WOLF FACE: For a Good Time & a Long Time

Written by Leah Morris - Photos by Jake Hamby

‍

Under a waxing gibbous moon, the front door opens and Michael J. Wolf crawls across the floor of JJ’s Bohemia. The crowd is AWOOOING. The speakers over our heads play sound bites from the 1985 film Teen Wolf. The band has already taken to the stage and their lead singer is dragging his hands and knees through the crowd of fans. He’s taking his time slinking to his place in the performance. “It was supposed to be one show.” He told us earlier with the air of somebody forced into service. It was going to be one show to tell his story, the one where Hollywood took his life and made a mockery of it on screen, then doubled down on the insult with Teen Wolf Too. Just one night to make his voice heard in a world that was starting to care less and less about the trials and tribulations of a young werewolf.

Fourteen years later, Wolf Face has opened for Twenty One Pilots, played at countless festivals, performed at the weirdest events they could find, and participated in the legendary punk rock event Fest. They were even invited to play at Deafstock, a festival curated specifically for people who cannot hear. At that event they were joined on stage by an ASL trained interpreter who echoed the band’s energy with passionate gestures and wolf-like facial expressions. One night has turned into a significant portion of their lives.  

“Well I bought a bunch of French toast. And then I was mad at the universe for stuffing my pockets full of French toast” Outside the venue we’ve collected ourselves in the parking lot of JJ’s. A faded mural behind us reads ‘I have a dream’. We’ve asked them to elaborate on their years as a touring band, The Good Wolf, prompted by bandmate and marketing genius Wolf-Fart, shares the story of the night he threw two hundred dollars worth of French toast plus the band’s merch money onto a rooftop. It would seem that life on the road inspires a bunch of teen wolves to more wholesome shenanigans than you’d expect. (We’ll leave out the tale of the accidental stolen bottle of whiskey to protect the young musicians thriving careers.)

Multiple stories follow. Stories about delinquent teenage wolves running around under a full moon. But the band knows who they are and if they took themselves too seriously they probably wouldn’t have built the fanbase they have now. “I think that’s why we’ve been going so long.” Michael J. Wolf says about the spirit of the band. From the outside looking in, you’d be tempted to ask stupid questions like ‘why’ and ‘how’ and ‘of all the stories in the world to tell, why this?’ But those questions are beside the point. The point of Wolf Face isn’t understanding. It’s not cultural commentary and it’s definitely not fame. When asked what the catalyst was for starting the band, Michael J. Wolf doesn’t really remember. A long time ago he wrote six songs in his closet and then chose to share them with the world. The reason for that creative expression doesn’t matter; the world embraced his story anyway.

Three full-length records later, with one on the way, the band has stopped touring but hasn’t stopped playing with the same teen spirit. You can tell by the way they perform that it doesn’t have to be a full moon for their talents to show. The fans sense it too, and some are so overcome they join Wolf Face on stage to scream the lyrics into a microphone as they gaze intensely at the back wall. Wolf Face takes it in stride. They even encourage some of it. They’re not precious about their presence on stage. They’re here in Chattanooga not because they want to start touring again, but because their fans deserve to see them play. “This place does seem pretty special.” Wolf Fart says and he would know. Two weeks before the show he ran around town slapping as many Wolf Face stickers as he could to every stickable surface he could find.

Why did he come all this way just to promote one show? A seven and a half hour drive from Florida is not for the faint of heart but it is for Wolf Fart. The teen wolves get squirrely when we ask about the intention. Was it for marketing? Sure. Was it for fun? You could say that. Or was it for that intangible punk spirit? The kind that is somehow screaming in your face without being so obvious. The kind that’s hairy and stretched into gym shorts because it’s your truth, dammit. Social media is in everyone’s faces but there’s something exceptional about stumbling across a random sticker for a band you’ve never heard of, cocking your head to the side and wondering why you’re so incredibly drawn to something you’ve never seen before. Then following that sticker to a show where you find yourself wondering how on earth you haven’t heard of this band before. From the way they promote themselves down to the entrance to their shows, Wolf Face knows a thing or two about what makes punk music lovers tick.

“Our next record is going to be the biggest record ever released.” Michael J. Wolf said of their new album. They’re expanding the universe of Teen Wolf to give you the behind the scenes of what Hollywood wouldn’t and couldn't tell you. Only Michael J. Wolf knows his story and only he and the band can tell it in their trademark, punk rock, semi-concerning way. It’s not the first time they’ve planned something epic for their loyal fans. The most memorable piece of merch was an old school video game that sold out immediately. If they know their audience, and they should after fourteen years in the biz, this record is going to be huge.

Producing records based on your life’s story, touring the country, donning their best wolf selves for the performance — you could argue all of it is for the love of the punk scene. Three local bands opened for Wolf Face, all with killer talent. In the few minutes before they head on stage, the teen wolves tell us how excited they are to break from their new normal of only playing local Florida venues to hit the stage at JJ’s. (Shoutout for going on twenty years in business!) “Where we’re from, we’re losing all of our venues. We’re losing all our cool spots.”

The “cool spots” as some of us know them from our days roaming the live music bars, are the spots that allow for total expression. They’re the spaces where a young wolf might find his voice on stage and tell his story. They’re the places where grown men can mosh around in a small venue and feel free, or young punks who aren’t addicted to their phones can come and kick around to music that makes you feel like you too might want to run around under a full moon. It’s not that Wolf Face is the greatest band in the world. (I offered them that title and they politely threw it on the roof with the french toast.) It’s that Wolf Face embodies what’s fun about punk and what’s fun about the small venue music scene. Weird is cool. Weird is necessary. We could all stand to let our weird come out a little more often.

The true supernatural power of Wolf Face isn’t their werewolvism or the fact that though they had only planned for one night the music industry took hold and never let go; the power is in what their presence says to our community. Be loud. Be unashamed. And do it in the venues that care about your right to express yourself. It’s something some of us might be tempted to take for granted because we grew up going to these types of shows, but we shouldn’t. And we won’t, if we keep bands like Wolf Face interested in coming and playing here.

WOLF FACE has a new record coming out. It’s gonna be BIG. Follow them on Instagram or Facebook for release details.