Interviewer: Eric Rankin
Interviewee: Alex Brown Church of Sea Wolf

ER: First of all, is the band's name taken from the Jack London book, or do you just like the words "Sea" and "Wolf" together?

ABC: Yes, it’s taken from the book. But I also like those words together.

ER: Although many of the lyrics in your songs seem to be in narrative form, how much of it is autobiographical?

ABC: Depends on the song. Some songs aren’t at all, others are. Most of the songs have a lot of my personal experiences in them, even if the whole song isn’t entirely autobiographical.

ER: How has the road leading up to now been for Sea Wolf? Is the release of Leaves in the River a big step for you?

ABC: Yes, it’s a huge step. It’s been a long road indeed. I wrote the first Sea Wolf song 6 years ago, and Sea Wolf became Sea Wolf 4 years ago. It took a long time to develop it into what it is now. So it feels pretty good to finally have it out there.

ER: The percussion on most of the songs on Leaves in the River is pretty sparse (which i personally find refreshing), how did this approach come about? How much of a role did the producer (Phil Ek) play in the overall sound of the album?

ABC: Not sure how the percussion wound up sparse. To be honest I never really thought about it. I guess I don’t think about percussion too much. Phil produced the vocals and a couple little things here and there. I think the vocals are the most important part, so I’d say that while Phil’s role was relatively small, it was crucial.

ER: You make references to nature throughout the album. Do you find it easiest to express yourself in the context of water, leaves, animals, and the like?

ABC: Not necessarily. I think this record symbolized a return to my roots. I lived in the country as a kid, and nature was a big part of my life then. So I guess that’s where that came from. But I don’t know if I’ll necessarily keep up those themes in the future.

ER: What does your songwriting process involve? Do you consider the possibility of orchestration during the initial development?

ABC: It usually starts with some chords on the guitar and a melody. I do think about other instruments a lot of the time, but not always.

ER: There seems to be a sense of fairytale story-telling on a few songs (such as "Leaves in the River" and "You're A Wolf"). Where did the influence for these kind of lyrics come from?

ABC: Well, I don’t know if fairytale is quite the best description as that implies some sort of magical mysticism, which I don’t subscribe to at all. Leaves in the River is 100% true, so that’s how that happened, and You’re a Wolf melodically didn’t lend itself to a kind of storytelling song with a lot of words, so that one had to be more repetitive and metaphorical as you can say a lot more with fewer words that way. Mostly the lyrics come from wherever I am at the moment I write the song, and what the song requires.

ER: I remember a few years ago I saw Sea Wolf at Spaceland and I thought to myself that your musicianship couldn't be any better. Do you strive to sound as much as possible live as you do on your album?

ABC: Yes and no. First we strive to make it sound like the record, then we figure out how to make it a have more impact in a live setting, which often requires some embellishment.

ER: You mention wolves, tigers, and crickets throughout your songs on Leaves in the River, what is your favorite animal, and if not a wolf, why not?

ABC: Come on. You know it’s the wolf.

Eric J Rankin 10/08/07