DJ Interviews: Raised By Wolves

Hello everyone, DJ Dizzy here & I'm proud to introduce a band by the name of Raised by Wolves who  had a lot to say on their careers. Enjoy!

 

 

 

We are Raised by Wolves, born out of the strong desire to shine, shine imperfection.

 

How'd you get started in music?

 

Vinnie

I got started in music writing raps for my school projects in third grade. I did a dope one about the amendments to the constitution :) for social studies.

 

Here is an excerpt from my masterpiece about the bill of rights. JZ you need to know this stuff for your citizenship application:

 

#1 says, kickin, we all got the freedom,

of religion, speech and press, hell yeah, we need ‘em.

The right to assemble no matter where we please, and to petition for redress without takin no cheese...

 

It’s still in my head. I never forget a rap.

 

Subsequent Text Chain:

Mike : That's funny man, a friend I saw while in San Diego recently was my rap partner back in the day… says he has all our recordings on tape and is going to convert to digital. I still know all those lyrics too.

 

JZ(Shocked): You guys are undercover rappers.

 

Mike: So not undercover... we headlined our high school talent show lol, beatbox and all.

 

Vinnie: Dude so did we. I was in sixth grade, autographing third graders pencils at lunch after we headlined with beach boys / fat boys wipeout.

 

JZ(Thinking) I would have been locked up for doing this in apartheid South Africa.

 

Mike

On summer break in college one of my best friends was selling his old cheap drum kit that was almost never played... it sounded awful... but I could play basic beats as soon as I jumped on the kit... I started playing original songs w another one of my best friends who was learning guitar... the rest is history

 

JZ

I was a member of a band called the Monotonous Myoelectrics (Monotonous robotic prosthesis) we were cool, a wayyyy “cool” grunge rock outfit. We went on to advance our musical conquests in three different continents, Africa, Europe and the US of A.

 

And I don’t count those horrible piano lessons my mother forced me to take…

 

 

Who are your inspirations or influences?

 

Vinnie

Inspirations = JZ and Mikey A :-P

 

Mike

60s R&B/soul/funk, 80s rap/hip hop, 90s grunge/hard rock, John Bonham, matt Cameron, Keith Carlock, chad smith, Harvey mason

 

JZ

I value innovation and musicians pushing the boundaries of what is considered conventional. (This is likely where the inspiration for writing songs about winning the love of your life over with falafels comes from) I listen to almost everything, calling out a few examples, Genesis (PG Era, e.g. Musical Box), 10cc(Godley/Creme songwriting combo, e.g. Clockwork Creep) and a more recent example by Leon Bridges, Bad Bad News, love the jazz fusion. And I have to call out Chris Letcher from back home, he is a musical maestro, Robotic Soldiers.

 

What advice would offer aspiring performers?

Vinnie

Just go for it.  The only way to get better as a performer is to perform. Every band had a really bad first gig somewhere.

 

Mike

Create and play the kind of music you love with guys you have amazing chemistry with... enjoy the experience and the ride.

 

JZ

Believe in yourself and keep on perfecting your art. Even though I hated taking music lessons when young I would really urge that you really dig into both theory and technique, it gives you more tools to express yourself with.

 

Any new gigs or albums in the future?

Studio addiction, us, never(denial). We continue to write new material and are working on wrapping up the recording of some new material. We are also playing close attention to the areas we were not totally comfortable with, technically, with the recording of “Shines”. Want to get it just right for you guys. You deserve the full value for the 0.006 cents spent each time you listen to one of our tunes on Spotify. We are planning to hit the stage in 2019, look out for it!

I wish them nothing but luck & the best in their success so until then

Stay Awesome & Rock n roll!