Interview: Josiah Wolf of Why? @ Pitchfork Music Festival
“Why? is the process of adapting to the business of living.” That’s from Why?’s website bio…it’s loaded with some heavy words, but nothing less would represent the band’s intense brand of inquisitive hip-hop. Josiah Wolf does an amazing job playing drums and vibraphone at the same time. The beats meld memorable melodies with tense rhythms, which complement Yoni Wolf’s (his brother) surreal lyrics. Here’s a picture of him playing kit, vibes, and singing!
But the multi-tasking isn’t a gimmick. It happened quite organically, in fact, out of necessity. And Josiah takes it to next-level greatness with his execution. Even when playing freely improvised drum fills with maracas, he tops it off with a perfectly-timed maracas-throw to Yoni to signal the return to the chorus. I loved the songs, I loved the show — one of the highlights of Pitchfork 2010. I was lucky enough to talk to him about his unique set-up, and the importance of confidence. Some of the audio is a bit patchy, so I included a transcript in the video description, and refer to that if you have any questions on quotes. -Paul Goodenough
