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Carolina Civic Voice Summer 2005 Vol 5, No 3 |
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Wolfe Gang has played their tunes for many years. Other than the leader of the pack, Michael Wolfe, its membership has varied over the years, but its character hasn’t. Michael Wolfe was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. Some say the region is culturally dull, but Michael asserts that the city has a “great arts community.” Both of his parents were portrait artists. The young Wolfe wasn’t an artist or musician. He attended Duke University for two years, but became restless. He joined the merchant marine and chose New Orleans to be the port he operated from. His girlfriend had an apartment in the French Quarter and he’d always loved the city. He learned to play the guitar in the Big Easy. “While at sea I probably drove everybody onboard crazy. I played the guitar a lot. A few African Americans taught me to play the blues. They didn’t know how to play the guitar, but they sure knew the blues. They would hear me playing and say, ‘No, this is how that should be played.’ That’s how I learned to play the blues.” After his stay in New Orleans, where he earned his undergraduate degree, Michael moved to Baton Rouge. There he played in blues clubs; the bands he formed were “integrated”. “The spirit of that city is incredible,” Michael declared. “I discovered the heart of music there and the passion that should be devoted to playing it.” He placed two fingers on his lips. “I also began to sing and write songs.” His lyrics are enchanting, quixotic, and mystic. They propel thoughts that run the spectrum of human emotion. Extended instrumentals are the element of several songs perform ed by Wolfe Gang in concert. These entrance the audience as much as the lyrics, the skill of the musicians being exceptional. Michael moved to Wilmington in 1993. He’s married to Dr. Elizabeth Hines, who’s a professor of Earth Sciences at UNCW. “She studies and provides instruction in human geography, race relations, cartography, and other areas related to the planet on which we live,” he relayed. “She studies its elements and I do too. Elizabeth teaches it and I sing about it.” She served as a visiting professor at the University of South Wales in 2002, and Michael accompanied her. He assembled a five-piece band, naming it Wolfe Gang UK, and toured the country. It was well-received by the Welsh and received acclamation from the local press. In addition to the blues, Wolfe Gang plays folk, jazz, zydeco, rock & roll, country rock, R&B, and reggae. Michael related, “What we don’t play will give you a pretty good idea of who we are. We don’t play any heavy metal, rap, disco, punk, or whining country music.” He calls their style “organic free-range music”. Wolfe Gang can take a musician’s work and wholly transform it. Michael informed the audience at one show at Fat Tony’s that the song just played was by Johnny Cash. But their rendition did not sound like one by “the man in black”. Wolfe Gang plays songs recorded by many, including Ray Charles, Steely Dan, Merle Haggard, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Nat King Cole, Little Feat, and a multitude of other acclaimed musicians. Their performance of Cole’s classic “Route 66,” a cover of which was released by the Rolling Stones in 1964, is presented as their audiences have never before heard. This is true for the songs of all the artists and groups whose songs they perform. The Gang knows how to radically alter a song’s melody and timbre to accord with the disposition of this Wolfe. Wolfe Gang’s CD Makin’ It Up As We Go Along is like their shows—diverse in content, musically powerful, with thought-provoking lyrics. The Beat magazine's music critic Mike Raab raves, "This tasty CD is laid-back, jump-start, and full of smokin' swamp funky stuff!"
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Doug Chancey, who plays harmonica and provides backing vocals, sang lead on a song at one of their shows. “This was written a little before the latest war in Iraq,” he said before the song. The primary line of its chorus is, “No, no, I won’t go / kill / no, no, I won’t go.” Before a song, Michael looked over at Doug and laughed. He told the audience, “Doug’s just returned from Trinidad.” He smiled. “In recognition of that we’ll now play some white reggae.” The audience found this Wolfe Gang reggae to be uniquely invigorating music. Doug’s been with the Gang for a number of years, and his play of the harmonica is stirring. He’s also an actor. The other members of this Gang’s talents are also impressive. Brad Lloyd plays the drums. He’s WHQR’s Sunday Night Jazz host and the master of ceremonies for Lloyd’s Jazz Club. This features noted bands performing at different locations in Cape Fear, often held at WHQR headquarters on Front Street. Brad captivates audiences through his play of the drums. His technique ranges from gentle, which soothes, to intense, which seizes. He’s fiercely skilful in the standard play of the instrument and equally gifted using only his hands. Rob Harrington is presently playing bass guitar for the band. Michael said, “He’s on loan.” Because Rob is a superior bass guitarist, the leader of this pack of wolves should put forth full effort to convert his status to permanent Gangster. Other Cape Fear musicians at times serve as players in this wolfish musical underworld. Justin Williamson is an outstanding bass player; Jim Herring plays the drums masterfully; Tom Donaldson is a popular lead guitarist and also sings; Woody Dobson is a keyboard maestro. Wolfe Gang plays regularly at several nightclubs on the Cape Fear. You can hear them Thursday nights at Fat Tony's on Front Street at 8:00 p.m. If you can play or sing, bring your instrument along with you and sit in with them during their “Roots and Rhythm Jam” session there. The Gang is invited to perform at a good number of events. They were a headline band at The Festival of Wines held this summer at The Cameron Art Museum. “I’m not choosy about much in life, but I’m a little choosy about where we play,” Michael conferred. “I like for us to be able to perform as we’d like, to do what we want.”
David Cockrell is a Wilmington writer and staff member of Carolina Civic Voice. |
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A Wolf Gang’s Musical Howl |
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Wolfe Gang’s Michael Wolfe... |
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Photo by Merbler |