Wolves at the Gate at Welcome to Rockville 2026 - PipemanRadio Interview

0:04 Hi, you live one too? Cue wow for you young job. This is pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four C Y Radio, and I'm here. With Steve from Wolves at the Gate. Nice here at Welcome to Rockville in beautiful, hot, humid Daytona, Florida at the International Speedway. So first I want to just say, off the bat, how are you even at this interview after doing two sets in a row at this festival?

0:57 You know, I mean, you live once, right, so might as well, yeah, play two shows? They asked, and were like, heck, we're just glad we got asked to play one. If we're gonna ask play two, you gotta do the second one. Yeah, you can't say no, right, Yeah? And how cool was it that you were actually like playing in one of the masscar. Garages that was going to tell me about that? Yeah, I mean it felt like well, getting to that stage felt a little bit like a pit crew and how they work. We had to work fast. We had to get our stuff off the inferno stage, throw it in a box truck right over to that stage, throw it on that stage, and then do another four or five songs. And so I felt I felt the NASCAR heat a little bit, you know. Nice. It should be that way though.

1:38 Here. If you're gonna put a metal punk festival in the speedway, give all the metal heads and the punks a little taste of what nascar. That's right. We were burning rubber for sure, there it is. Yeah, speaking of burn rubber, did you get to ride on the speedway? Yeah, trail, Yeah, we got. That was pretty cool. We did a little trouble because I didn't realize how steep the sides are, and so we're we're just like we needed a race, and just we ran from the bottom up to the top. And then one of the like crew guys was driving by and just like waved his finger ass. He's like, don't do that. They were like, all right, we're coming down now. Wait a minute. Had to even stay up there. I look at that wall. It's wild and it's not like on TV. No.

2:21 I'm like, you could fall standing there. I've joked around, yeah, the first time we were at this venue, and I still do I have my. Skateboard with you, dude, that would be sick. And I'm like I got Mike and Chrissy. I'm like, if I were to skateboard, the wall would I lose my credit. You'd probably need somebody with the golf cart start giving you some speed, you know, to get up that. But that would be I pay to see that. Right, Yeah, and it would have to be after all my interviews are gone done because I'd break every bone in my body. And so I have to get the interviews done first for sure. And so basically by way, we just got. Told it's orange.

3:02 What's orange? Well you have code yellow? Oh the orange. This is my third interview of the weekend that happened, so hopefully it won't go to red real quick. Yeah. But so now let me ask you a question. Yeah, in the garage, it's like a smaller gig. Yeah, smaller stage than on the normal stage on the Inferno. It's like it's like a big boy stuff big yeah, you know, especially it's wimmer Festival. Yes, early in the morning, the last day and it's still crowded out there. How does it feel to you one post to the other? They both feel good? Yeah, but how is the differences? What's better about one? What's better about the other?

3:45 I mean one feels a lot more comfortable and like home is the small stages you know, we've just done a headlining tour to get out to here, and you know, we've just been packing out just small, sweaty venues because that's just that's what we're used to doing. And so when we got asked to do that, it was kind of a no brainer. It's like, that's what we've been doing for a week and a half already. So but doing the big stage is funds you because for me, it's like, I like moving around, although I'll tell you, man, moving around in this heat and the humidity and then having to get upset microphone and sing. It's like, Steve, you better pace yourself, you know. No doubt. Yeah, And I always say this all the time because I know it too from what I do, is like you can't get in the zone. Yeah, and you don't.

4:26 Allow yourself to feel like shit yep, still l after it's over and then you die yep. Yeah, except except we only could die a little bit and we had to resurrect ourselves and another. Yeah, you had to put the dye in on pause. Yeah, but we wanted to put it all out there, you know, especially if getting this opportunity and being on a big stage, and so just put it all out there and you know, whatever's left. You know, we're on fumes. We're just still gonna rip it for that k Pit show. So and I would think too, a lot of bands, once they are not doing small club venues anymore, kind of miss it. Yeah they do. Yeah, a lot of our friends that are in bigger bands, there's like, uh yeah, like feeling your roots a bit. You know, there's something fun about that, and yeah, it's I think it's fun. I think it's good to never lose that too, because that's what got you into it, and feeling the energy and feeling the music and just keeping it simple.

