Wolfmother nice enough to howl in Pitt News’ ear

Andrew Stockdale was born in the wrong decade and he couldn’t be happier.

As the front man… Andrew Stockdale was born in the wrong decade and he couldn’t be happier.

As the front man for Australian power trio Wolfmother, Stockdale writes riff-saturated rock that could have been created almost 40 years ago — if only Jimmy Page, Ozzy Osbourne, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon and enough Jack Daniel’s to liquor up a small country had found themselves in the studio together.

This Friday, the band may shake Millvale to its very foundations as it brings its barrage of raw rock ‘n’ roll power to Mr. Small’s. Be forewarned.

It should come as no surprise that Wolfmother’s sound may be a bit behind the times, since Stockdale’s own idea of rock was slow to develop while he was growing up in Sydney.

“It was dudes with no front teeth or T-shirts with bagpipes on the back of a truck. I thought that was rock ‘n’ roll,” said the 30-year-old Stockdale in a recent interview with The Pitt News.

Luckily, he soon found his way out of the Outback music scene by way of fellow Aussies AC/DC, and before too long he was playing with future band mates Chris Ross and Myles Heskett.

The three friends began jamming as a hobby without any real songs, finding grooves in Ross’ heavy bass and organ work and Stockdale’s screaming guitar. Though Stockdale — a free-form rock enthusiast — was quite content just jamming along with his pals, a question lingered in his head.

“I was curious to see if I could write a real song and how you did it. How does it work? How do you make up your own lyrics, your own story, your own melody, you know?” said Stockdale, his thick accent steeped in childish excitement.

And so after a jam session, Stockdale retired to his home and sat in front of his computer with a microphone in hand until the songs began to play out in his mind.

One of these early tunes, “Woman,” is now the band’s second single off its self-titled debut full-length album. The song plays like lighting-fast punches to the gut with a guitar riff that sounds like Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” after an unhealthy number of Red Bulls and an organ solo straight from the Doors’ back catalog. Welcome to 1969.

Unfortunately for Wolfmother, by the time it was invited to play its first gig by a band of Stockdale’s friends, “Woman” was the only song it had pumped out with any kick.

“The other songs were just strumming chords on the guitar — they weren’t as powerful. So I suggested we do more songs like ‘Woman,’ a bit more aggressive and spontaneous, more uplifting and in your face. That’s when it all started to happen — the Wolfmother sound got more and more relentless,” Stockdale explained.

Though those are strong words for an our-first-gig story, it’s hard to deny the man. Wolfmother’s debut is nearly an hour of furious riffing, thunderous drums and Stockdale’s holler — which is the perfect synthesis of Jack White’s shrillness and Robert Plant’s dramatics.

And though the band’s rock could indeed have been put out by some bearded British dudes in the late 1960s, Wolfmother pulls it off without sounding derivative.

The band is Black Sabbath minus the doom and gloom, Led Zeppelin with a little more funk. Heck, even the too-cool musical demeanor of Queens of the Stone Age pokes through in Wolfmother’s sound. Still, even with such legendary comparisons thrown at it by every music critic on the planet (including this one), Wolfmother manages to stay grounded.

“I don’t really want more than what I’ve got. I’m not a greedy person. As long as I can have my health and…just f——g enjoy life!” said Stockdale.

“I used to get frustrated because I thought, ‘I’m sick of talking about it. I want to do something.’ And now I’m doing it all the time. But sometimes I just want to take my time and pontificate the meaning of life for a couple days. I love that,” he added, a bit giddy at the thought.

Were Andrew Stockdale about 10 years younger, he would undoubtedly be that guy at the party who sits in the basement talking philosophy to whomever will listen. There is a mystical twist in his voice; he is genuinely amazed by life and music, and he wants you to be as well.

This wonder comes through in his lyrics, which include lines that hark back to prog-rockers like Yes and Rush. It’s hard to imagine most of today’s rockers sing lines like: “Well I hear the fiddlers call/Say that love is here for all/Lower your guns even if love turns to spite.”

Is it silly? Of course.

But Stockdale is no faker: He really is as full of wonder as he seems. He is everything a hard rock ‘n’ roll dude shouldn’t be. His favorite guitar riff is the first few seconds of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” He cites Joan Baez as his premier influence and grew up on Duke Ellington. He loves to take walks. And somehow, he and his two companions explode on record and onstage with some of the most epic hard rock this side of the 21st century.

And tomorrow at Mr. Small’s, Pittsburgh rock fans can experience Wolfmother personally. What can they expect?

“It’s organized chaos, man,” Stockdale said slyly.

And I can’t help but believe him.