Through the reverse crescendo of musicianship within modern popular music, you may- upon placing your ear closely to the boarded up doors of a bygone psychedelic blues rock culture- hear the increasingly vibrant scratches of Perkasie rock band, Chronic Wolf.
Fronted by guitarist and lead vocalist Andrew Craig, Chronic Wolf has quickly made a name for themselves as one of the premier rock acts in Bucks County.
Craig, 21, spoke about the genesis of himself as a musician.
“My parents got me an acoustic guitar and lessons at first but I was young. Maybe 11 or 12.” Craig said as he reminisced.
Before the blistering fast leads and choppy yet creamy rhythmic goodness that now oozes from the fretboard of his road worn Gibson SG, Craig started out by learning the two tunes just about anyone who’s ever played a guitar will reckon they were taught first.
“I grew impatient and was actually kind of bored with the acoustic guitar and I remember really wanting to try the electric guitar so for Christmas I got a Behringer electric guitar starter pack. I just let it sit around for about a year then my nephew taught me Smoke on the Water and Seven Nation Army and that’s where I started.”
Of course, showcasing a form of rock music that’s now more popular with the local 40-some-year-old bar flies than the college aged crowd Chronic Wolf is often tending too can have its drawbacks.
Chronic Wolf cut their teeth among the stages of local Doylestown and Lansdale venues, such as Siren Records or the Lansdale VFW, who are usually reserved for punk and hardcore acts.
“It is tough to find local inspiration in a small town other than family, but today technology is a great tool for finding new music. It’s kind of like an escape in a sense. It’s definitely a culture shock seeing and playing with bigger local bands and their fans at a show going crazy. It really makes you wanna create more original music and your own solid fan base. Being a bluesier rock band in a scene where punk and hardcore is very prevalent is strange but at the same time it pushes you to keep writing your own style of music and play more shows.”
But where did it all start for the young trio? I suppose it’s worth mentioning that they weren’t always a trio. The current amalgamation of guitarist Andrew Craig, bassist Joe Thomas, and drummer Nick Grandinette, emerged only through time.
“I met our drummer Nick in high school around tenth grade and we both had similar interest in music. He played guitar as well but his forte was the drums. We jammed together a few times doing covers of one my favorite bands The Black Keys which was awesome because they were a duo as well. It was very nice playing with an awesome drummer I had never experienced that before but when I did it was like electric dynamite.”
After a high school Talent Show act, the duo met up with the other half of the funky rock band.
“Around the end of high school I became friends with former guitarist for our band Dan [Hagen] who played guitar and sang like a friggin’ angel. So we played music together a little bit- he played bass at first. One day he invited his friend Joe over whom which I’ve known throughout school. We talked about music and he played the guitar too and why we didn’t start jamming earlier you ask? I couldn’t tell you.”
That ‘electric dynamite’ found itself compromised, however, as guitarist Hagen decided to leave the band just as Chronic Wolf was submerging itself in the local scene. Despite that, the two parties remain on good terms and share no regrets about their past musical collaborations.
“After a bit our guitarist and singer Dan had to start focusing on school and other responsibilities,” Craig spoke.” That definitely had a big impact on our sound and ourselves. His vocal and writing ability was a huge part of our sound he wrote a lot of the music and I wrote and sang too but it was really nice having that. We’re all still great friends and still jam together and if you’re reading this stay golden Danny boy.”
Chronic Wolf’s eventual lineup spawned from wreckage as a hard-hitting blue-rock power trio.
When asked about any pre-show rituals they deploy and the gentle gallivant of stage-rocking they present, Craig was reserved.
“It isn’t so much a persona as it’s me jumping around like a goof but I enjoy it. But before that there isn’t much of a ritual I just try not to think too much but not too little and relax as much as I can not to sound cliché but I really just try to have fun.”
While speaking about the live show experience, Craig expressed his observations as a growing musician earning the respect of crowds each venue they play.
Well, we’ve only been kicked out of one place and pissed of one sound guy so I think we’re doing pretty good for ourselves. Most people seem to like us you can tell when a crowd isn’t really interested in your music but when they are it goes a long way and when there not it doesn’t.”
Chronic Wolf is working on recording new music and plans to have it released shortly.
“We have about 12 new original songs were working on and we’ve recording 5 at our friends Will and Tim’s studio, Healing House records in Lansdale. We don’t have a name for the record yet but as we work on the record and writing something will come to us and we hope to release something in late spring.
Craig used his final words to pat the aspiring local musician on the back.
“Don’t get discouraged, never question anything you do if you write it and it means something to you that’s all that matters.”