? How do you approach this differently from a festival set (like your captivating sets at Coachella) or your own more intimate show in terms of audience engagement and setlist choices?

[Violet]

♦ What music do you like? What has been your favorite album this year?

♦ What are some hobbies that you have outside of music?

♦ What sort of unique quirks do you have (if any)?

♦ If you were to find a time machine and travel back in time, what time period would you travel to, who would be the first person you'd talk to, and what would you say to him/her?

♦ Name a movie that has made you cry. (If this doesn't exist, just name a really good movie that you saw recently.)

♦ Imagine yourself being stuck on the roof of a burning skyscraper. Who are the top three superheroes you'd want to come and save you?

♦ If you had the Midas touch and were able to turn everything into any one thing, what would that thing be?

♦ Finish this sentence: "I'll never understand why __________."

♦ In your opinion, what is the greatest invention of mankind?

♦ What message would you leave in a fortune cookie?

[MXHLH]

first off, Wolf gang is the greatest opener Coldplay could ever have.

2nd,

QUESTION: Do you plan to tour in the USA for an extensive headline to tour in support of your 2nd album soon if so, cone to come to Pawtucket, RI?

[paradise117]

1. What is your favorite Coldplay song and why? (I'm sorry, I just have to know) :laugh3:

2. Who is your Hero?

3. What is the best advice you could give to anyone?

[Texas Rez]

Who are some of your biggest inspirations to begin to make music?

[paradise96]

Q&A Questions

 

1. Where has been your favorite place to play so far?

2. Is it true that Suego Faults came to you in a dream?

 

I was at the Dallas 6/23 concert and you guys were absolutely amazing!

[busybeeburns]

Bump!

[Violet]

Come on, people! There's only two days left. Surely there's something more you wish to know about Wolf Gang.

 

If not, then I'll just come up with some other questions. Not that I want to take the entire interview, but I want it to be worth something, y'know?

[Texas Rez]

1. Was there anyone in particular you guys looked up to that motivated you to do what you enjoy doing?

2. Do you guys have any pre-gig exercises that you'd recommend to those about to take the stage anytime soon?

3. Is there anyone you'd like to recommend following on Twitter?

[Violet]

♦ What instruments can you play?

♦ Do you have any pre-gig/post-gig rituals? (Thanks to Shredder2 for kickstarting that one for me with one of his questions.)

♦ What beverage do you typically drink while on stage?

♦ Are you single? (Yeah, I know, dumb question, but I'm curious.)

[paradise96]

What are your plans after you're done touring with Coldplay?

[coldplaymom]

Who are your influences?

How did you come to open for Coldplay?

 

Your set at Philips Arena was very pleasant.

[Nattatouille]

Alright guys, only a few more hours to get those questions in before I compile them all and send them off for answering!

[Nattatouille]

It's all over and sent off. Thanks everyone that has submitted questions. I will post the answers as soon as I get them.

[Nattatouille]

Hey everybody. Max has kindly responded to the majority of the questions we posed and has just returned them all to me.

 

I'd just like to thank you all for taking the time to submit questions and things to make this so successful.

 

--------------------------

 

 

How did you come up with the name Wolf Gang? Would you change it if you could?

 

My sister came up with the name actually, and for a while it caused a bit of confusion with Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All fans which made me sometimes think of changing it even though we were the first to use it, but that problem has sort of died out since and I'm happy that we are rolling with it. It wouldn't feel right changing it.

 

 

Who/what inspires you to make music?

 

I've always been inspired by my parents record collection, that mixture of songs from the 70's and 80's that had real melody,verve and personality to it. I grew up in a musical family as well so there was inspiration and encouragement all around me.

 

 

Where has been your favourite place to play so far (both as a support and as your own headliner)?

 

Well we've just come off the Coldplay tour and that is definitely the best and most fun support we've done, in terms of headline shows, we had an amazing one in Vienna last December which was brilliant, the crowd has so much enthusiasm it made the whole night so much fun.

 

 

Is it really true that ‘Suego Faults’ came to you in a dream? Have you been anywhere else in your dreams?

 

Yes it is, and yes I do, as I'm sure most people do, surely everyone is well travelled when it comes to the realm of dreams?!

 

 

What is your favourite and least favourite track on ‘Suego Faults’?

 

I don't have favourites actually, retrospectively I think that there are powerful moments and weak moments in each song.

 

 

Do you have any pre/post gig rituals?

 

We do a vocal warm up about 40 minutes before we go on, then we just sort of dance around and get ourselves geared up.

 

 

Can you give us any updates on how the second album is coming along? Will this tour with Coldplay influence you in any way?

