Micah Wolf

Wednesday, 20 September 2006
Micah Wolf
by Micah Wolf
Blockplane Records LLC

When Micah Wolf calls himself an independent musician, it’s more than just a label. This Hawaii-based musician created the whole package: he built the instruments, wrote and performed the music, constructed a recording studio, and produced his self-titled debut. All of that would be impressive anyway, but the topper is that he’s really good.

Micah and bandmate Eric DeVine handcrafted the guitars, ukuleles and stand-up bass featured on the album, and then proceeded to coax the swing out of them. Their warm acoustic sound lends itself to a folk feel, but they add the occasional blues changes, throw in a rocker and just generally keep you guessing. Wolf’s vocals are relaxed and smooth, bringing Jack Johnson to mind pretty quickly. But he holds your interest with his bouncy melodies and delicate strings. Opener “Burn Me” features some quiet but lively guitar interplay, very less-is-more and quite effective. I love the quirky swing of “Pay No Mind,” Wolf’s vocals bouncing atop the adroit bass. DeVine’s chunky bass is featured with Wolf’s brisk lyrics on “Plastic” and the punchy “Counting Cracks” takes it up to the next level.
Standout track has to be the melodic “Muse,” its gentle strings tugging at your heart and Wolf’s moody vocals filling the room with longing. Micah Wolf is thirteen tracks of lovely wonder, tender and quirky, and I defy you not to fall for it. Hard - Written by Kevan Breitinger -Buddy Hollywood.com

A Folk-Rock Fan's Must-have Album

If imitation is indeed the most sincere form of flattery, then Jack Johnson should feel very flattered. Like Johnson, fellow Hawaiian, Micah Wolf presents a soulful and enjoyable self-titled debut album in the folk-rock flavor.

Having not only written and performed each of the tracks on the album, Wolf even constructed his own studio and record label to produce and distribute the work – and presumably ensure the creative integrity Wolf intended remains intact.

Being one to not often listen to a lot of music in this genre, I found it a refreshing and relaxing change from my usual ‘harder’ rock album choices. Like the warmth and calm of a Hawaiin breeze, the music flows with interesting story telling from the lyrics – and seems like a perfect disc to have playing while sitting with a beer in hand, enjoying a sunny afternoon.

In addition to Jack Johnson, listeners will also likely hear some Ben Harper influence (particularly in track 2 “Self Esteem” and track 5 “Plastics”), and even some vocal similarity with Tracy Chapman too.

If you’ve got an appreciation for folk-rock music, you owe it to yourself to seek out Micah Wolf’s disc.

Bio: Born in Brainbridge Island, WA, Micah lead a somewhat nomadic lifestyle. His mother’s adventurous spirit and standard of existence found them living in Idaho, Bear Springs, Arizona, a coastal town in Mexico, and with a traditional Cree Indian family in Saskatchewan, Canada.

They eventually became permanent fixtures in Hawaii. It was due to these unique experiences, along with many a camp fire whose air was filled with Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, that helped shape Micah’s creativity and outlook on life, which he then poured into his music.

Purchase this album

Micah's self-titled album is available on iTunes and at his official website: www.micahwolf.com
- http://www.cdreviewsbyyou.com/feature.php?reviewID=38&styleID=15

INTERVIEW: Curl Magazine

Curl Magazine
www.curl.co.nz <http://www.curl.co.nz>
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CM: How do you describe your music?
MW: Acoustic folk rock from Hawaii, laid-back, emotional and grounded in an ocean of melodies.
At least, that is the description we came up with when we read you have to describe your music in order to sell it.
I felt a little corny about the whole thing at first, but I am learning to be more at peace with it.

CM: What are your greatest influences?
MW: I am a big believer in the fact that we are influenced by all music. Even the stuff we might conceptual say we don’t enjoy. In my opinion, it all influences how we create.

