In the zone with BoCo-based band Prairiewolf

The July issue of Caribou Current hit the racks this week, so today we're featuring an exclusive interview with Boulder County-based cosmic Americana group Prairiewolf.

Our editor Jezy Gray sat down with Jeremy Erwin, Tyler Wilcox and Stefan Beck to chat about their latest album Zone Poems, out July 17. Last year the group went on tour around Colorado and got into some pretty funky head spaces on stage. They didn't know it yet, but they were recording their next record in real time.

Listen in to go on that journey with them.

You can check out their upcoming show schedule here: prairiewolfmusic.com/home#shows

Today's show featured their first single from the record "Burning Edges", which you can stream here: prairiewolfcf.bandcamp.com/album/zone-poems

Head to cariboucurrent.com to read the full story, and so much more. 

Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here.

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:02

And by the end of the second set, I was just like, I don't know where I I can't see out into the audience. I'm not sure where I am. It wasn't very it felt felt like we were we had we had drifted off into space or something.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Welcome to the Mountaineer Podcast. I'm Tyler Hickman, and today we're getting into the zone. The July issue of our Arts and Culture monthly, Caribou Current, hits the racks this week with local cosmic Americana band Prairie Wolf gracing the cover. If you haven't heard their music yet, you can thank me later. The trio is rooted in Boulder County from Netherland to Longmont, and their latest record, Zone Poems, drops July 17th via Centripetal Force Records. If you're a live album buff, I'm looking at you, deadheads and fish fans. I cannot recommend these guys enough. But what's really interesting is how this live record came together. The group went on tour throughout Colorado and got into some pretty funky headspaces on stage. They didn't know it yet, but they were making their next record in real time. Today, we're going on that journey with them. Our editor Jesse Gray sat down with Jeremy Irwin, Tyler Wilcox, and Stefan Beck to find out how this weird tapestry of spacey laid-back jams came together. Before we enter the cosmos, we've got a quick word from one of our sponsors, Central City Opera. The 94th Central City Opera Festival opens June 27th. Since 1932, Central City Opera has been one of Colorado's favorite arts traditions, bringing world-class talent to a 19th-century opera house in historic Central City. This summer, CCO is celebrating the 70th anniversary of our world premiere of the Ballad of Baby Dough. The show tells the scandalous historical love story of silver baron Horace Tabor, who left his wife Augusta for Baby Dough. The original performance rocked Denver Society and today remains a staple of Colorado history. You can also catch the marriage of Figaro, Masterclass, and CTO in concert this season. The cast featuring talent from the Met, San Francisco Opera, and beyond. The festival runs June 27th through August 2nd. Tickets start at $32. And seats are going fast. Visit centralcityopera.org to learn more. Now let's dive in.

SPEAKER_05 2:50

Thanks for joining us today. Appreciate all you guys for carving out a little time. Very, very stoked and very stoked about this new record. Thank you. It's hard to believe it's been three years. That is pretty wild. 2023, man. Because that was when that first the first record came out. That's right. Yep. Spring of 23. So let's let's start there. Can you guys kind of catch me up on the Prairie Wolf saga over the last three years? Where are we now?

SPEAKER_04 3:19

I feel like we've, you know, developed as a as a live act, and I think that's like maybe gotten its way into the records as well. Maybe even just like how we kind of put together the songs we maybe think about in a live kind of setting, or just kind of like what how to play to everybody's strengths and everything.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

I think we've found what we're good at. You know, I feel like this this record is something that the first time on a record that we we've captured what we were good at, which is you'll hear this this word a lot probably, but zoning out or zoning in. We we understand uh each other's strengths and we we understand what people like about the band, which thankfully is what we enjoy uh doing in the band. So we've just kind of you know followed the current there.

SPEAKER_05 4:12

Has that you know, had these last few years and has everything you just told me, is that kind of a has that been surprising to you, or is this kind of the idea that you had for the band from from the get-go?

SPEAKER_06 4:23

I don't know if we had an idea for the band really. Like when we started, I don't know if there was like a clearly stated goal of like this is what we want to sound like or this is what we want to achieve. So it's been a natural progression, I think.