 

Yeh the writing is going well, we've got a good few songs under our belt and it doesn't seem to be slowing down so that's encouraging. We watched Coldplay's set almost every night and it was interesting to start paying more attention to how the songs are structured and propped up instrumentally, who knows maybe some of what we learned will subconsciously drift into our own songwriting...

 

 

Do you plan on touring the USA extensively to support your second album (if so, can you come to Pawtucket, RI)?

 

Actually we are still playing to support the first record as releases in Britain and the US are delayed. The radio stations out there are still playing singles from the first album so we'll be headed back out in October to do our own headline tour of the east and west coasts, and the bulk of our set will be primarily derived from Suego Faults.

 

 

In a typically difficult American market to crack, what are the advantages and disadvantages of opening for a massively popular act in front of an audience largely unfamiliar with your work? How do you approach this differently to your festival sets (such as your captivating set at Coachella) or your own shows in terms of audience engagement and setlist choices?

 

Opening for Coldplay has been massively advantageous in spreading our music in the US, I think radio stations used it as a reason to play our music, Coldplay fans who weren't aware of us left the show and got in touch on twitter and Facebook, our album downloads spiked during the tour. I don't want to jinx anything but hopefully our shows where we supported them will be quite busy because of that exposure the band allowed us, so I couldn't stress enough how positive for us that tour was! In terms of our setlist, we kept it short and punchy like the Coachella show, I think when you're playing to a largely unfamiliar audience it's better to leave them wanting more rather than to overexpose yourself.

 

 

When you moved from London to Berlin, did it change your attitude and approach to music?

 

It didn't really change my attitude, it was quite simply a pragmatic move to go somewhere where I could be in an empty room with a piano every day and not have distractions around me! What was great though was the band came and joined me, and we really hit upon a sound that we have since followed up on, it did seem to set a precedent for the songwriting for the second album out there…

 

 

How is it you came to open for Coldplay?

 

I think it came through Guy Berryman the bass player who had heard and liked the album.

 

 

What is your favourite Coldplay song? And why did you choose to cover ‘Life is for Living’ before going on tour with them?

 

There are so many songs I love it's hard to choose a favourite but 'Amsterdam' does something special for me. Covering 'Life Is For Living' was just a spur of the moment thing, it's a nice and short number too...

 

 

What is your favourite memory of the tour so far?

 

There are so many, playing the first night was really adrenaline filled, meeting the band was awesome, the long drives through beautiful stretches of land, meeting our fans out there, there were loads of really nice moments.

 

 

How has watching Coldplay perform changed the way you view your own shows? Do you want to get to stadium tours one day?

 

Oh absolutely! It's very inspirational watching the performance. As a frontman it's great to watch Chris, he moves around so much and genuinely seems to be really enjoying himself up there, which is so infectious.

 

 

What is it like to tour with Coldplay? Would you do it again?

 

We would hands down love to do it again some time, the whole experience was amazing, and their crew were the nicest people to work with ever.

 

 

How did you prepare yourself for a tour like this?

 

We didn't smoke and we didn't drink…

 

 

Do you spend any time with the members of the band? Do you find that strange?

 

We bumped into them a few times backstage which was nice, it was great to be able to thank them in person for having us. They all seem really chilled out and down to earth. But it was nice to shake the hand of someone who you genuinely really respect.

 

 

What are your plans once you have finished touring with Coldplay?

 

We're back to writing more songs, we have a couple of European dates, then the American tour in October!

[Violet]

Finally! I've been anxiously waiting for this ever since you sent the questions off.

 

Thanks so much for setting this up, Natt! It's really cool to be able to have those sorts of interviews with people firsthand. If you ever get the chance to talk to him again, could you please tell him that I said I'm sorry for asking all the really bizarre, creepy questions? In hindsight, I realize I probably shouldn't have asked them. :embarrassed:

 

Thanks again! :hug:

[lisaw23]

That was fantastic!

I had heard one or two of their songs on XM radio and liked them, but seeing the band on this tour really got me interested and hooked into their music. Thanks for posting!

[Nattatouille]

Finally! I've been anxiously waiting for this ever since you sent the questions off.

 

Thanks so much for setting this up, Natt! It's really cool to be able to have those sorts of interviews with people firsthand. If you ever get the chance to talk to him again, could you please tell him that I said I'm sorry for asking all the really bizarre, creepy questions? In hindsight, I realize I probably shouldn't have asked them. :embarrassed:

 

Thanks again! :hug:

 

Hah, Max literally returned them to me last night-- which was kind of better as I've been in Spain the last week :laugh3:

 

Don't worry about it though, he's a pretty cool guy and I'm sure they won't have been received that creepy-- tbh, I thought they were fine so... But still I will say something if it would make you feel better.

