Just when you think there's absolutely no way another band with substance could emerge from amongst the seething multitudes of classless L.A. poseur bands, Cry Wolf shotguns out of the land of sun and smog with a phenomenal, tasteful debut album and an attitude defined by nonego sincerity.
The group originated in the Bay area in 1985 with vocalist Timmy Hall, guitarist Steve McKnight and bassist Phil Deckard. Soon after, they added a drummer and a keyboardist and began playing the club circuit in Los Angeles. Their first drummer didn't last, so they decided to bring in Timmy's long-time friend, Paul Cancilla, to mete out the rhythms. From this point, let's let the band's soft-spoken frontman relate the history of Cry Wolf.
"We called Paul and said, 'You have three days to make up your mind if you want to join the band,' and he did it. He moved down here and we played the area for a little while. Then we went into the studio to record a demo tape. We had all decided that this was gonna be the tape that got us signed. So we started working on this tape, and three things happened that basically signify the birth of this band.
"The first one was, the keyboard player left the band in the middle of the recording. He just decided it wasn't the right thing for him anymore, so he left. The second thing was, we had a different name and we started getting contacted by another [group] of the same name who wanted us to change it. They had a record deal and we didn't, so we went through litigation and ended up changing our name."
The band got their present moniker by offering Motley Crue concert tickets to whoever came up with the best name. Says Timmy, "Cry Wolf was the name that all four of us agreen on." Not surprising, considering other entries were Burn the Bitch, Bastard Sword and P.S. Dump Your Boyfriend.
"The third thing that happened," continues Timmy, "was we came out of the studio with a demo tape that did not immediately get us signed in L.A. But the tape did multiply our following real fast, and outside the states it turned up in Metal Forces magazine as a really favorable review, so we started getting letters from Europe and China."
The demo was so well-received overseas that a Japanese promoter approached the band about releasing the demo in the Orient and following that with a small club tour. The record, pressed onto red vinyl, is now a collector's item. "He had it available in a couple of small record stores around Tokyo and Osaka," explains Timmy, "and when we got over there, the four shows that we had booked to play were sold out. Then we were offered a record deal with Sony/Epic at the first show, wo we took it, obviously."
Immediately after the tour, the band returned to their native soil to record a 10-song CD for overseas distribution while working day jobs to help pay for the project. They then sojourned back to Japan for more extensive touring. Success continued to snowball for Cry Wolf as they packed the clubs and arenas in the Orient and clinched a deal with Grand Slamm in the states through the label's president, Brian McEvoy. Timmy describes the band's reaction to the deal with Grand Slamm: "When we came home the deal with Brian had been talked about, and we learned that he was joining up with IRS [distribution], wo we were going, 'Look at this. we've got first name basis with the president of our label. We've got his phone number. We've got the IRS marketing people and all their know-how. And we've got this monstrous distribution network behind us. We can't lose!' So we went for it and that's where we are today."
And not a bad spot indeed. When I spoke with Timmy, the band's debut stateside release, Crunch, was scaling the charts at an impressive rate. When I asked him which of the CD's 10 songs really stuck out to him, Timmy replied, "I can't honestly say. It depends on the mood I'm in." Among others, he did mention "Stop Look and Listen," which includes the masterful lines: "Techno panoramic gloomster cowboys on parade/Freeks and geeks and painted cheeks/Most of them in shades," in reference to the varied human wildlife that prowl the streets of L.A. According to Timmy, the song is "based on reality in an unreal environment known as Hollywood."
Do Cry Wolf find themselves clashing with the quick-sell, fashion plate, rock 'n' roll culture out West? "Yeah, totally," answers Timmy. "Because we've never really followed the fashion statement thing. It makes you feel a little weird. Like, 'What am I doing here? This place is a zoo!'
"I think if you want to last in this business, then you have to [pay your dues]. I mean, some people skyrocket to the top because they're either very lucky or very fashionable. The thing about thriving on fashion is, if you can't come up with it next year, see ya'. When you have substance, then people come out to see your band for the music and the band. And those are the kinds of people that don't turn their backs. That's what we want."
If you have yet to experience Crunch, I strongly urge you to pick up this melodic gem and listen to the rich sounds slam into your ears like a finely crafted wrecking ball. The band's first video, "Pretender," has spent the last several weeks on Headbanger's Ball and a nationwide club tour is getting underway as you read this, beginning in Detroit on February 21 and finishing in San Diego on April 2. Cry Wolf will be at the Bayou on March 8 and at Hammerjacks on March 9. Don't miss `em!