Wolf & Cub

Wolf & Cub
Left to right: Joel Byrne, Joel Carey, Marvin Hammond and Thomas Mayhew Sydney, 5 August 2007
Background information
Origin	Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Genres	Psychedelic rock
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Dot Dash 4AD
Website	Official website
Members	Joel Byrne Joel Carey Wade Keighran Brock Fitzgerald
Past members	Adam Edwards Tom Mayhew Marvin Hammond

Wolf & Cub are a psychedelic rock band from Adelaide, Australia. Three of the original members hail from Port Augusta. The four-piece were signed to record label 4AD, which make use of two drummers. This allows the percussive elements of their music to feature more prominently alongside the guitar. Their name derives from a comic from Japan, "Lone Wolf and Cub". Wolf & Cub signed to Last Gang records in North America. Their third studio album, Heavy Weight, was released in 2013.

History

Wolf & Cub formed in 2002 in Adelaide with Joel Byrne on lead vocals and guitar, Adam Edwards on drums and percussion, and Thomas Mayhew on bass guitar. Byrne, Edwards and Mayhew had met at high school in Port Augusta.^[1] Joel Carey met Byrne at university, he joined initially just on percussion, later becoming the second drummer. After playing regularly around Adelaide the band signed to an Australian label, Dot Dash Recordings, with representation from Remote Control Records. On 1 November 2004 they released their first EP, Wolf & Cub, with five tracks, including "Thousand Cuts".^[2][3] It was co-produced by the band with Matt Hills in April that year.^[3]

In 2005 a 7" record featuring "Thousand Cuts" was released in the United Kingdom, which was played on the Zane Lowe and Steve Lamacq radio shows on the BBC. The track was heard by producer Paul Epworth (Bloc Party, The Futureheads), who took it into the studio and recorded the Phones Remix. This became a white label 12" version and later became John Kennedy's Single of the Week on XFM. They signed to international label, 4AD, in September and played in a string of London shows for 4AD's 25th Anniversary with The Breeders in November. In October 2005 the band released their second EP, Steal Their Gold, which included "Thousand Cuts" (Phones Slasher Remix).^[4] They toured Japan and the UK. "Steal Their Gold" was named Single of the Week status by Lamacq and the band received greater attention from the UK press.^[5]

In Australia, the band performed with TV on the Radio, The Killers, The Music, Wolfmother, Queens of the Stone Age (handpicked by Josh Homme^[6]) and Death from Above 1979. The quartet played in multiple festivals, such as Big Day Out and Homebake, and underwent two nationwide tours of Australia.^[7] Work on Wolf & Cub's debut album, Vessels, began in April 2005: Hills co-produced with Tony Doogan.^[8] It was released in Australia on 28 August 2006, which peaked in the ARIA Albums Chart top 100.^[9] It received generally favourable responses from critics,^[10] including becoming the fifth most favoured album of The Drum Media’s editors and contributors for 2006. 4AD released the album internationally on 6 March 2007.^[10] In the same month, the band toured the US playing at SXSW and a 4AD showcase.

On 20 May 2007, the band announced on their MySpace page that Edwards had left and that they were looking for a new drummer: "Well, just letting everyone know that it was Adam's last show on Saturday night at the Adelaide Uni Bar... We'd like to thank Adam for everything and wish him all the best in everything he's going to get up to".^[11] On 8 July they announced the replacement drummer is Marvin Hammond from Adelaide band Artax Mission.^[12]

In June 2008 Wolf & Cub released another EP, One to the Other, produced by Christopher Colonna from Bumblebeez. Their second studio album, Science and Sorcery followed on 18 April 2009, which peaked at No. 8 on the ARIA Hitseekers Albums Chart.^[13]

In 2011 Brock Fitzgerald on drums and percussion and Wade Keighran on bass guitar (both formerly of The Scare) joined Byrne and Carey in a new line-up of Wolf & Cub. In 2012 they previewed their new direction with their single, "Salao". Their single "I Need More" appeared ahead of their third album, Heavy Weight (13 September 2013), it was recorded and produced by the band at Sydney's Linear studios, and mixed by Burke Reid (The Drones, PVT, Oh Mercy). It was made available digitally and in retail stores via MGM Distribution.

Awards

In 2006 Wolf & Cub were awarded the Qantas Spirit of Youth award for music. SOYA is an Australian premier youth arts prize, recognising and rewarding outstanding young Australians. The band received a cheque for $5000 and $5000 in Qantas airline tickets.^[14]

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2007 Wolf & Cub were nominated for Best Independent Release for Vessels.^[15]

Touring

Past Touring

• Headlined two Australian tours, one with Mercy Arms and another with Snowman.
• Played at Big Day Out 2006 alongside bands such as The White Stripes, Iggy & The Stooges, Kings of Leon, The Mars Volta and Franz Ferdinand.
• Performed at the first ever Great Escape festival with Sigur Rós, Silverchair, The Mountain Goats and The Black Keys.
• Played at the debut of St Jeromes Laneway Festival with The Avalanches, Broken Social Scene, The Hold Steady, Pretty Girls Make Graves and Les Savy Fav in 2005.
• They were on the bill for Homebake in 2005 and 2006.
• Joined You Am I and Modest Mouse for Falls Festival in 2006.
• Played at Meredith Music Festival with Band of Horses, The New Pornographers, Midlake and Tapes 'n Tapes in 2006.
• Toured Australia, backing up The Vines in 2008 (PYR)
• Supported fellow Australian bands Wolfmother & Jet in the UK.

Members

• Joel Byrne - vocals, electric guitar, percussion
• Joel Carey - drums/percussion
• Wade Keighran - bass guitar
• Brock Fitzgerald - drums/percussion, keyboard, guitar

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

References

External links

• Official Website