[Violet]

Well, if you didn't think they were creepy, I guess he might not, either. I trust your judgment, Natt.

[Tash]

Another Q&A, with Coldplay.com : )

 

-----------------

 

Wolf Gang interview

18 July 2012 9:13 pm

Max McElligott tells us about the band's recent support slots

 

London four-piece Wolf Gang supported Coldplay on the latest leg of the band's Mylo Xyloto tour in North America. We asked frontman Max McElligott to tell us how they got on.

 

 

Hi Max, how are you?

Very well thank you!

 

You've reached the end of your dates with Coldplay, how have they been?

We had the most amazing time, it really exceeded our expectation of how it would be, which was already pretty high!

 

For Coldplay fans who haven't yet heard Wolf Gang, what do you sound like?

I suppose we play melodic rock/pop, our set for these dates was pretty upbeat/romantic, we don't shy away from big choruses.

 

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZLv36LvRo8[/ame]

 

Was this the first time you'd done an arena tour?

Yes it was, we've played to large crowds for one-off supports with the likes of the Killers or at festivals, but this was the first time where each night our workplace was a huge arena!

 

How was it playing in these big venues?

Well let's just say it really gets the adrenaline going... you can't see everyone's face like at a smaller show, but you still feel an overall presence that is quite empowering.

 

Presumably you have to approach support shows slightly different to headline ones?

Actually we put as much energy into a support as we do with a headline show, you won't see us shying away from the dancing and the falling around the stage just because it's not our show! Obviously you don't play for as long, but that just means you have to use up all the energy in a shorter amount of time...

 

Do you think there's an art to playing a good support show?

When we were discussing what or setlist would be for these shows, we settled on mostly upbeat punchy songs, because you have to capture the attention of a crowd that doesn't necessarily know or care who you are. So you have to hustle and try and win them over, which is a fun challenge. And you must always thank the band who's stage you are sharing!

 

Were the Coldplay audiences receptive?

I genuinely think that the crowds we played to enjoyed our set, we had a really positive response on our Twitter and Facebook, and each night we would go and do a meet and greet for whoever wanted to come and say hi, we were kind of taken aback at how many people turned up each night!

 

Have you guys toured America before?

We've played SXSW in Austin, Coachella in Palm Springs and one or two shows in LA and New York, but nothing quite like this before.

 

How were you getting around?

We were driving around in an increasingly smelly bus. The scale and diversity of America really becomes apparent when you're seeing it all slide by past the window. We've seen some beautiful things on this trip.

 

What was the longest journey?

We had a 14 hour drive through what I think may have been Louisiana...

 

How do you kill time on the long trips?

We had internet on the bus so I'd be responding to tweets and working on music on my laptop. There's an Xbox on the bus so I think Lasse and James were getting really into a boxing game. Listening to music is always a soothing way to pass the time...

 

Did you manage to do any sightseeing?

Well we wanted to cram as much music in as possible on this tour so whenever there was a day off, we went and played our own headline shows, in Dallas, Jacksonville and Boston. So that ate into our free time. I guess the sightseeing will have to wait until next time...

 

What were your favourite experiences of the tour?

The first support date we played in Dallas was just epic, as we'd waited so long to jump onto that stage and play our hearts out, it felt amazing.

 

Any idea how you came to be on the tour?

I'm can't be 100% certain but I hear that Guy Berryman had heard the songs and liked them so apparently it came through him.

 

Were you a fan of Coldplay?

We grew up hearing their songs all the time, I used to play the piano parts just for fun, it was quite educational to see how each song was structured, it was a good insight into solid songwriting.

 

What do you think of their show?

We all agreed it's probably the best live show we've ever seen. It doesn't matter what kind of music you're into, it's just an undeniable feast for the ears and eyes, a real jubilant euphoric celebration of epicness... you forget how many amazing songs they have.

 

Did you have a chance to hang out with the band at all?

We bumped into them a few times backstage, they all seem like very down to earth and friendly chaps. They filled our dressing room with Champagne and a card for when we got off stage after the first show which was a nice touch.

 

What have Wolf Gang got planned for the rest of the year?

We are returning to America actually in October, we'll be playing our own shows on the East and the West coast, and hitting up the places we played with Coldplay for round 2!

 

Finally, what's your favourite Coldplay song?

There are too many to pick one, but I used to listen to 'Amsterdam' religiously. It has a really lovely piano part, that starts off really introspectively and ends with a huge release. Tugs the heart strings.

 

For more information on Wolf Gang, head to wolf-gang.co.uk

[wabbit]

Wolf Gang ‏@wolfgang

 

Here's some compiled footage from the Coldplay tour!