The Wolfmen: live album launch at the 100 Club

What are you doing on the Thursday the 14th July? Whatever it is, put a line through it and hoof yourself along to the 100 Club as The Wolfmen rip the wrappers of their minty new album Married to the Eiffel Tower- with a prestige gig bought to you by the good people at Vive Le Rock magazine. Silvery, special guests, exclusive tunes and limited edition goodies and signed editions of the album are promised for this glittering night of glam garage anthems and black leather beats.

If you can't get to the gig (tut, tut) - console yourself that Married to the Eiffel Tower, will be available from August, and comes locked and loaded with a fistful of fruity new wolf-tunes, a haunting guest vocal from Sinéad O'Connor, a long lost Velvets rarity and an assortment of frisky remixes from Courtney Taylor-Taylor and Jacob Portrait.

So, find yourself a marker pen, and draw a big red ring around the July 14th - when The Wolfmen storm the 100 Club..

Dates, details and dialogue on this and all Wolfmen despatches are available on the official website and Facebook page – including a strictly limited offer available only to the first 100 ticket buyers..

The Wolfmen's offical website
The official Facebook page
That limited ticket offer

The Man Behind The Mixing Desk - Steve Musters

As Elvis said in the opening to his 68 Special - 'It's been a long time, baby! But Bocca is back with a bang, and takes you behind the band to meet the man who produces, shapes and sculpts The Wolfmen's sound..Mr Steve Musters. As well production on most of The Wolfmen's catalogue including both albums - Steve's CV also includes PJ Harvey, The Editors and Tricky

You've got an impress list of credits (engineer, mixer, producer) covering a broad range of artists. As a school leaver did you have a career in music mind - and if so was it a a techie, musician or something else.
Actually I wanted to be a wildlife photographer! I ended up working as a game warden in Tanzania for a while before deciding I missed civilization.

Barry Manilow's name appears on your CV, (as part of a soundtrack) is this legit!
Sadly yes. It was a very, very long time ago...!

What are your memories of your first project as mixer or producer - who was the artist or album? Were you nervous and would you change anything listening back now.
The engineer ran out of drugs at on an East 17 session and couldn't operate. He asked if I could step in. I had only been working at that studio for a month or so but I managed to blag it.
I love Spotify and have found some of my early mixes I hadn't listened to for years, there are always things you'd like to tweak but on the whole it is usually a pleasant surprise.

How do you approach a new studio session, what do you hope to accomplish at the end.
The best for the record or best for the band. Hopefully what is best for the record is also best for the band! I always aim to maximize the potential of every song with the raw material I have.

You've Produced both The Wolfmen albums, what are the differences between the two
Their sound has definitely developed from the first album. As most of it has been written in the studio all together as a band it has more of a live feel, but their classic influences are never far away!

You must have a head full of music when you get home - how do you switch off.
I have a very effective eject button in my head - the downside is that I forget what I did the week before

Are there any classic albums you listen to and think they need tweaking - if so which ones, and can you listen to music without thinking about production.

I find it very hard to listen to any record without analyzing it, but I never want to tweak iconic albums - the idiosyncrasies are what make them.

Any favourite producers, productions or musicians that shaped your style.
I have never consciously tried to emulate anyone - just do what I think sounds good! However Talk Talk's "Spirit of Eden" was one of the first records that really got me interested in production.

Who are the least/most demanding artists you've worked with.
I have yet to work with anyone as demanding as the Wolfmen! :-)

Is possible to record without software and achieve a level of sound quality that could still be commercially acceptable
Definitely! Tape has yet to be bettered for drums. Software speeds things up a bit especially when you are messing around with arrangements but I'd love to do a Wolfmen record entirely on tape.

You get calls from Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Macca, Bob Dylan and the Sex Pistols - they all want to record new material with you at the controls. But, you can only choose one, which would it be.
It would have to be Bowie - no contest! I worked on a Jagger solo project - that's enough for one lifetime.

Any dream artists you'd like to work with or classic albums you'd like to remix for Deluxe Editions
I have been very fortunate to have worked with some incredible artists in the past so no one jumps out immediately. As far as remixing classic albums - I used to run the old Island Records studio, the Fallout Shelter, for a while and one of the perks was getting old Marley multi-tracks out of the tape store and playing around with them. They always sounded incredible! But as I mentioned before I'd hate to remix a classic album for release - they are classic for a reason!

Artists as self producers - can it ever work.
You have to be a seriously disciplined artist to be so close to a project and still remain objective.


Why do all chart singles sound the same these days - where's the grit gone.

The danger of software overkill is that all the character can be sucked out of a band - bit like everyone in LA having the same noses and teeth!

Any top-tips for home-recording artists
Monitoring is always a major problem at home without spending a fortune on acoustic treatment - you just have to keep comparing your mixes to commercial CDs and adjust and experiment. There are no short cuts! Also spend money on getting the input sound as good as possible i.e. best mics & mic preamps that you can afford!

July 20 - One New Single In Five New Flavours

Exactly three weeks from today, a new single from The Wolfmen will be with us - July 20 - the second single from the second album, Married to the Eiffel Tower.