Though, I’m guessing you might be looking for some names. It is really hard to name everybody that inspires me and that I hold special to my heart. There are so many amazingly beautiful and gifted musicians. I really like music that tells a story. So here’s the quick list: Bob Dylan, John Prine, Todd Snyder, Arlo Guthrie, Tom Paxton, Slick Rick, Micheal Franti, Ben Harper, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley, Mason Jennings, Jack Johnson, and Norah Jones, and Natalie Merchant, to name a few.

CM: What inspires you?
MW: People who are comfortable in their own skin consistently.
I think that is why I am so excited about this musical journey. Of course, like most people, I have a lot of insecurities. Though, being a performer is forcing me to look at them constantly while learning to be more at peace with the moment. My good friend/ business partner/ lead guitarist, Rick Tyner and I had a conversation about this the other night. Perhaps that is why, as a society, we are so attracted to athletes, musicians, or other peak performers. To me the best ones are totally absorbed in the moment. It is inspiring to try and connect with something that can be so fleeting.

CM: Is there anything you want people to ‘take away’ from your music?
MW: I would be extremely honored if people experienced whatever emotions they are ready to feel within the given time they are listening to it. I feel that is what music does. It helps us anchor our emotions in time.
For example, a lot of people when they hear a song it brings them back to a special memory.
If one of my songs could end up being the soundtrack to one persons special memory, I would be stoked.


CM: When do you write your songs?
MW: All the time. Songwriting has always been hard for me not to do. Though, I do find it challenging to remember all of the songs and get them up to performance standards. I mean, I don’t think it’s fair if you’re like “hey come out to a show and listen to these songs that I can barely play because I can’t remember the words.”

CM: How long did It take you (and how) did you build your own studio and workshop and create your own record label?
MW: The whole process took about 1-½ years. My friend Eric Devine built the instruments and did most of the engineering and played upright bass on the album. We pretty much had no clue as to what we were doing on the recording side of things. The learning curve was pretty steep to say the least. The technical side of setting up a record label and releasing an album is no small undertaking either. I think there were like 30 registrations, everything from registering with a performing rights organization to getting set up with the state of Hawaii DCCA Business division, amazon.com, ect. And now the real work has begun, marketing. Without a doubt, that’s the hardest part when you’re on a tiny little island or anywhere for that matter. It is a true challenge to get the music out to the world. The computer can do it to a certain extent but we are going to have to get off this rock and start playing some shows. We are heading to California for a short tour and are extremely excited.

CM: Do you have a favourite quote or words of wisdom that influence you today?
MW: “Don’t leave your music in you”
or
“I’m living in the moment with the friends I love” Mason Jennings

CM: You live on a tropical island, Hawaii, if you were to live anywhere else where would it be?
MW: When I spent 3 weeks in New Zealand I told myself ‘I could definitely live here.’
As it stands now I have a lot of family in Hawaii from my wife’s side of the family.
Rick and I are thinking about potentially setting up a permanent location somewhere in the northwest U.S. for our record company. That way we’ll have a home base there as well as here in Hawaii.

CM: Describe your typical day/night….
MW: Lately, it has been a little out of balance, I have been spending a little more time on computers then I would like.

CM: Describe your dream day/night….
MW: Spending time with my family and getting to play music and write new songs.

- Curl Magazine

Micah Wolf
Blockplane
2006

Micah Wolf's music is as tranquil and beautiful as his home in Hawaii. After around the third spin of this CD this music and the lyrics finally started to soak into my over worked cranium. Wolf comes across with a gentle approach yet he still gets his point across in a song.

This is very mellow, laid-back music punctuated by Wolf's distinct vocal style and elegant acoustic guitar. Although dubbed as folk rock, I heard much more than that. I could hear Wolf reciting poems to music, and in some instances adding his own version of a rap with a rhythm and rhyme to everything ("Counting Cracks") he was conveying within a song.

I like what it says on the back cover of the CD. From the ground up. From the construction of the instruments to building our own studio, this album was produced, engineered, and mixed from the ground up. Music is a way of life. Now that literaly tells us the story of where Micah and his friends are coming from. I can believe it too after looking at his biography. He travelled with his parents to hippie communes in various locations before he became an adult and finally settled in Hawaii. No doubt, his experiences when he was 8 years old when he received his first guitar, the travel, and the exposure to free spirited individuals along with an adventurous lifestyle, shaped who he is today. You can hear it come through in all the rich colors and textures of his music and vocals.

