It’s always nice to give a band a bit of a shout-out when they have something new to promote. Liverpool’s Raised By Wolves are howling about their new single “Out Of My Head” at the moment, so what better time to find out more about them…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Liverpool.
How did you meet?
Breen (Bass) and Dan (Drummer) have been playing music together for 6 years, and have been in multiple bands together. They decided to switch things up and put out an ad on Join My Band for a female singer back in 2015 which is when I joined. In late 2016 our then guitarist decided to move on from music but we had no intention of stopping, and recruited Cain (Guitar) shortly after. We have since self-recorded and produced our first EP, and gone on to grow together and really find our sound which we think is perfectly captured in the new single.
How long have you been playing as a band? Our current line up have been together since January 2017
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
We went unnamed for around 6 months when we first formed. But for a long time we had had a group chat called the wolf pack and the name evolved from there.
What are your influences?
We’ve all got a very eclectic taste so we draw influence from many different areas of music. Other rock bands whose sound we love that influence ourselves are Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Queens of The Stone Age, Royal Blood, Halestorm, Faith No More, Muse, Audioslave, Biffy Clyro, The Police and Ghost.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We’ve been described as a real curveball. When us or others try to define our sound we’ve found that we don’t really fit in any one box. We’re heavy but we’re accessible meaning we can really cross boundaries and people of different musical tastes can enjoy our sound.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Our lyrics emotional, raw and honest. I try not to hold back when writing lyrics and very much wear my heart on my sleeve. I do not limit myself with a mind set of ‘This is what a woman should be singing’, no topic is off limits when it comes to writing.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Our live show is heavy, loud and hard hitting. We put all our effort into delivering our songs with energy and accuracy, we want what you hear live to what you hear on recordings times 10. We’ve been regularly gigging around the northwest west from the get go and try to book in as many gigs as possible to get our songs out there and form connections with other musicians.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
One time we played a gig on the Liverpool docks, and got asked to turn our instruments down as we were disturbing the Mayor. The event emailed out shortly after saying they were no longer allowed to book any rock bands!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Cain: I have several guitars but mainly gig my Chapman ML2 for its versatility. I use an Orange Tiny Terror amp and a lot of different pedals including octave pedals, fuzz and some delay pedals. My favourite pedal is my Mr Black Thunderclaw that I used on our new single ‘Out Of My Head’ I really think it defines my tone.
Breen: Live I play a Steinberger Synapse. It sounds huge and it definitely stands out and grabs attention. I run it through a Soundblox Pro multiwave bass distortion which is the key to my sound as it splits the signal in two allowing me to get a really dirty sound whilst still retaining definition. I also use a Soundblox Pro bass envelope filter and a boss GT-10B which I run through a trace Elliot GP7-SM.
Dan: My current set up is a 3 piece Yamaha Rock Tour kit with a Pearl Vinnie Paul signature snare with a mix of Zildjian and Istanbul cymbals, it gives me a really beefy sound. But the most important part of my kit is obviously my Rock n’ Soc throne…
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We’re really promoting our new single “Out Of My Head” at the moment, we all agree we’ve really stepped up musically and it really showcases what we’re capable of as a band. We recorded and produced it ourselves and it’s everything we wanted it to be and is a sign of what you can expect from this band in the future.
What are your plans for the rest of 2018?
Write, play and record. We like to take our time with recording songs. As we do everything ourselves it would be very easy to record everything, but we like to play our songs to a crowd first to really see how they hit. With that in mind we’re really driving towards releasing our second EP at the end of the year and playing in lots of new places.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
We’d love to support Royal Blood live, they’ve got a really unique sound and we think the crowd would react well to our music and we’d get them pumped for the main act. To open we’d have to go with local Liverpool band Vulture Cult, they’re one of our favourite bands to gig with and their sound would suit the line up perfectly.
From previous Band of the Day cleopatrick: Would you perform with an artist you didn’t like to get a higher profile? What is the one thing you wish every venue had?
We don’t believe you should let personal stuff get in the way of an opportunity. You may have to work with some people you don’t like, that’s just what this business is. As long as it doesn’t encroach on your values I don’t see why not.
We wish every venue had air conditioning or at least fans… we’re a sweaty bunch.
From another BotD, Indya: What’s the worst outfit you’ve worn on stage?
Breen (bass) once performed dressed as a giant vodka bottle and Dan (drummer) played as a bed sheet ghost (it didn’t last long)…
And from Joensuu Riihimaki: Who would win a fight between Spiderman and Batman?
This debate broke up the band I hope you’re happy (just kidding).
Raised By Wolves: facebook | soundcloud