SPEAKER_04 4:38

Yeah, totally. And I mean, as for as far as it being a surprise, I feel like everything is a surprise with this band. From the very beginning, I knew that it was fun to fun to play, but pretty much everything after that, I was like, oh, okay, this is happening, like, and this is happening, and now this is happening. So I mean, it's fun in that way that it's it is constantly kind of surprising, both in the music and the places that we end up playing it and everything.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

When we started the group, you know, I had the intention of, and I think we all shared this, is like making music that was soothing. Like the times that we had come out of with COVID and the Trump era just fucking sucked. And I just wanted to make music that was just soothing. Just felt good, like a really good combination of instruments that everybody liked, and just you know, it was kind of I don't know, healing music. And times have changed fairly drastically over the past three or four years. I don't know if I go in with the intention of like trying to soothe people anymore. It's more like I think everybody just wants to like get lost in it and just kind of go there for the, you know, enjoy the music for the sense of just getting out of the shit.

SPEAKER_05 5:55

Yeah, that that's super interesting to hear you say that, just talking about the different environments, you know, compared to where we were when LP1 came out versus LP3. And I will say to that, to that point about you know, desiring to soothe, if I had guests coming over, first record I'm putting on Prairie Wolf LP1. It's the welcome to my home music. Like let's put everyone at ease. Uh let's and we'll take a journey together.

SPEAKER_04 6:21

I don't know if the new one is is the one that you would put on to. I mean, uh yeah, I mean, I do think it's you know, it has it has some of those elements. I mean, there's definitely some, but I mean, I I do think it's edgier. I mean, edgier for us.

SPEAKER_06 6:34

I think that yeah, it's I wouldn't call it edgy. I think if what we find edgy is not what is actually edgy.

SPEAKER_05 6:41

Well, it's it's funny you say that I I have a whole question prepared about this very word, Tyler, because you you included that in an email. You you said that the the live quality of the recordings gave some of the moments on the record, you know, kind of an edgier quality. I agree. And I also agree with like the sentiment that that Stefan's saying, which is like it's not exactly the first word that would come to mind when you're describing Query Wolf. Right, right. Um, so let's maybe like since we're on that topic, let's go there. Like, take me to like a moment on the new record that you feel like has a little bit of edge to it.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

I am personally all about uh the the first single that we put out, Burning Edges, like track three on there. Stefan has a genuine, like fuzz-tone solo that goes. I don't know what the length is, Stefan. Have you timed it?

SPEAKER_04 7:30

Too extended solo.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

No, it's not long enough, man. I feel like bringing Stefan into the place where he is comfortable to just rip. I don't know. I that just felt like a level up for me. Um, I'm very proud of you, Stefan.

SPEAKER_04 7:45

I can still remember that song playing that song in Creststone. That I mean, it wasn't the first time we had played it, but I mean, I maybe it was the first time that Stefan played that the the solo that that developed into the one that's on the record.

SPEAKER_06 7:58

Oh, yeah, because we we changed the arrangement. That might have been the first time we did it.

SPEAKER_04 8:01

Yeah, yeah, maybe we did it. I yeah, I can't remember. But um, but I remember being shocked and dismayed by it um and delighted. Um, I thought I was I thought it was great.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Oh, I think the tape is out there of the creststone show. And I think I like yelled at him to like keep going. It was amazing. You never get a little like that out of Stefan.

SPEAKER_06 8:22

The Creststone show that gives me a good transition to speak to what I consider an edgy or dangerous moment on the record was I had a crazy migraine on that show and like couldn't see and was like had no idea like if anything sounded right. And then that ended up being the bulk of site A. It came from that show. For me, that felt like slightly, slightly dangerous situation playing live.

SPEAKER_04 8:48

No, I mean it was a I mean that show was genuinely strange to I mean to me as well. Yeah. I remember just fin because we played, we did play two sets, right? Um, and by the end of the second set, I was just like, I don't know where I I can't see out into the audience. I'm I'm not sure where I am. That wasn't it was very it felt felt like we were we had we had drifted off into space or something.

SPEAKER_06 9:12

Um well Creststone's a weird place too. Like there's a lot of people, there's weird energy there. There's a lot of like spiritual seekers there, but there are also just a lot of people who like go there to get away from everything else, and they call it the cosmic highway, like the two-lane road that runs down there where they have all these UFO sightings, and like there's like some weird folk art dedicated to that. And there was like a there was a wasn't there a bachelor party there at that show. They had like witnessed some cosmic event on mushrooms the night before, and yeah, the mayor of Creststone was running sound as well.

