Reignwolf – Hear Me Out

By starrymag | May 22, 2019

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

Q) Congrats on your new highly-anticipated album, Hear Me Out. The album was a long time coming considering your success on the concert circuit as well as your singles that have reached 10 million listens on Spotify. What went into putting this album together and do you credit your fans with hanging in there for 7 years waiting for this to come out?

 

A) It was a lot of writing and recording and then listening to what we had done and always trying to make it better. The 7-year thing was definitely not intentional, but I wanted to make sure we produced something we’ll love for a long time. As for the fans standing by this for this long… I’m truly grateful. Without them, there’s no Reignwolf.

Q) Reignwolf has been named the band/guitarist/vocalist to watch out for and your style is not only all your own, but definitely fills a void in today’s music scene. Reignwolf has been called “a rock band,” but that seems like a pretty generic description for the power you bring to the stage. How would you describe your sound and which genre do you feel best describes your work?

 

A) It’s not easy putting it in a genre box – I feel like we’re influenced by so many types of music and to call it one thing is tricky. I love Rock N Roll, Punk, Blues and Hip Hop. These all seem to play a role in what we do.

Q) I hear all kinds of influences in your music. From Led Zeppelin to Nine Inch Nails and a touch of early Ministry. I’d even say there is a direct influence from some of music’s most influential blues artists. Who would you say influenced you and your sound and inspired you want to make your own music?

 

A) My Dad was the one who gave me music. He still to this day is my biggest influence. Him and his friends would have jams at our house a few times a week and I think I learned the most of who I am in those times.

 

Q) When Rolling Stone dubbed Reignwolf an “Artist You Need To Know,” what was your reaction to that? Did that open new doors for you in the music industry?

 

A) I think a few more people maybe paid attention but we don’t tend to get caught up in that. Thankful for it though.

Q) You collaborated with Matt Hales from Aqualung on “Black and Red,” what was that experience like? What did his partnership bring to the song?

 

A) Matt just gets it. He is one of the most talented people I know and really taught me a lot about production. “Black and Red” came quickly. I remember him really pushing for us to finish it.

Q) Hear Me Out had some of the finest mixers and musical ears in the business working on it. From Tony Hoffer (Beck and Depeche Mode) to Howie Weinberg (Nirvana and Cage the Elephant), you really had a lot of talented ears and hands putting this album together. What was it like working with these talented people?

 

A) It’s a gift. The mixes were put together quickly and somehow all fit together really well. We sent out to Tony, Vance Powell, Tchad Blake and Mario C. Every single one of them brought it.

Q) Reignwolf has opened for some incredible bands. Black Sabbath and one of my personal favorites, The Pixies. What was it like opening for such musical legends?

 

A) These are both favorites of ours and the fact they know Reignwolf is enough for us. Those tours were some of the greatest shows we’ve had.

Q) With the release of Hear Me Out, Reignwolf has embarked on a tour, playing some small and more intimate venues. This is vastly different from your sets at Coachella, Lollapalooza and Glastonbury. What are some of the things that fans can expect from this album tour and do you prefer the more intimate setting as opposed to the mega festivals you’ve played in the past?

 

A) We are still hanging on the edge performing the new songs. they’re fresh to the stage, so it keeps it exciting to see where they’ll go. I feel like the intimate settings are incredible, but also in the bigger festival shows a lot of the time there will be many people that have not seen Reignwolf so there is an energy to them.

 

Q) Your stage performances are infectious and you seem to put your whole body into your music, not just the guitar and vocals, but every ounce of yourselves is bared on stage for the fans to see. Is this stage presence something that came naturally to you as a band, or is it something that you’ve had to work on as Reignwolf’s popularity grew?

 

A) Luckily, we’ve all been playing music since an early age so haven’t really thought about it. And we like to dance…

Q) What are you most excited about with this tour and where are some of your favorite places to perform?

 

A) Every time we get to do it it’s better than the last wherever we are. And the Seattle shows are like no other.

Q) You recently performed an impressive run of shows at SXSW. How was the experience for you? And did you discover any new artists while there?

 

A) S.J. [Kardash]  and I got super sick on the last day as we’d been touring quite hard and then went into three shows a day at SXSW. It was a blast! Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to catch many others. I do remember Joseph [Braley] mentioning he caught Haiku Hands and it was cool.

 

Q) Like most people today, you guys communicate with your fans through social media. Do you enjoy having that instant fan feedback on your work?

 

A) Yeah, it’s amazing to hear from fans and watch it all grow.

Q) What’s next for Reignwolf? Any plans to head back to Coachella or maybe even Bonnaroo soon?

 

A) We just played in the desert at Pappy & Harriet’s, which happened to land on the night before Coachella. We’ll make it back to play that festival for sure. And have yet to play Bonnaroo – I got a good feeling about it.

Q) You recently released the vinyl edition of Hear Me Out and have been stopping at local record stores to meet fans on your tour. For the fans that might not be able to make it out to see you right now, what would you like to say to them?

 

A) Hold on tight, we’ll come to you!

 

 

ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY VOCALIST/GUITARIST JORDAN COOK