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| Q | I am sure you get fed up of answering this question, but what was the highlight of your career to date? |
| A |
Oh Wow! Having my children would be the highlight of my life but I guess as far as music goes it would be... Hmmm? Being able to meet many of the other Rock Musicians both famous and not so famous, and hearing their stories and relating back to them some of your own. They are people just like us and have many ups and downs as you have. You can learn so much from others who have done and are doing the same as you. The fans I had met on and off the road are another. You don’t realize how much you and your music means to some people until you actually meet them and talk with them. |
| Q | Did you think when you started out that you would still be in the music industry years down the line? |
| A |
I had hoped that I would. I went through a lot of years struggling in seedy bars and clubs wondering if I would ever get a record deal. It took a long time, and even then it only lasted about 3-4 years until the record company got bought out, then it was back to square one again. I actually gave it up for a while when my son was first born back in 1997, and I didn’t know whether or not I would get back into it or not. I had just finished and released my solo project, Don Wolf – “Making Changes” before he was born and I actually wrote the song “Cradle Me” about him soon coming into my life. It was a different time for sure. I kept involved a bit while he was growing up and then my daughter came along. More work and responsibility, but I would not have changed it for the world. Now, as they are a bit older and getting into music themselves, I am now concentrating more on the music career. I guess this is a second run at it! Ha Ha |
| Q | Which song are you most proud of writing? |
| A |
I really love “Dreams Are Forever” off the new White Wolf release as it tells you about never giving up on your dreams and to keep following them until they come through, no matter how far off they may seem. Also “America (Hello Again)”, and “Eyes Of The World” are special. I also feel really good about the songs “Holding Back” (Endangered Species), “Holdin’ On To Love” and “How Long” (Making Changes), “Push And Shove” and “Love Takes Time” (Point Of Power – It’s About Time), “Piece Of My Heart”, “Never Goin’ Home” and “Photograph Fades” (Project X – Blueprint For Xcess). Should I stop now??? Ha ha |
| Q | What would you do differently in hindsight, in terms of your musical career? |
| A |
I wish I was a little smarter earlier on with some of the decisions that were made and followed my heart and goals to take my music to where I wanted it to go. A lot of money flowed through but not to the artists and songwriters. There was a lot of listening to others in those days who thought they knew what was best for you. Today, I think that it still goes on, but a lot of artists are trying to maintain more control of where their music goes and how it is promoted. A word to all up and coming musicians, always make sure you have some or all control of what you do musically and what you sign away. It could mean your career. |
| Q | I meet a lot of young bands, what would be your 3 top tips to them? |
| A |
1) Keep writing as much as you can and don’t be afraid to experiment with your music. 2) Always treat people with respect because the way you treat them on the way up, is the way that they will treat you whenever you may come down. 3) Keep control of your music and works. They are yours and you should always be compensated for things you work very hard at creating. It is easy to grab the first deal that comes along, but you could end up signing away a lot of your hard work for nothing. |
| Q | Have you always remained in contact with Cam Macleod, since the original White Wolf days? |
| A | We knew what each other was doing through other people, but did not speak directly to each other for many many years! |
| Q | You have been main songwriter and midi programmer of two musicals (Flowers By The Wall and Willie Gee), how did you become involved in musicals? Is this something you would like to do again? |
| A |
Oh yes. I have always enjoyed musicals since I first heard Ian Gillan of Deep Purple sing the part of Christ in Jesus Christ Superstar. I thought WOW!! I could never afford to go see any musicals as a starving musician but my co writer of the musicals, Virgul Krown arranged a trip to London England back in 1996 with 5 other friends, and we managed to see 8 musicals in the span of two weeks! We saw the best of the best in the West End. I would like to write more as they can really be challenging to write a story and have it sung musically. It is fun but a lot of writing and re-writing. |
| Q | What is your project, Ultimate Vocal? |
| A |
This is a 4 set volume of Warm up cds for singers I came up with and recorded. Every other one out there claims to make you a GREAT singer and a singing star, but I wanted to come up with something that would help you gain control of your voice and help you warm it up, which you should always do, whether you are a singer, public speaker or even a tour guide. It is set up for the beginner right up to the advanced. It has many warm up exercises on these cds and I go on to explain the basics of warming up your voice before you sing and how to improve it. I even give samples of my voice from some of the songs that I have written. |
| Q | “Victim of the Spotlight” was released on 23rd July on Escape Records. How has it been received so far? |
| A |
A lot of the reviews have been great and I have received many emails from fans on both our White Wolf website and myspace site and they are happy to hear that we have recorded another cd. It is very exciting. |
| Q | You will be appearing at the melodic rock festival - United Forces of Rock III in Germany late September. You’ve toured USA, Europe, Japan and Canada during your career. Are you looking forward to coming back to Europe and where is your favourite place? |
| A |
I would love to come to Europe again. Europe has always been a market that held on to the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal scene and embraced it! The fans there are true fans that is for sure! My favourite place is wherever there are fans that will come to our shows. They are the ones that keep the music and bands alive. |
| Q | Is there a female artist you would like to duet with? |
| A |
I thought about this and one of them would be Amy Lee from Evanescence!! She has a very beautiful voice and a strong one at that! I got to see them live here in Vancouver and she was great and so was the band. She seems very honest and down to earth. “Amy if you hear of this, I would love to do some singing with you. It would be great.” Another female singer I would like to sing with would be Julie Westlake, of the band HYDROGYN. I think she has a fine voice also and different style than Amy but still very strong! Again it would be a pleasure to sing with either or both! |
| Q | For fun, with White Wolf re-forming, which other band in your opinion should re-form tomorrow? |
| A |
Ohhh, that is a hard one as most of the bands that I know of have either reformed or are in the process of doing just that and recording new stuff! Some have stopped altogether because of deaths of various members. Most of them are out there. Anyway, thanks so much for your questions and all of your support. It is truly appreciated and I look forward to speaking with you someday soon. Thanks to all of our friends and fans everywhere for all of the support! See you all soon, Don J
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To check out more about Don and White Wolf, visit http://www.myspace.com/httpwwwmyspacecomdonwolf http://www.myspace.com/whitewolfquotofficialquot and http://www.whitewolfworld.com
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I would like to thank Don for answering these Qs & As and wish him all the best for the future. Escape Music will be re-releasing both first White Wolf albums as a stunning double digipack. If you don’t own them, and love that 80s sound, don’t miss the chance to add them to your collection.
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Till next time… Keep It Loud! ANGEL OF METAL
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