Whine Or Live Fearlessly
Summary
Whine Or Live Fearlessly, otherwise known to the world as "W.O.L.F.," started back in April 2010. 17-year-old Taylor Wayne Colo'n had an idea. While a songwriter/singer, he had nothing to do with his talent but write lyrics. Days later, he teamed up with guitarist/best friend, Matthew Thomas Lambert. During the month of May, news of the two was out. Bassist Tony “Psycho” Clay wanted in on the action. After talking it over with Matt, Taylor agreed to let him in. This proved to be one of the most important decisions in the bands career. A name was needed. Taylor’s interest in wolves was an inspiration. W.O.L.F. became the name, standing for Whine Or Live Fearlessly. An interruption occurred the next month, with Tony moving to Colorado for the remainder of the summer. In August, Ashley Bloskas became the drummer of the band, shortly after Clay’s return. A demo of “For Whom The Bell Tolls” was recorded as a cover of Metallica’s 1984 song. W.O.L.F.’s popularity began to rise, mainly in their hometown of Prosper, Texas. While a majority of listeners of the demo were in Texas, there were a few people around the globe that “tuned in.” In August, 2011, Tony left and was replaced by Giovani Ravelli, who was given the added role of backing vocals. “We’re on our way to being one of the bands at the top,” Taylor told many, “Won’t be long now.”
The Beginning
Taylor started out being into rap and pop. That ended when he met Matthew Lambert. Matt was a grade above Taylor, so he became Taylor's role model for a while. The two enjoyed skateboarding and playing Guitar Hero. Then the day came when Matt got his first guitar. An Epiphone SG. Matt started playing every chance he got. Eventually, he learned a few Metallica songs. At the same time, Taylor was getting into some older rock, such as Styx. Matt took this as a chance to him hooked on metal. He handed Taylor a few Metallica albums, and Taylor did indeed get hooked. But he still leaned towards more soft music, which then included Secondhand Serenade. Taylor even went off writing his first full song "Like a Butterfly" in April 2010 (Easter Sunday to be precise). This was the song that triggered the instinct to form a band. He started writing more songs, slower getting darker and darker. Finally, he talked to Matt. At first, Taylor wanted a "Secondhand-Serenade-combined-with-Three-Days-Grace" kind of sound. Of course, Matt was VERY hesitant, and eventually convinced Taylor to go for a more rock 'n roll feel at the least. Taylor agreed, and the two continued writing a few riffs. But again things changed.
Introducing the Bass!!!
Around the middle of May, word was out that Taylor and Matt were starting a band and they needed to have a drummer and keyboardist. Yes...keyboard. The alternative rock was still in the duo's minds. Tony Clay, a bass player, heard about the band and offered to join, not even knowing the style the original duo wanted. Taylor wasn't sure. He had wanted the original line-up to be a singer, a lead guitarist, keyboardist, and drummer. Matt immediately told Taylor to let him in. It would be good to have a bassist. Taylor agreed. The band also prepared to change genres, though they had no finished songs. They decided to go into rock, similar to Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, etc. Their first song to begin work on was "Gotta Get Up, and Go!!!" They had fished the intro, main riff, and verse riff, as well as lyrics, but the song was dropped. This was due to Tony's temporary departure for Colorado. He would be gone for the entire summer of 2010.
The Name, Logo, and Summer 2010
Taylor and Matt would be left alone for a while. On the last week of the school year, the two hopped on their bus ride home for the day. They needed a name. Matt noticed Taylor's likeness towards wolves earlier that year. He also noted the wolf shirt Taylor wore on that bus ride. Matt looked at Taylor, "What if our name had to do with wolves?" The two talked about a name. They both like the idea, but couldn't find a suitable name. However, that night, they both were hanging out. Matt came up with the idea of having a the name W.O.L.F., with each letter standing for something. They thought about "Wolves Of Little Fear." Then Matt said, "Whine Or..." and Taylor snapped, finishing with, "Live Fearlessly!!!" The name was perfect. Inspirational, too. Taylor got straight to work on a logo. It started as a wolf howling at the moon, with the band name going across the bottom. It would eventually be re-done a couple months later, with a much better design. With a name and a logo, Matt and Taylor begin writing some more music. The band's YouTube account, Facebook, and MySpace was created, as well. Now that they completed the logo, along with creating accounts on social networks, W.O.L.F. was ready to make music, or so they thought.
"For Whom the Bell Tolls"
Matt began discussing with Taylor that cover songs were necessary. With Taylor still oblivious to many things in music (including what a cover song was), Matt listed a few basic songs. At this point, Taylor was only the singer, not playing rhythm...yet. In August 2010, the band arrived at Tony's warehouse, owned by his dad, where a video of the band playing "For Whom the Bell Tolls," was recorded. This was a VERY bad job in general, but pretty good as the band's first jam session.
The next move was for a contest. "The Big 4" (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax) had a contest (over at this link, though the website may be down), and W.O.L.F. went for it once they knew how simple it was. "Play one of the songs by the 'Big 4' played during the Sofia, Bulgaria show." Metallica played "For Whom the Bells Toll," so W.O.L.F. decided to enter. They came in around 7th or 8th place. The band would not have another jam for two months after the contest.
The next move was for a contest. "The Big 4" (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax) had a contest (over at this link, though the website may be down), and W.O.L.F. went for it once they knew how simple it was. "Play one of the songs by the 'Big 4' played during the Sofia, Bulgaria show." Metallica played "For Whom the Bells Toll," so W.O.L.F. decided to enter. They came in around 7th or 8th place. The band would not have another jam for two months after the contest.
Death of the Band
After an agonizing career of constantly messing up, the band ceased in June 2013. Taylor had slammed the hammer down and had given up waiting on the others to be gig-ready. Matt had several severe problems pop up, and the other members were completely helpless to assist. Taylor had several family dramas spiraling out of control, so the trio agreed. It was time to call it off. The final release, respectively entitled "Finale", was put out and contained seven demo tracks written during the band's career. Taylor went on to start a new thrash band, "Wolf In Vain", carrying the demos of Whine Or Live Fearlessly with him. The drummer that was hired in, went off the map. Matt went on a new path for a while. The band had been broken, but would be remembered through "Finale".