Yes, Micah Wolf's music comes from places of the heart and soul that few dare to travel within their music because they are too concerned with the commercial viability and technology of the product. This is not a product for Micah. This is his life on the CD, a living breathing entity that needs care, attention, and love, on a continual basis to grow and mature. That in a nutshell is what this music is all about.

Although there is dobro, piano, violin, and drums in the mix, they are understated, and positioned properly to fit into the context of each composition. The voice and guitar of Micah stand out on the recording, however, with everything else you hear essential to the balance and overall sound of each complete track. I like the way all of the aspects fall together and how each individual track tells a story with the music used as more than just a backdrop. It serves as more of a propellant, an inspiration for Micah to make the lyrics come out and reach you and pull you right in and keep you. It worked well for me but it took more than one listen, which is always the case with anything worth hearing.

Review © Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
- Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck

12-24-06
Happy Holidays.
Micah and band have just returned from their first tour of California and are preparing to return in the next month.

12-20-06
As of now Micah can be heard on 120 College Radio stations nationwide.

11-05-06
Micah has just begun a national college and commercial radio campaign. Keep your ears open for "Self Esteem" and "Burden" to be playing at select radio stations across the country. If you like what you hear help support Micah by calling in and requesting the songs you like.

7-1-06
Micah Wolf and the band have been chosen to play for the Maui Film Festival's showing of the independent film "peaceful Warrior", the Audience Award winner for the Best Feature at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center.
The MACC is arguably the very best venue that Maui has to offer.

7-22-06
In early August of 2006 Micah Wolf's song "Pay No Mind" will be featured on "Board Stories" premier of their revamped surf and extreme sports show which airs on OC 16. Micah recently performed at Bonzai Sushi in Haleiwa for The Board Stories cast and crew in July of 2006. The premier of the new show was held at both Longi's in Honolulu on the 21st of July 2006 and Breakers on Oahu's north shore on the 22nd of July 2006. - --

[MUSIC] Micah Wolf is a relatively new musician on the local scene, straight outta Saskatchewan. Well, he’s also lived in the woods of Idaho, the oasis of Bear Springs in Arizona, and a coastal town in Mexico—seems his hippie ma raised her young Wolf amidst many communes. But she also thankfully exposed him to the music of Bob Marley, Cat Stevens and Bob Dylan, which resulted in a surprising talent today in Wolf’s mellow but infectious vibe and sound akin to Jack Johnson and with a little Citizen Cope thrown in. Now Wolf has his own studio in which he produced his debut CD, along with bandmate Eric Devine, who handcrafted the guitars, ukuleles and stand-up bass that are featured on the album. The ambitious duo also started a record label, Blockplane Records. This weekend, check out Wolf, as he’s joined by DeVine on bass and Rick Tyner on guitar and piano. For more info, visit www.micahwolf.com. No cover.
Samantha Campos - Maui Time Magazine

From the Ground Up

Local folk singer Micah Wolf is learning the art of selling himself

By Samantha Campos

I first listened to Micah Wolf’s debut CD while I was driving through Kahului on my way to Lahaina. By the time I got to Ma`alaea, I hit eject.

Sounds like Jack Johnson, I thought. Not that there’s anything wrong with Jack Johnson. After all, some of my best friends listen to Jack Johnson. But… well, not me.

It was not the best way to go into an interview with Wolf.

We met at LiveWire Cafe, which was about a block away from “headquarters”—what he laughingly called his friend’s house, which he uses for practice space and miscellaneous business operations. Wolf laughed easily, especially when talking about the discomfort of picking out his own photos to send with press packets—a chore he’s had to do a lot of lately.

“I haven’t quite perfected my ‘Blue Steel,’” he said. “You know, from Zoolander?”