5:17 I think two for the fans. That's somebody that's gone through a million shows. You know. I do prefer the club shows because it's more like you're part of the band and part of the whole thing. And then like I look at some bands, you know, one in particular who I love, who I won't name, but their stage is so huge and it seems like they don't have an They have too much room that they don't interact. With each other. They're all in there a different show. Yeah, that's that's always a tough thing to manage too. You know, it's tough when you play the small gigs cause it's like I don't have the room I want to, Like, yeah, I have fun, but at the same time, yeah, having those big stages, you got to fill up that space.

5:58 But yeah, I know there's like it's something for everybody, you know. And obviously there aren't bands that just play the big fests, you know. I think it's always good to play the club shows. And yeah, I don't know. I think if us it depends on who you ask, But I like club shows. Do you think that's why the big bands when they're warming up for a tour, they do like a surprise club show. Yeah, well, a lot of it's just to get the kinks out, get the nerves out, make sure everything's working right because there are gonna be a lot more eyes on you. And that's why it was good for us to be out on the road for you know, for a little bit before we did this and just like let it be second nature, you know. Yeah, no doubt. Tell you a funny story about that.

6:38 I'm from South Florida and there's this venue in Fort Lauerdelle called Cheers like the show. It's the little teeny place they have like punk rock karaoke. They call it scaryoke. That's sick. And this girl's. Dating one time, she went there one night and she calls me up and she's like, she's standing outside. She's like, there's this killer made and cover band playing, and then she walked inside called me back. It is Maiden, you know, because Nico, he lives down there, so that's what they would do. That's wild. Also remember for me one time, many many years ago. Well, I was in uh because I'm from Jersey. While I was in Jersey, you're from Jersey, yeah, where so originally North Jersey, Little Falls, Montclair, roseland.

7:28 I'm from Bergenfield. Nice. Yeah, man, look at that Jersey boy. That's right there. We go. We found some common ground. Yeah, it's aweso. Then you might know this place. It's in Old Bridge. It's called it was called Club art Stocks Playpen. We used to call it the pig Pen. The pig pen, right. I heard stories, so there, yes, and they're true. And so I pick on the marquee or this band playing. I didn't know who the hell it was, and I went and I walked in and I'm hearing Godzilla. I'm like, that's a pretty good cover too, so on the marquet said soft White Underbelly, which was the original name of Blue Oyster.

8:11 Could that's Wes Blue Oyster Cold. Oh that's wild, right, I think that's cool And bands do that. Yeah, and a lot of them they do use like their original name they never use so it's like, only if you're really a hardcore fan, will. You that's hilarious. I don't think anybody would know our original name because it was just a joke. We only we only had that name for like, so our band started off just playing like house shows at my house. That's just the college just like the local college kids in local scene. Because nobody would book us at first. And I'm just like, we're just going to do our own thing. And we didn't have a name. And my dad would always say this phrase when he like hit his head. He would go good night doctor, like every time he hit his head.

8:52 So I was like, well, we're good night doctor. That's what we were for the first show. And I was like, we need a real name, cause that's terrible. That would only be good if Michael Schenker was in your Oh my god. Yeah, Like I always think too, it's so hard to be a band and come up with a band name nowadays, especially like they're all taken, you have to do stupid shit with cymbals and backwards, and. Every band name can sound dumb if you think about it too long, you know. And that's always the that's always like the psychological battle you have. Well, you know, it's funny. I interviewed yesterday. We got code redded during that interview, but it was Psychostick, yeah, and their original name was Asenine asine. Yeah, so I called a massifine going to get an airview and uh so, basically I'm thinking myself because they're like jokesters, do all this slapstick stuff and make funny songs.

9:49 You know. They're like the the weird awl of metal. And I'm like, man, that asenine one fits so much perfectly, so perfectly with you guys. You should kept that one. Yeah, I know. You teach people a new word too, you. Know, exactly. Okay, Well, guess what, we're just in time for the red so it's another code read sick and give us any last things you want to tell the listeners. Stay tuned for new music. We got a lot coming so nice. Well, it's been a pleasure. Thanks for being here, Thanks for doing two brutal sets and now getting evacuated right after being on the Adventures of Pipe Main sick.

10:30 Thank you, Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipemin on w for CUI Radio.