We’ll take the Grammy, thanks
Aussie band Wolfmother is unfazed by singer Mike Patton’s foul Internet rant
Jared Story

Mike Patton hates Wolfmother. There is a video clip floating around the Internet in which the rock singer, best known for his work in Faith No More, blasts the Aussie retro rockers.

And what does Wolfmother think of Patton’s spiteful comments?

“That’s hilarious,” says drummer Myles Heskett. “It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. I love the passionate hatred he has towards us. It’s Mike Patton. You kind of want that reaction from Mike Patton. I love Mike Patton. He’s such an innovative guy so I’d imagine him to think that way.”

Wolfmother, which also includes singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale and bassist/keyboardist Chris Ross is obviously an easygoing band. Love ’em or hate ’em, it doesn’t seem as if these guys really care. It does so happen, however, that there are a lot of Wolfmother worshippers out there, especially since hip metallic jams such as Woman and Joker and the Thief are currently ruling the North American rock radio airwaves. But the band remains humble. Even winning a Grammy Award for best hard rock performance hasn’t gone to their heads.

“It (Grammy Award) was a trip. It was a bit of a shock. We weren’t quite expecting it. It took us about 30 seconds to register. We were like ‘what?’ It’s just ice on the cake. A big layer of icing," Heskett says.

Three years ago Wolfmother weren’t even considered a hard rock outfit. The band began as a whole different animal, but it wasn’t long until they were summoned by the power of the riff .

“We were doing these kind of funk jams, kind of more shoegazer even,” Heskett says. “We go to a lot of concerts, and the bands that have a lot of energy, you come back feeling really inspired, excited and pumped up. It was just a matter of playing in front of a crowd and wanting them to move. We played our first show and it was really kind of mellow. We said we got to change this.”

No longer staring at sneakers, Wolfmother now rocks to a sound that can be likened to that of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Kicking out the jams has paid off in spades. The band even got the chance to play Communication Breakdown during Led Zep’s recent induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame.

“It was horrible but terrific. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. Jimmy Page comes up and accepts the award on behalf of Led Zeppelin and gives us a wink, as we have to play his song. We’ve been waiting all day to play this two-and-a-half minute song on TV in front of all these people. It was so nerve-wracking, but an amazing experience,” Heskett says.

So c’mon Patton. Ease up, dude. Even Jimmy Page digs Wolfmother.