You may remember mover, groover, shaker and film-maker Don Letts was the first to pick up on the pop potential of this tune playlisting it on his radio show. July 20 is a peachy, perfect scoop of summer pop - hot like a heatwave and sultry like a summer. Expect The Wolfmen's signature sound and wall of wallop with added Beach Boys style layers, flavours and honeycomb harmonies. A special guest stars involved with this summertime special is The Dandy Warhols Courtney Taylor-Taylor on remixer duties.

July 20 is released on July the 19th and available in five distinctive mixes - a handful of which are now live on The Wolfmen's myspace page - so why not hoof on over and taste-test a selection.

So what's the significance of the date July 20? More on that later. Of the five mixes that will be flying out from the 19th - today we'll fire up the take from long-term Wolfmen collaborator Steve Musters..

The Wolfmen July 20 (Steve Muster's Mix)

So You Wanna Hear Some New Tunes?

Friends of The Wolfmen The Dandy Warhols have embeded the Courtney Taylor-Taylor mix of a minty new Wolf-tune Wham Bam JFK on the DW website. 'The record is fantastic' - is the official verdict from Courtney himself - but click on the link to hear this galloping piece of pop-rock 'n' roll for yourself

WAM BAM JFK - Courtney Taylor-Taylor mix

And if you haven't grabbed a listen of Cat Green Eyes yet - set to be the second single, preceeding Married To The Eiffel Tower's release - check out the recent podcast Podrophenia from Piley and Mondo - where Chris makes an appearance at 29:45 introducing 'Cat'

Podrophenia - Rock 'n' Roll Animals

Don Letts Digs The Wolfmen

Old punks don't die - they just get cooler. Take John Cale, the New York Dolls or Don Letts, legendary author, film-maker, musician, DJ and now resident of BBC Six Music with his own Saturday night shindig - Culture Clash Radio

Let's make this clear Don Letts has pedigree. Originally, resident DJ at the infamous hangout 'The Roxy' where he turned punky young raggamuffins onto reggae and roots rockers. The former writing partner of Mick Jones in Big Audio Dynamite - knows how to turn a tune and maintains a refined ear for what rocks, rolls and rumbles.

So what made Don's most recent Culture Clash crate-digging playlist? A previously unheard cut from The Wolfmen titled July 20, a track taken from the upcoming album Married To The Eiffel Tower.

Believe us - July 20 is a scorcher of a summer sounding rock-pop nugget. Like the Velvet Underground bootleg remixed with the Beach Boys to make a space age sci-fi surf tune.

Turn on, tune in and bliss out here - July 20 is at 23:39

Six & Drums & Rock & Roll

With another radio appearance on the way this weekend, the new single available for digital download and the physical edition due in September - it really is all going on in the world of The Wolfmen.

This coming Saturday (29th August) Marco and Chris will be David Quantick's guests on BBC 6 Music between 12:00 and 14:00 as he fills in for Liz Kershaw. You can listen live, or listen again via the BBC iPlayer.

If you haven't downloaded Jackie, is it My Birthday yet - the duet between Chris and Sinéad O'Connor - it's available from The Wolfmen's iTunes store (along with a previously unreleased track). And the vinyl countdown has begun, as the hard-copy - Vinyl and CD formats - ship to the shops in September..

The new album Married To The Eiffel Tower is being written and in production right now. With Steve Musters (PJ Harvey, Tom Vek) producing and post-production and remixing from Courtney Taylor-Taylor of The Dandy Warhols and Jacob Portrait (Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age ...)

The World of The Wolfmen - Triple Bill

Brace yourselves wolfies and wolfettes, for a trip into the inner sanctum of ...

The World of The Wolfmen

Wolfman Dan is your guide on this trip around The Lair of the Lupos..

Chris's bass - cover star of the new single, which can also be spotted in this vintage video at 0:13



Waking That Bass...



In his biography Tony Visconti raves about Marco's guitars - these are just a handful of the deliciously vintage goodies from within the legendary Marco Collection..

SOCs & Drums & Rock and Roll

This week sees The Wolfmen locked in their lair - holed up, heads down and working on one full albums worth of new tunes - tunes that won't be appearing on the upcoming Eiffel release.

Right now, some Wolfman muscle is being added to a new recording for a mystery artist, an established international performer you will know, and one who has three albums worth of previous form with one of The Wolfmen

It's all a bit hush-hush at the mo' - but any guesses who it might be???

On a similar motif, here's another example of beauty and the beasts by way of The Wolfmen's soundtracking of this Kate Moss Ad'....

The inspiration behind 'Buzz Me Kate'

Marriage Plans

Erika La Tour Eiffel - is literally, 'Married To The Eiffel Tower'

Recording sessions for The Wolfmen's second album - 'Married To The Eiffel Tower '- have officially kicked off. The band are bolt-holed in the 'Lair of The Wolf' aka Raezor Studios and are cracking out all-new tunes and tracks, with an eye on a May release date...Wolfman Dan has been capturing an insight into the inner world of The Wolfmen by way of his video diaries

Chapters 1 and 2 are posted below...more should be showing on this screen The Wolfmen on Youtube ...

Married To The Eiffel Tower - Arriving


Studio Tour

Mission Control - Raezor Studios