Wolf Parade - History

History

Wolf Parade began in April 2003, when former Frog Eyes member Spencer Krug was offered a gig by Grenadine Records' Alex Megelas. With only a three-week deadline to form a band, Krug contacted a fellow Canadian guitarist Dan Boeckner (formerly of British Columbia band Atlas Strategic) and began writing songs in Krug's apartment. Initially using a drum machine for their rhythm section played through computer speakers, Krug later invited Arlen Thompson to the lineup as the drummer; however, the newly formed trio rehearsed as a full band only the day before their first show. During the tour, Wolf Parade recorded and released their self-titled debut EP (referred to as the 4 Song EP).

In September 2003, Hadji Bakara joined Wolf Parade, contributing his synthesizer and sound manipulation skills to the lineup. By the summer of 2004 the band released its second independent, self-titled EP, commonly referred to as the 6 Song EP.

In September 2004, the band traveled to Portland, Oregon to record with Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock. Brock had recently signed the band to Sub Pop when he was an A&R man for the label at the time. He had known Dan Boeckner from his days in Atlas Strategic, who had toured with Modest Mouse and were offered a Sub Pop signing just before the band split up. Wolf Parade spent two and a half weeks working 14-hour days in Portland. After some remixing, the band returned to Montreal to finish recording. The album was scheduled for a May release, but then pushed back. On its new record label, the band released its first widely-distributed EP, Wolf Parade, in July 2005. In September 2005, the band's debut album Apologies to the Queen Mary was released on Sub Pop Records to critical acclaim, earning a 2006 Polaris Music Prize nomination.

Dante DeCaro (formerly of Hot Hot Heat) joined sometime in 2005 as a second guitarist and percussionist.

In 2008, an arrangement of the Wolf Parade song "I'll Believe in Anything" for full symphony orchestra received a reading by the Victoria Symphony, conducted by Tania Miller. There is an archival recording of this session in existence.

The second album, At Mount Zoomer, followed in June 2008.

An on-stage announcement in November 2008 that Dante DeCaro would no longer be playing with the band was later revealed to have been a joke.

Hadji Bakara left the band in 2008 to pursue an academic career. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago.

Wolf Parade reconvened in November 2009 to begin work on their third album, Expo 86. In an interview with Exclaim! magazine, Dan Boeckner stated that the album may be released as a double album or as an LP and an EP, given the sheer amount of quality songs to come out of the sessions. The five members realized they'd all been at Vancouver's World Fair in the same week when they were kids, which is how the album got its name. The album was produced by Howard Bilerman and was released in the United States on June 29, 2010.

In 2010, the song "Shine a Light" from Apologies to the Queen Mary appeared in the "Criminal Minds" episode "The Fight".

Wolf Parade kicked off their 2010 North American tour in Montreal. The band played the 2011 Sasquatch! Music Festival.