He admitted he does get comparisons to Johnson on occasion, and is trying to learn how to be comfortable with it. He joked that the only thing he has a problem with is that he’s not a big-time surfer. In fact, he said, he’s sorta afraid of sharks.

“I really respect Jack and I’m stoked that people compare us,” Wolf said. “But I didn’t go in trying to create a Jack sound. And I wasn’t the only one producing the album—that’s just what came out. But we are all influenced by the same people.”

Wolf said he’s inspired by the obvious roots of modern folk music—Arlo Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley—as well as the contemporaries, like Ben Harper, Mason Jennings and Michael Franti.

“I just like songs that tell a story and create an emotional impact,” he said. “And I like songs that make people think and ask questions. Like, ‘How can I stop being so judgmental of myself and other humans?’ That’s the scary thing about pursuing your passion. It makes you look deep at yourself. If you wanna do it in a way that you aren’t drunk or on drugs all the time, you need to be really balanced and comfortable with yourself.”

He’s had some time to think about this, since selling his house and quitting timeshare sales three years ago, in order to be a full-time musician. In the process, Wolf’s learning about the many facets of the music business, from the ground up.

He started a record label, Blockplane Records, with his guitar-making friend Eric DeVine, and the two built a studio. Eventually, they recorded an album. But now the burgeoning folk star is finding that the greatest challenge is learning how to flip the hat—to be both artist and marketing agent.

But even more daunting is the realization that everything has to be done at once. He’s learning about the music business as he goes along, and has spent much time reading industry books and perusing websites. Most recently, he’s had a lot of success emailing BMI, a performing rights organization.

“I was sort of fishing around on the website,” Wolf said. “And I sent the vice president of film and TV an intro, asking for suggestions. He wrote back right away, ‘There’s something to be said for timing—I just got out of a meeting with MTV…’”

When MTV started filming Maui Fever in Lahaina, they then approached Wolf about using two of his songs—“Plastics” and “Muse.” But he had no idea how they would be used.

“When you’re small-time and you sign a contract with MTV,” said Wolf, “you have no control over where they show it. So with ‘Plastics,’ the intro kicks in while this guy is saying, ‘Dude, I’ll totally wax that!’”

A few months ago, No Cover Magazine—whose compilation CD featured Wolf—flew Wolf and his band out to San Diego for a series of shows. There, he met with a woman from Sony Records, who suggested that instead of working on another album, he should concentrate on promoting the one he just released six months ago.

“I’ve been doing it one department at a time,” Wolf said. “But you really need a high management team. See, you’re supposed to be promoting your album while touring. I just keep trying to plant seeds ‘cause you never know where it’s gonna sprout or harvest.”

He’s since bought out DeVine’s share of the Emerald Plaza studio and equipment, and took over full ownership of the label. And he laughs at the irony that he has to now sign himself to the record label he created.

“I’m learning that a lot of the industry comes down to who you know,” Wolf said. Then he laughed. “And I don’t have any friends. But I keep trying through MySpace!”

No Cover is inviting Wolf to perform with their showcase at the big SXSW music fest in Austin, Texas, in just a couple weeks. While there, the band will also meet up with a record label in Australia who is interested in releasing their album.

“We have no idea what we’re doing but it’s all conspiring,” Wolf said. “There’s a lot going on.”

Wolf is now trying to plan a tour, based on when he gets “the budget finalized.” But he now has an interested investor for his record label, which will give him more tour support and help determine if he can take the band or if he’s going solo.

“As much as I’ve learned about technology and the business,” Wolf said, “the good news is that it really comes down to being a great songwriter and performer. There’s no faking that.”

Okay, I admit it: I judged Wolf too hastily. Wolf is not trying to be Jack Johnson. He’s very much his own artist, with his own experiences, and is just an up-and-coming folk performer trying to make it big on his own. He’s getting his hands dirty in the often confusing world of music business, while holding true to his integrity and ideals.

He’s also just an all-around nice guy. And on second listen, his music is pretty sweet. MTW


Micah Wolf Band

Saturday, Mar. 3. 9 p.m. at Paradice Bluz. With Anuhea. Tickets: $12. - Maui Time