Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Wolf Bradley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Wolf thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
My parents opened a ballet school the year I was born. I’ve never known a world with out creativity and performance. I loved being on stage from the first moment I ever was…which was when I was three years old. I danced for the majority of my life, but that was never a passion of mine. I just wanted to be on that stage performing in any capacity I could. I acted for a little while, my claim to fame being a straight to dvd movie called “Bike Squad”. Music was always around in the house and the ballet school and car rides, but I hadn’t found MY music. The music that spoke to my soul. That made me feel seen. Then “American Idiot” by Green Day came out and it hit me like a ton of bricks. My mom took me to that tour, it was my first concert ever, and I was frozen still at the spectacle I was witnessing. THAT is what I wanted to do- what I needed to do. From then on, I could focus on nothing else. Doesn’t matter how many people I’m in front of, I just live to perform.
Wolf, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Wolf Bradley. I have been in various bands with various success levels since I was a teenager. I write songs every day for myself and others. I got into this industry by writing song after song after song, honing the craft, until I got noticed by some talent scouts who introduced me to some managers and producers. It really is a matter of luck, but you can push it. People don’t usually just “find” you. I was sending my music out to everyone and anyone I could think of; labels, bands, producers, booking agents. Honestly most people didn’t care, but the ones who did got me to the next step and so on. Luck is a huge part of it, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t do the work and get your skill level to where it needs to be. Connections get you far, but there’s no longevity in that. I was taught that you are nothing without the songs. It’s music first, ALWAYS. Other than my personal artist projects, I write songs for/with people constantly. There’s not much money in it, especially at first, but if you have it in you, it’s something you can’t escape. I love hearing what the artist I’m working with is going through and helping them put that into bite size melodies and concise, memorable lyrics. That’s my specialty. In a session, the first hour or so feels like therapy. My first job is to make everyone feel comfortable to share and be vulnerable. Vulnerability is the key to a great lyric. If you’re not a little nervous or even a little embarrassed by what you’re saying, you’re not being the full authentic you. The second half of the job to take that uniqueness of personal experience and put it into a melody you can’t stop thinking about. It’s a process I adore and can’t ever get enough of. I’ve found the more honest and specific I am in my writing, the more universally relatable it is. Everyone is going through the same emotions, just in their own ways. Music gives a voice to that and there are so many different sounds. Everyone can find themselves in music. It’s a beautiful thing.
I’m so proud of so many songs I’ve been a part of, but I love performing the songs I write for myself. My recently on hiatus band, The Habits, have played so many amazing places all over the country and have released so many songs that feel like snapshots of moments in my life. I have recently finished a solo album called “Laugh Til I Cry” that I will start the roll out process for later this year. I spent a year making this debut album and it’s the best thing I’ve made so far. I have a band called Ivy League Suit that I started with some friends this year to blow off steam and get out my disgruntled emotions. That’s turned into one of the best therapeutic outlets of my life. We are going to record our first EP in August and will be playing so many shows. Finally, I’m in a fun electro/hip hop duo called AYE YAI YAI with producer, Kenny Carkeet (previously in AWOLnation). We haven’t released anything yet, but we have so many fun songs coming. I’m lucky to get to work in all the different genres and avenues in music that I want to.
When you combine passion and work ethic, you get a special concoction of success and happiness. Define success however you want, that’s really important. It looks different to everyone. Especially in the entertainment industry, nothing is traditional and you shouldn’t view it through that lens. Hone the craft and stick with it and you will find what you’re looking for.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Other than the obvious of paying artists for the countless hours of hard work, I think in todays fast paced world, we don’t allow artists, or even ourselves, to fail enough. Creativity isn’t and shouldn’t be so transactional. You have to live a life to write about living. You have to write terrible songs to get to the greatest ones. Business wise that’s dicey, but instant satisfaction kills creativity. You have to “fail” to grow and be better. It feels a lot like a one chance only world sometimes, but that’s just not how creativity works. It’s not how humans work. If we give our artists the freedom to fail a little more, the art will get better and better. Also, stop forcing everyone to be great at everything. In most instances that’s not the case. A jack of all trades is a master of none. Very old man cliché, but true nonetheless. I believe collaboration makes the world go round.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
The path of a creative is never linear. There really is no straightforward trajectory. It’s a zig zag into a circle into a mountain. It’s hard to not have. set schedule or routine. There are beats you want to hit in your career that seem obvious, but the path there varies so much. Even within the creative community. From the outside looking in, you rarely see the 10,000 hours of mental gymnastics to get the perfectly imperfect lyric that best illustrates who you are and what you are trying to say. It takes real time and life experience to find YOUR VOICE. Some of the work is just living life and that is looked down upon sometimes. Also, as I said earlier, success in this industry can mean so many different things and it should be unique to the creative individual. That doesn’t mean there isn’t work ethic and a rigorous process to reach what ever that success may be. It just doesn’t fit a traditional path in the work place. I’m sure every industry has their own version of what I’m saying. All I can do is speak from a creatives stand point. You can’t force a great song or dance or painting to come out of you. You have to go through the steps, emotional and physical, to get there.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @wolfbradley @habitstheband @ivyleaguesuit
Image Credits
Michael Macatrao
Madi Lindsey
Joe Laporte
Gabbi Savahna