Interview in Champaign IL

Catching up with Carley Wolf and The Howls

By Justine Chan - Buzz Writer

Carley Wolf is both adorable and incredibly talented. Her voice has the plunge of high pure sweetness and her music is a captivating volcano of the crazy, the witty, the catchy, the eclectic, the honest and the ineffable. With the recent release of her album Set Sail, she and her Howls are themselves setting sail from Austin, Texas, for the first time as a fivesome, on a tour across the country to share their music and see the world.

buzz: What is the story behind your band name, Carley Wolf and The Howls? Is that your real name?

Carley Wolf: Yes, it is my real name. I chose “The Howls” because howls are my favorite sound in the whole world, and it just seemed to fit.

buzz: You play a number of instruments, including the banjo and the mandolin. How are you able to incorporate each of their sounds into your music?

CW: When I was recording, I was able to layer the different instruments in the songs and that was neat, but it is so much different when we’re playing live. My bass player, Gary James, can actually play guitar as well. During the show, we switch off so that sometimes I’m playing guitar, and sometime he will and then I can play all my different instruments. It works out nicely that way. I’d actually really like to play piano too. I have a piano at home, just no keyboard to take to shows.

buzz: How would you describe your sound?

CW: My sound is a mixture, I would say, of American roots music to jazz to folk to Appalachian music to gypsy music. I try to blend it all in a unique way so that sometimes it sounds like pop, and other times it has a darker, even classical sound.

buzz: You have played with other bands in the past. How is it different for you now that you’re with The Howls?

CW: It’s a really exciting time for me because I have my first album out and this is going to be our first big tour as a band together. For the first time, I’m in charge, and I love it — it is like my baby. It is such a dream come true to have my own band playing all my own music because I’d always wanted to do it my way. In the other bands, I was playing a lot of old time music but now, our music is a lot closer to me in that I feel I can be so much more invested in the music and the creative process.

buzz: How is the tour going? Do you have anything special in store for the Champaign concert?

CW: Right now, we’re still in the preparation stages — getting merchandise and contacting radio stations, trying to get the word out, basically. The past month we had a bunch of local gigs in Austin and to be touring outside of Texas is awesome. Do we have anything particularly special for the Champaign show? I guess just come and find out! I know we’ll be selling a lot of handmade stuff — I’m a very handmade person. There are screen printed tees, little zines that I’ve made, and other silly stuff like that.

Be sure to catch Carley Wolf and The Howls on Thursday, Dec. 10 at 8:00 p.m. at Mike ‘n’ Molly’s. Carley is joined by special guests Hathaways and Megan Johns.