subject: Wolfmother Tickets - New Wolfmother Lineup Lays 'cosmic Egg' [print this page] When Wolfmother frontman Andrew Stockdale parted ways with founding band members bassist Chris Ross and drummer Lyles Haskett in August 2008, fans of the Aussie rock band were worried, and rightfully so. After announcing the split, due to "longstanding frictions," Stockdale told Billboard online while in Los Angeles, Wolfmother's current home base, "The Beatles lasted seven years, we lasted four. We toured our arses off around the world. We did 300 shows.
It takes a certain type of person to want to continue to live that kind of life." Drummer Dave Atkins, who previously played with Brisbane, Australia bands Pangaea and Resin Dogs, guitarist Aidan Nemeth and bassist/keyboardist Ian Peres replaced Ross and Haskett and the revamped band is readying to release a new album later this month. Other new additions to the Wolfmother pack are manager Cory Brennan, who founded New York-based 5B Artist management, and British producer Alan Moulder.
Wolfmother's forthcoming new album, Cosmic Egg, is set to arrive on October 23 in Australia via Modular Recordings/Universal, October 26 in the U.K. via Island and October 27 in the U.S. via Interscope. While Wolfmother's signature hard-rocking sound remains intact despite the lineup changes and is highlighted on tracks like "California Queen" and "In the Morning," the album also ventures into blues rock territory. Joked Stockdale about Cosmic Egg, "I can listen to the whole record without cringing, which is a good sign," before adding, "I wanted to take it back to an old-school hi-fi sound."
Cosmic Egg's predecessor, 2006's Wolfmother, sold 537,000 U.S. copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and also garnered the band a 2007 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance, thus the new album has a hard act to follow. Said Modular's A&R manager Glen Goetze of Wolfmother's internal issues, "It's a difficult situation to come back from. But [Stockdale has] worked his way through it. It's like starting from scratch on a debut record all over again, but we already have a sizable fan base out there."
The current incarnation of Wolfmother was one of only two bands to play both the Sound Relief bushfire benefit concerts held at Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney Cricket Ground this past March and also performed "Black Round" to close down the MTV Australia Awards on March 27. A non-album track, "Black Round," was previously available as a free download on the band's official website as well as the Guitar Hero 5 site, as the fifth edition of the game features the Aussie band.
Also among Wolfmother's stealthy string of comeback shows was a six-date gig opening for the Killers in August and September. The band is set to kick off its own month-long U.S. headlining tour at the House of Blues in Dallas on October 29 and fans can check out Wolfmother tickets, as Modular managing director Steve Pavlovic told Billboard online they will be on the road a lot in the near future. Said Pavlovic, "They'll be touring a lot. A third of Wolfmother album sales were in America, two-thirds in the rest of the world. You'd have to think there's a pretty decent market outside America. They'll spend two-thirds of their time addressing it."
Expect to see a lot more of Wolfmother soon, as the band is slated to appear in Absolut's upcoming Rock Edition ad campaign and will open AC/DC's March 2010 homecoming show Down Under. According to Interscope, appearances on Late Show With David Letterman and The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson are already taped as well. Stockdale collaborated on one song for Slash's next record and told Billboard, "We might do a few shows or some surprise guest appearances. I'd love to have him play at some Wolfmother shows."
Although Wolfmother's success seems sealed, Stockdale remains cautions saying, "At the start when people were saying, 'Wolfmother returns,' I was like, 'Don't say it's a comeback.' But maybe a comeback is a good thing. A bit of s struggle, a challenge, is a healthy thing to have in life. Every time I do a gig now, I think, 'Wow, this is incredible.'" Comeback or not, Wolfmother tickets are sure to go fast!
