Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"...a unique talent and inspiration..amusing and attractive with clever arrangements that transmit stereo waves of atmospherics in a cerebral mode. Blend this with some lo-fi rock, and the combination urges you to submit your conscioussness to the sounds...This album is painstakingly catchy...impeccably heartwarming." --Chris Lewis, Shut Eye Records - Shut Eye Records
"Four snake-hipped San Francisco boys make musical weirdness you can kiss to. The Wildlife slay all post-Britpop competitors with their heavily delayed vocals and cutting disco punk beats. If the Flaming Lips hijacked the Strokes’ spaceship and crashed it into a women’s shoe store, the Wildlife would be playing on the tape deck." - Download.com
"There just really isn't one way to peg The Wildlife's sound. They've got a little bit of those disco punk beats that the kids love these days, but then they sneak in some psychedelic soul that throws you for a loop. So do your brain a favor and forget about trying to pin down just what genre they fit into..." - The Oakland Tribune
"Dance rock has been taken to the headlines with acts like The Killers but I dare say The Wildlife make it challenging and more poignant...Not many bands have this much soul delivering it with contagious effectiveness and with a sense of urgent need to rock out with your hair down." - Smother Magazine
"From beginning to end Sweet Plastic is a musical gem that is satisfying in so many ways, to so many tastes...Their lyrical ideas, guitar riffs and musical ideas as a whole, remind me of a new wave of rock 'n roll of epic proportions to come... By far one of my favourite albums ever!" - Review4U
"I'd imagine that the blender is the most-used appliance in the realm of The Wildlife...The focus seems to be the absolute lack thereof, and that's just fine, just because they pull it off so well." - Mish Mash
"...some of the most original melodies of 2005...Gracias’ lilting voice and storytelling grace both have a confidence that betray his young age..." - Decoy Music
"...meticulous songwriting, which flows with unbridled abandon..." - Sacramento News and Review
"...Each track on Sweet Plastic craft enjoyable songs that experiment with genres and toy with tempos insuring no dull moments. Whether it’s the additions of female vocals on several tracks or a classical orchestra found on "Pestilence," the valiant efforts put into Sweet Plastic by Mano Dio Gracias are truly thrilling...." - Adapt Magazine
Discography
Sweet Plastic LP (Agent Records) December 6, 2005 release date. 10 songs including: Electric Slide, Burning Plastic Man, Pestilence, Close the door, Wraparound. Mixed by Alex Newport at Hot Head, Los Angeles
Nor Cal Compilation 2005 (Agent Records) "Electric Slide Part 1"
Indie Sampler v.3 2005 (Skratch Magazine & Planned Parenthood Orange and San Bernadino Counties)
"Electric Slide Part 1"
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The Wildlife
A Biography
wild"life \ `wild-,lif \ n : nonhuman living things and esp.
wild animals living in their natural environment 2 : all
living things that are undomesticated 3 : a musical group
from the Bay Area whose signature blend of progressive and
soulful rock saved the world.
The Wildlife is a band composed of organized chaos which has made them a paradigm in this age of cool. Within an environment of perpetual change and amongst an innumerable amount of talent, The Wildlife has created a unique and popular sound that is pleasing and teasing crowds from all over. The four boy-geniuses behind The Wildlife promote a distinct sound that can only loosely be classified as "electro indie soul meets classic rock meets competitive sport". This band will turn you on and lift you up.
The Wildlife is the charismatic Mano Dio Gracias on vocals, the beat-savvy Daren Wilkerson on drums, the rocker with the heart of gold Scotty RockNRoll on guitar, and The Astral Navigator on bass to complete the cosmic alignment. All members of The Wildlife are from California's Bay Area and it was while each member was performing their own material in the countless open mic nights around San Francisco that they decided to create music collectively. Lead singer Mano Dio Gracias had composed, written, and recorded material of his own in 2004 at his home studio and with the fortuitous meetings of Daren, The Astral Navigator, and Scotty RockNRoll - he had found people who shared his musical vision. Each member has his own voice, his own sound in The Wildlife and within each song - "it's like a machine that can only run when all four parts are running full throttle", comments Mano Dio Gracias. "Scotty provides the details with his lead guitar work and effects noodling, Astral keeps things steady by holding down the bass, Daren provides sparks of energy on drums, and I act as the human voice of the band by telling the stories." The band is constantly pushing the musical envelope and because of this unapologetic talent, they promote provocative music.
The band has an amazing chemistry that is self-evident in their live shows. The Wildlife have toured the Bay Area, playing venues including The Make Out Room, The Tongue & Groove, and The Bottom of the Hill and has played with fellow bands like Minty Freshs very own Viva Voce and Flameshovel Records Low Skies. Live shows consist of a kind of controlled chaos. The Wildlife create an environment that invites the music to pulsate throughout the body, nurturing and challenging an atmosphere of music and dance both onstage and in your head that leaves you wanting more. Mano Dio Gracias' ethereal voice juxtaposes computer-enhanced rhythms as they intertwine and compliment the other instruments. Their influences include Radiohead, Bjork, The Beatles, soul singers, but mostly the world around them - hence their name. "All forms of life came from the same place - take away all the technology, clothing, brands, and SUVs and what do you have? Just the wildlife."
The Wildlife has an incomparable sound that balances new age computer-rock with old school soul. Armed with humor, emotion, and above all talent, The Wildlife will capture attention, demand interest, and ultimately save the world.
The Wildlifes first album is slated for a summer 2005 release on indie label Agent Records. It is entitled Sweet Plastic and was mixed by Alex Newport (The Mars Volta, Erase Errata, System of a Down). John Greenham (The Pattern, The Locust, John Vanderslice) mastered the LP.
Links
