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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Why?
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 16 March 2010
Originally the moniker of former cLOUDDEAD member Yoni Wolf, CMU favourites Why? became a fully fledged band before the release of their 2005 album ‘Elephant Eyelash’, which mixed indie rock, folk and hip hop. With the current line-up featuring Doug McDiarmid, Yoni’s older brother Josiah and Fog’s Andrew Broder and Mark Erickson, they released latest album ‘Eskimo Snow’, culled from the same sessions as previous album ‘Alopecia’, last year via Anticon and Tomlab. Ahead of the band’s gig at London’s Heaven tonight, kicking off a week of UK tour dates, we caught up with Yoni to ask the Same Six.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
I started jamming with my friend Jamey Brill when I was in ninth grade (fourteen years old or so). I would play drums and he guitar and we would order pizza from Papa John’s, smoke weed and freestyle and whatnot. I didn’t get into recording until I was eighteen.
Q2 What inspired your latest album?
Just living life. I don’t think, for us at least, there is ever any one thing or pinnable set of things by which an album is inspired. There are an immeasurable amount of influences and inspirations. I try to just allow the songs to come together in a natural way without preconceived notions of what they should be.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
Well, on the last couple of albums, I made demos for the songs on my cassette eight-track, then sent them to all the fellas. We then got together and rehearsed in Minneapolis for a few days for each song, and then recorded quickly in a studio called Third Ear. Later, the tracks were mixed in Oakland by Eli Crews and myself.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
Too many to name, I’m sure, but I will try anyway. Johnny Cash, Li’l Wayne, The Everly Brothers, Joanna Newsom, Jayzee, etc.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Enjoy! We are saying what we want to say in the music.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
Play some shows. We enjoy playing these new songs live and I’m confident that folks coming to see us will enjoy them too. I want to record a new record at some point soon, though I can’t say exactly when that’s going to happen. I am currently slowly working on writing a new batch of songs that is arduously and mysteriously working its way into becoming something, though I’m not yet certain what.
MORE>> www.myspace.com/whyanticon
