Freshfaced from the US of A, Tom Wolfe is full of bravado as we begin to chat about The Wolfe Brothers. Having spent three months over there last year, the band is set to hit the stage at the Motor City Music Festival armed with a new album (their third) and Wolfe describes it as their answer to Dire Straits Money For Nothing – a true classic. “I’m two minutes from unpacking my car at home in Tassie and to be honest with you mate, it’s bloody good to be back on home soil. The Americans definitely do not do a meat pie and so it’s good to be able to tuck into a Four N’ Twenty pie.”
The new album, which is set to be released in April, is currently untitled but don’t let that fool you, the songwriting definitely takes precedence as something you will swoon over upon its release. Their third studio follows on the success of their debut It’s On and Nothin’ But Trouble, both of which charted very well in the country music charts, which leads to the question, was there any pressure to ramp things up on this release?
“We can only hope that this album will be as successful as the last two. That said, we have no idea how this one is going to go and hopefully people enjoy it. We have a great bunch of songs that we are really happy with and think that things will just develop naturally from there. Fingers crossed hey!? I think there could be a Money For Nothing-esque kind of track on this album. Not to say that I pull out a Mark Knopfler solo but in terms of the success, we have some absolute gems on here and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it,” he says.
Heading over to the US to work on this record, the band took up shop in Nashville with Luke Wooton – who is one of the most acclaimed producers in American country music to date.
Having worked with the likes of Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley, Wooton is the kind of guy that you want on your side when you are producing a record. Helping out on Nothin’ But Trouble when the band recorded in Australia, it was an easy choice to pick a producer when the time came.
“We worked with Luke previously and he just gets what the band is about and he gets what we are looking for. He has definitely hit the mark on this one and strives to differentiate the bands he works with from those on American country radio,” Wolfe says.
Amidst deep dish Chicago pizza and freezing their arses off in the American winter, The Wolfe Brothers are definitely keen to hit the ground running in 2016. Great news for Motor City Music Festival punters as they get a ‘first taste’ on this new album ahead of its release.
“I’ve heard nothing but good things at Motor City and we can’t wait to take the stage. It’s gonna be a great show and we will be playing a bunch of new stuff and hopefully everyone gets into it as well. We are headed back to the states in their summer so this will be the only time we will be in Geelong for a while, come out and rock with us Forte, you won’t regret it!”
Written by Tex Miller
When & Where: Motor City Music Festival, Geelong Showgrounds – March 11-13