SPEAKER_04 9:46

He was he was in charge.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Um it it felt like a kind of weird turning point, you know? It's uh kind of locked in and it just kind of set the tone in a weird way. It's good. And it's appropriate that that's the source of the first song on the record.

SPEAKER_04 10:03

And I mean, that's the one that I think of when I think of edgy, and that it's we're opening the record with what I mean, how long is that? It goes on for a while. So I mean, we're opening with with, you know, a pretty long kind of uh doomy dirge kind of thing. I don't know. It felt it felt different and yeah, a little uh more dangerous, but you know, we trust trust the listeners to to get into it.

SPEAKER_05 10:25

Uh interesting. I I I hear that in both of those tracks. The answer I had in my back pocket was also burning edges, which I've been calling your boards of Canada track. Or like the first half kind of gives the Boards of Canada a little bit. Yeah. Um but to me, it's that leap from the first half to the second half where Stefan's like going nuts on the guitar. Like that the the sonic leap from those two pieces is like what feels brash to me about that song. So to kind of go back to sort of aerial view of these last few years, I mean you guys have been producing new music at a pretty healthy clip, roughly a record a year, maybe, you know, maybe not quite, but um, you know, we've gotten a few LPs over these past few years. I mean, is it fair to say like you guys are feeling pretty dialed in right now?

SPEAKER_04 11:11

Well, you should have been at our rehearsal the last weekend. I don't know if it was that dialed in. Yeah, no, I mean, I I mean I think I think as we were saying, like it felt like like we could come in and for the most part kind of knew what to do with the songs. We didn't have to think about them too much. So yeah, in that respect, I mean, I do feel like, you know, it's it's something that at least, you know, if we we have songs, we can kind of we we we know what to do with them now. I don't know. Maybe I don't know if the other guys agree.

SPEAKER_06 11:42

Well, I would just add to that and say one thing that helped kind of focus in on getting those songs dialed and getting really comfortable with playing them live was, you know, we we had a bunch of music that we all brought to the table at the beginning of last year. I don't know how many demos we had, but you know, there were maybe 10 or 12. And uh Jeremy wisely said, well, let's focus on a smaller group of them and just get to know these songs inside and out and kind of let them evolve um as we play them. And I think that was really effective. So I think I do think, you know, like in the time period when when those recordings were made, you know, from whatever it was, May to October of 2025, we did we were really dialed on those songs. Um, especially by the end. Like I remember that last Glob show we opened for Bitch and Bajas. You know, I think at the end of our set, I was like, I think that's the best we've ever played. And that's you know the basis of a handful of songs on the album.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

We played 15 shows last year. I think that's more than we played combined previously. We would I would record every show with a little Zoom recorder, and we had eventually tapers would come out to the show uh and record, which is a phenomenon that I never imagined we would experience. So we had all these recordings of the shows, right? And we'd listen to these and sprinkled in there was an occasional soundboard recording that we would get, like a multi-track soundboard recording from the venue, which is amazing to have because you can mix it like a record, right? So as we'd go back and listen to the the shows, you know, we could identify what was best or what was like a unique performance or of a song. And I think we started the year with the intention of playing these new songs and recording an album at the end, traditionally, because the intention was to get inside the songs, see where they had advanced by the end of the year, and and capture that in the studio. Well, the multi-track recordings happened to be some of the most memorable shows. Crestone, um, and then we had a couple at Glob at the end of the year. They were just amazing. So I think by like Stefan said, that Bish and Bajas show we opened for, we were like, we I think we might have a record already. I I went through and picked what felt like the strongest representation of each of these new songs from those multi-track recordings. We made a list and all everyone I can't recall this part. If I said, Hey, these are the best, listen to them and agree, or if I just took it and ran with it.

