Wolf and Cub - Money troubles

Despite being touted as the dreaded "next big thing", with international record deals and a national tour in the near future, rock and roll isn't the easiest life for Wolf and Cub. They still work day jobs and they still have money troubles. The Dwarf caught up with main man Joel Byrne to exorcise those demons.

The Dwarf: You guys are still based in Adelaide is that right? Why have you decided to stay there?

Joel Byrne: I think initially it was because our family and friends are still here we’ve got everything we need here, I think it was expected in Adelaide that if you’re trying to do anything that you have to move to Melbourne or Sydney to do it.

We’ve still got day jobs it’s the reality of it it’s a bit of a misconception we are signed to a major label but we still have to [work]. We don’t make money off it, we have to self fund our tours.

The Dwarf: I've listened to the first few tracks from the album on your myspace site, they're sounding great, definitely more polished i think than the EP - what were you aiming for with this release - what direction were you trying to put it in?

Joel: Yeah we were trying to do something that was different to the EP to indicate some sort of progression from the ideas on the initial EP to the production on the EP, the musicianship on the EP. We were also trying to get a more professional release and more polished or bigger sound, something that could stand up in the international market. This album is going to be reeased through 4AD we didn’t want something the same as the EP.

The Dwarf: How did the 4AD deal come about?

Joel: It all started in Melbourne around our second trip an A & R guy was in Australia because I think Blonde Redhead were supposed to be coming out so he was here trying to do something about the tour. We were playing a show when he was in town and he turned up for a couple of shows, he was impressed by what we did and a year or so later we were signed to 4AD.

The Dwarf: What has this meant for the band?

Joel: Initially it means that we have to be more self aware of what we’re doing because a lot of other people are going to notice because it’s such a prestigious label and the fan base is very passionate, so if you step out of line they will hurt us. An awareness of what we’re doing. It’s a positive impact, it’s motivating yourself.

You could say it’s the wrong type of motivation and we look at ourselves in the wrong way and try to be something we’re not but we’ve adapted to it in the best possible way.

The Dwarf: How did Tony Doogan become involved with the mixing of the Album? Did you get to visit Glasgow at all?

Joel: I went to Glasgow for two weeks when it was being mixed, mostly because what we sent over there was so much stuff, so many guitars and drums that needed to be sifted through. He needed someone to show him where the songs were.

His involvement came out through 4AD. The Mountain Goats are on 4ad, he does some production work with them so 4AD know Tony. He worked on a record with Super Furry Animals which we consider to be our favourite album so knowing this, 4AD came to us and we said 'yes sure of course let’s do it.'

The Dwarf: I notice that your latest tour is getting a lot of corporate sponsorship including Myspace and Wrangler - obvious you are quite comfortable with that - what are your reasons for accepting such sponsorship?

Joel: Because we didn’t have a choice when it came to doing this tour we don’t get support from our label so we needed to seek other means of sponsorship in order to get it all happening because it costs money. It was something that our manager was wary of, it’s not something we ideally want to do [but] we wanted to do the best we could do.

The Dwarf: What have your experiences been in the rest of the world so far?

Joel: There hasn’t been much overseas this year. The record doesn’t come out 'til January and February of next year over there so there’ll be something around then. It’s such an expensive endeavor for us to go over there without a release, it’s not that feasible for us, we just don’t have that money, if you’re on a major it’d be more rudimentary, but we’re dealing with indie labels so we’re still relatively independent.

The Dwarf: How does the reception overseas compare to the way you are received back home?

Joel: We’ve been there before, we player with the Breeders and we got a pretty good reception, I’d like to go back there now because our set is better and we’re more confident. I try not to expect too much myself, or I’ll set myself up for disappointment or surprise. That’s one thing I’ve learnt, not to have any real expectations because it’s so unpredictable.

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