Wolf Parade began when former Frog Eyes member Spencer Krug was offered a gig supporting Arcade Fire’s Us Kids Know tour. With only a 3-week deadline to form a band and record enough songs to support a tour, Krug contacted a fellow Canadian guitarist Dan Boeckner (formerly of notable B.C. band Atlas Strategic) and began writing.[1] Initially using a drum machine for their rhythm section, Wolf Parade later added Arlen Thompson to the lineup as a drummer.[1] While still on tour, Wolf Parade released their self-titled debut EP in 2003, referred to as the 4 Song EP.
In 2004, Hadji Bakara joined Wolf Parade, contributing his synthesizer and sound manipulation skills to the lineup.[1] Within the year, the band released its second independent, self-titled EP, commonly referred to as the 6 Song EP.
Dante DeCaro (formerly of Hot Hot Heat) joined in the summer of 2005 as a second guitarist and percussionist.[1] Wolf Parade was signed to Sub Pop Records by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse . On their new record label, the band released their first widely-distributed EP, Wolf Parade, in July of 2005.
In September of 2005, their debut album Apologies to the Queen Mary was released on Sub Pop Records with critical success, earning a 2006 Polaris Music Prize nomination. [2]
In a March 12, 2007 Pitchfork interview Dan Boeckner said of the next Wolf Parade album "If everything goes according to plan... I'd like to be finished with this record by May."[3] However, it now looks as if Wolf Parade's new album will not be released until "the first half of 2008."[4]
In August 2007, the band began playing songs from the new album on tour. Titles for the songs are speculative, but setlists have contained names such as "Crazy Horse", "Fine Young Cannibals", "Language City" and "Chinese Way", "Soldiers", "Stevie", "Billy J", amongst others.[5]