SPEAKER_06 14:16

No, no, no. You made you just made a record. We were we had finished those, and then it was like you went underground into mixing mode, okay, and then popped up a couple months later and were like, Hey, what do you think of this? And it I was and it was like kind of mind-blowing that you were able to come up with what you did.

unknown 14:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:35

Because I know, I mean, and you had definitely said that that you thought that you could do it, and I honestly didn't. I thought that you would start doing it and get, you know, sort of down a tunnel and kind of be like, actually, it would be much better if we sat down and actually recorded this. But once you we had it, I was like, I was like, this is like the easiest record I've ever made because I I played those shows, but I didn't do anything beyond that really. So I was like, this is great. This is almost like getting a new Prairie Wolf record that I didn't have to like hear a hundred times before it was kind of finished.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

It was like getting the source material from our live shows and and reviewing it in the same way you would like a studio session. So what I was able to do is this record is not only based on tracks from a specific date, uh, you know, like the first track is not simply from Creststone, but the the bulk of it, like Tyler and Stefan and the drum machine are, but then I'll also take large sections from another date, like a whole Stefan track and drop it into the the track from Creststone, and it just fits. Like that's kind of the weird serendipity of Prairie Wolf, where I can take like a completely semi-random take of a song and throw it over another one, and it just works.

SPEAKER_04 15:56

It's almost like this is how we were meant to make records in some way, yeah. All along. So, I mean, I think it yeah, I mean, I don't I don't know whether that's you know exactly how we'll do this in the future, but maybe I don't know, maybe we will. Because it works pretty well.

SPEAKER_01 16:13

So that's kind of what the record is. I mean, it's quite literally taking one piece from one date and adding it to another and just sitting back in amazement at how well it works. So it's layered live recordings, but there are also studio parts that we dropped in. You know, we're only three dudes. So if I want to hear a bigger chorus, I'm gonna add, you know, a layer of Melotron or a string synth here and there, or an arpeggiated synth that's open burning edges. So the record that I will frequently compare it to is Anthem of the Sun, The Grateful Dead record, in which it's built, I think, in the exact same fashion.

SPEAKER_04 16:56

Because I mean, I, you know, that's what I kind of thought was great, is that, and I think that that was in the performances, you know, we weren't thinking about them being on a record. And that for me, in a lot of cases, when we're recording, is challenging when we're recording in the studio. I'm usually like, like, okay, this is gonna like this is gonna go on the record. And I didn't think about that, you know, like I was not thinking about that at all when we were playing these shows. Um, not for an instant.

SPEAKER_05 17:20

Makes a lot of sense. And in terms of the sort of the journey the band has been on these last few years, I mean, if you were to like zoom out and just kind of take a look, LP1, LP2, LP3, what would you say are the like the key differences between Prairie Wolf in 2023 and Prairie Wolf in 2026?

SPEAKER_01 17:39

I think we're again we're really good at knowing, we know what we're good at. We know where we overlap technically, and we know the sweet spot we can settle into, and we're we can hit it pretty quickly now. Whereas before, we may have meandered for seven to eight minutes before we could lock in on that. Now we can be like, okay, let's let's get there. And we can get there pretty quickly. We've like, we've drawn the map, and now it's a matter of pointing at the destination, and we can get there. It's great.

SPEAKER_06 18:09

I think we've settled into ourselves too. Like, I think, you know, maybe in after our first album, we were all like talking about like, oh, what would it be like if we played with a drummer, you know, like this drum machine thing is cool, but it's limiting. But I think that we're pretty committed to the bit at this point, and we're we've learned to to be expansive within that that limitation.

SPEAKER_05 18:32

That's that's a great point about the drum machine. I have kind of a half-baked thought about it, but like I've been spending a lot of time with zone poems like the last couple weeks, and there is just something that just feels more expansive to me about the rhythm section on this record. Whereas like I and I I do not mean this in a derogatory way at all. In fact, I find it quite charming on like on the first record. There's almost kind of like a preset quality to the percussion, which I quite like. I can I can I can sort of hear that element of your of your of your sound growing. Um, but now I'm thinking about Prairie Wolf with a live drummer, and it's just kind of blowing my mind. You have described zone poems in the press materials as a sicko's delight, which I would argue if I had a vote, if I were a member of Prairie Wolf, I would say that should be the album title.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

That's sick of the light.

SPEAKER_05 19:27

That's the remix record, Sicko's Delight. There you go. But yeah, to unpack that for readers who are what why is this a sicko's delight?

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Well, I'll I'll specify Sicko's Delight. I when I said that, I was intending to refer to the the bonus disc, which if you for purchasers of the uh physical versions, the the CD or the LP, the CD is a double disc, and the second disc is the first run through of every song on the record. And some of them are very long, like modifications is 20-some minutes long, but it's killer. I I just love the idea of like this is how it started. This these were the original versions, and this is what it became. It solidifies that idea that there's there's no best version, they're just versions, you know.

