Up-and-coming Glasgow alternative rock band We Came From Wolves have an exciting year ahead – a freshly released debut EP, a UK tour, as well as talks of a potential album later this year. Band members Kyle, Rob, Harrison and Taylor talk to Glasgow Guardian about their future plans, musical influences and their unique performance style.
Guardian: To give our readers an idea of what kind of band you are, briefly describe the band’s style.
We Came From Wolves: It’s never easy to pinpoint one specific genre or style for the band, but some of the words we would use would be melodic, dynamic, honest, alternative rock.
Guardian: How long have you all been playing music together?
We Came From Wolves: The band began as a project when Kyle recorded the song “For all our sins, We’re golden” and then uploaded it to “BBC Introducing” for a laugh, only to be woken up one day by texts sayings that the song had been played on Radio 1. In terms of the current line-up, it was the summer of 2013 when Taylor and Harrison White joined the band on lead guitar and drums, so we really have not been playing together for all that long. Although Taylor and Harrison have been playing together in various other projects for most of their lives.
Guardian: Harrison and Taylor, you’re brothers right? What’s it like being in the same band?
Harrison: I think for us it’s all we’re used to. In high school, we both had minor dalliances with sibling-free bands, but I think we’ve always favoured the tightness that comes from being brothers.
Taylor: Yeah, I would have to agree – growing up together and learning to play our instruments together, I think, gives us a sort of innate musical bond, which we feel translates well into the music we make. Plus we live together now and Harrison has a car so that’s a plus!
Guardian: How hectic is your rehearsal schedule?
We Came From Wolves: It varies depending on touring and recording plans, of course, but we like to be pretty full on with rehearsals on a regular basis. In saying that, we really do enjoy all parts of the process and love getting together every week to nail the set and work on new material. We also make sure we have some time together to just relax and get a few beers and some Fifa in.
Guardian: What were some of the main ideas behind the EP?
We Came From Wolves: The lyrics in every song are brutally honest, based on self-evaluation, surrounding areas and the people in those areas. The EP is about moving forward and, instead of forgetting the past, learning from it, opening up to newer, bigger and better things.
Guardian: Who would you say are your biggest influences?
We Came From Wolves: Some of the bands that influence us the most would be: Biffy Clyro, Arctic Monkeys, Death Cab for Cutie, Queens of the Stone Age, As Cities Burn and The Cribs.
Guardian: Have they inspired you in terms of what you put into your live shows?
We Came From Wolves: Some of our favourite live shows, funnily enough, have been shows with virtually no crowd, where despite this, the band have absolutely given it their all for the ten people who were there. Drawing inspiration from this, we aim to play each live show with as much energy and drive as possible to make sure that every single person who has made the effort to come see us goes away feeling that it was worth their while.
Guardian: Your UK tour is coming up this year. What would you say is the best thing about doing a live show?
We Came From Wolves: The best thing about doing a live show is getting to share our music with people right there and then and getting the reaction right there and then. The energy that a crowd can give you back is something that can take the band to whole new levels on the stage, and when this happens, there is really no other place any of us would rather be.
Guardian: If you were to perform with one artist, who would it be and why?
We Came From Wolves: We would probably say Arctic Monkeys as they seem like a good bunch of guys and are incredible live.
Guardian: Where do you see the band in five years?
We Came From Wolves: Our biggest goal as a band is just to be able to keep making music and growing together as people and as musicians. In the future we would love for the band to be our full time “job” if you could even call it that. If all goes to plan and this does happen then we simply can’t wait for a life of writing, practicing, touring and recording. In the next five years some of our goals include getting good slots at major festivals, touring more of Europe and hopefully the US and supporting some amazing bands. And of course releasing lots and lots of new material.
Guardian: Aside from the tour and EP release, what have you got in store for us in 2014?
We Came From Wolves: After the “Paradise Place” tour, we will hopefully be playing at some festivals in the summer, between continuing to write and demo tracks for our debut album – we have already begun the writing process and cannot wait to press on with that. Aside from that, we will be doing a lot more shows before looking to head back into the studio to begin recording the record at the end of the year.
Guardian: Lastly, if you had one sentence to persuade someone to come to one of your gigs, what would that sentence be?
We Came From Wolves: People should come to a show of ours if they like catchy, melodic songs, good vibes and an energetic performance and above all, seeing people do what they love.
The band’s EP “Paradise Place” came out on 3 March.
