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DC SETLIST

Thursday, February 24, 2011

SUNWOLF HOWLS AT THE MOON: Q&A with ROB TIFFORD (aka KALANI) of the DC band SUNWOLF!


Photo Credit: Rob Myers

Q:  Who is SUNWOLF (Click here to check out their music!  The Cherry Crush track is DC Setlists' favorite)?  Introduce us to the band.

A:  Sunwolf isn't really anybody. It is more of a feeling. I have been fortunate enough to find a band that shares this idea and belief in the immediate. Will Rast plays drums, Hash plays bass, Tom Bunnell plays guitar and Enea plays keys.

Q:  When talking about the band you said, "it happened organically", how did SUNWOLF form as a band?

A:  Yeah it was pretty organic. I had a show to play and was talking to Hash one day about how I had no idea how I was going to be able to play bass and sing at the same time. At that time, I thought I would play bass because that is what I played normally.  Hash said he would play bass, that meant I could play guitar and sing. Then I figured I would have a backing track with the beat and all the other sounds on it, but I really didn't want to have to deal with a computer during a live show. So, I was hanging out with Will Rast one day and asking him what he thought about playing to a click track and out of the blue, he said he would play drums. I was stoked, I didn't even know he played drums!! So all of a sudden I had a sweet rhythm section. I was talking with Tom one night, same type of thing, and I asked if he would want to play because I needed another guitar because I am really not that good a player, and need somebody to fill in all space I leave. So he joined and then the four of us played together a few times and I like  it, but I kept hearing keys.  Will was the only guy I really knew who played keys and he was playing drums. Flash-forward a week,  I was DJing at ESL, and Enea, he does the sound over there ,and I were listening to what each of us was working on, and Enea liked the  Sunwolf tracks and I asked if he wanted to play keys with us. He said yes thankfully. It all just fell together really naturally. It just goes back to idea behind Sunwolf which is that it is more of a feeling. You couldn't plan this, it just happened, and that is what makes it really special for me. Its this feeling I want to create with music. That feeling of the immediate and the moment.                         

Q:  What are the details for your gig TONIGHT?

 A: 
We play VELVET LOUNGE with OKINAWA
doors 7:30
OKINAWA 9:15
Sunwolf 10:00
tickets $8

Q:  How did you hook up with Okinawa? 

A:  OKINAWA is Danny and his brother's band. I know Danny from when he was
 playing with Owls and Crows. He is an awesome drummer! OKINAWA rocks!

Q:  How long were you in studio working on the SUNWOLF EP?  You'd mentioned, "it was all about capturing emotion" for you.

A:  I guess you could say I have been working on this for years,  it is really the natural culmination of me working on music in my studio. The actual EP came together very quickly. FEDERICO ABUELE produced it.

Again, back to the organic thing. I was playing Federico some of the tracks I had, which were really just sketches, and was asking him some advice on how to get some structure and he said he would work on a mix for track if I wanted.  So he did a mix of 'the hunted' and I loved it and he was having fun stepping in as the producer so we did more. He would send me versions and we would talk and make revisions and get to
a point that we both really liked. I am working on a few more tracks to make a full length and will properly release something on vinyl in the summer.

Q:  Where did the name SUNWOLF come from and how would you describe your sound? 

A:  How would I describe my sound? I don't really know. I guess dreamy? I just know when I get it when my head gets all swirly. The name came when I was camping over the summer.

That night there was a full moon and you could also see Jupiter below it. It was a really beautiful night.  I was sitting by the fire playing guitar and it came out in a lyric and I liked the way it sounded. I thought it would be 'cool'

Q:  What does SUNWOLF have cookin' early this up coming summer?

A:  I will release a full length sometime over the summer and keep playing shows.


Q:  Turn us on to music some of us might not have heard before!  What are the 5 songs (& artists) that have been looping on your iPod this week?

A: 
Gabor Szabo - Search for Nirvana
T Rex - Ballrooms of Mars
Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra - Some Velvet Morning
Bill Fury - I'm Lost Without You
Funkadelic - Mommy what's a Funkadelic?


Photo Credit: Rob Myers

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