SPEAKER_04 20:20

Siccos is probably I mean, we'd probably describe ourselves as that in as music fans, because I think all of us get into the weeds with different bands. So I mean, we're all like like this is something that we would like from our favorite bands, is is you know, being able to hear these different versions, which are rougher and you know, kind of kind of scrappier and longer. So that's what I mean. The sicko's delight for me. Yeah, I was like, I was like, yeah, it's like it's for the people who are, you know, sickos about this music.

SPEAKER_05 20:53

For the real wolf heads. So the last thing I prepared for us was a little discussion about influences. So let's let's get into it. Can you guys each share with me like a record that has its fingerprints on on Prairie Wolf?

SPEAKER_01 21:09

I really am into big fun, the Miles Davis record. If you're into LPs, it's a song per side. So it's like 26 minutes per song. I love the idea and love for us to to get into the idea of songs that just take their time. There is no particular destination, like the journey is what you're hearing. And if you give it your your ears, uh there's so much good stuff happening. Everyone is is is adding something just really, really crucial to the whole thing. It's just like it takes its time to develop and it's really rewarding. But then once it's performed and recorded, uh when it's performed again, it's not the same. You know, it's it's always iterating and evolving. Uh I just love that as a It's a kind of I don't know method for this band. Beautifully said.

SPEAKER_06 22:04

Who wants to follow that? Uh not me. Um I I would I picked out the great live Curtis Mayfield album, Curtis Live, for a specific thing on Zone Poems for one of my songs is modifications. And I that song I wrote to kind of like have a Curtis Mayfield type guitar figure as the main phrase. I think Curtis Mayfield is rightly celebrated for his songwriting and his singing, obviously. But he was a very unique guitarist and I would love all the little flourishes he does. And so yeah, kind of was trying to go for a Curtis type thing.

SPEAKER_04 22:37

The re the record I I sort of thought of first when you asked this was it was it tied to a specific song as well. Um Dream Logic, which I think I came up with the sort of guitar line that runs throughout it because I was trying to imitate some of the sounds that I heard on the Velvet Underground's third record. So I mean a a record and band that has been thoroughly, you know, ripped off over the years. But yeah, I was I I think I just sort of was playing around with it and was like, oh, this sort of sounds like something that Sterling Morrison might play on on one of those records. It has sort of, I don't know, like a kind of kind of like sweet, sad, but slightly bluesy kind of thing going on in it. I mean, if push came to shove, that might be my favorite record of all time. I don't know. Push doesn't have to come to shove though. But um it yeah, I I love I love all the sounds on that record for such a sort of like spare and minimal sounding album. It has sort of endless depths you can get into and rip off if you want to.

SPEAKER_05 23:41

All right, fellas, that's what I prepared for us. Thanks again for for taking the time to chat with me. Really appreciate it. Um, looking forward to the shows and um congrats on the new record, guys. It's great.

SPEAKER_04 23:53

Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much for doing this. We really do appreciate it. It is awesome. So thank you.

SPEAKER_05 24:01

See ya. See you later. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

That's all for today. Huge thanks to Jeremy, Tyler, and Stefan for all of the time they gave to us for this story. Their record, Zone Pones, is out July 17th, and they've got a few cozy shows coming up too. You can catch them at Louisville's Electric Room, July 18th, Boulder's Paradise Found Records on August 1st, and Denver's Ghost Canyon Fest, August 29th. Jesti wrote a phenomenal story about this trio for our latest issue. You can find it in print all throughout the Peak to Peak and in Boulder, or read it online at cariboucurrent.com. The issue is also packed with music, art, culture, food, you name it, covering the foothills, peaks, and everything in between. If you're looking for live music, we've got two pages of upcoming shows for you, plus curated events to keep your summer calendar filled. It's free. So go find a copy and read some truly great local arts journalism today. If you consider yourself sickos about this music, or know someone who is, share this episode around. It's the best thing you can do to support the show. You can like and subscribe to us wherever you listen to get the latest news and exclusive caribou current content the moment it hits the airwaves. Once again, this is the Mountaineer Podcast. I'm Tyler Hickman. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next week.