Wolf Critton More Sugar October 2016

The Name’s Wolf Critton - Pronounced as it’s Written

By Jacque Roche

Photo: T.O.D Photography

Everyone in the music business has a role. Be it to write, sing, perform, book, promote, advertise or just collect the money!  Some have trained their entire lives to be successful. There are those that go hunting in the night, silently search for success while others have talent simmering, unrealized as they stalk their dreams until a traumatic event releases the brilliance that has been brewing within.

This is the tale, of Wolf Critton a promising, Hudson Valley musician emerging from New Windsor, NY.  Wolf contacted me recently with one of those rousing texts that gets my pulse racing!  Our first conversation went something like this;

Wolf:  “Hello!!!! We are a Hudson Valley band releasing our new song and wanted to play it somewhere epic!!! . . . We have 50,000 fans, I’m an Iraq War Vet and endorsed by 5 major companies.”

Me: “I like it.  We are a pretty small public radio station... so epic is not what I'd use to describe us. What did you have in mind”?

Wolf: “For me epic is in a place I haven't performed, the opportunity given to reach new people and create a new experience. . . “

He had me at “epic,” and our music connection was cemented.  While we worked out the details of his radio interview, I found Wolf to be an easy communicator, accommodating to my schedule and appealing in an intriguing, mysterious way.  I’m not gonna lie, Wolf has lead a very different life from what I was accustomed to.  Raised in Harlem, and despite his mother, “an amazing singer who led the choir,” as a young man Wolf “never really listened to music.”  It was his father who introduced him and his lyricist brother to the Led Zeppelin song, “Stairway to Heaven” that still moves him today.  It was during his time in elementary school that Wolf’s writing talents first emerged, when he won a poetry-writing contest. However, his gift would lie dormant until the stressful circumstances of the Iraq war would cause them to come pouring out. 

In early 2000 Wolf, still known by his given name, was at a point in his life when it was time to make a decision about the direction of his future.  He elected to enter the backbone of military service; the Infantry Division of the US Army; considered by some to be the most dangerous branch of standard military service.  It was during his 8 years of service, and experiences during this time period, that the lone wolf singer/songwriter began to evolve.

It is with a respectful thank you and nod to the universe that Wolf recognizes the soul-saving gift of a lifeline; a guitar and lessons which he received from a fellow soldier, who was later killed during his service.

Wolf describes how he suppressed all emotions, pushed away friends and “pretty much went numb just to cope with life and the things I was dealing with over there.”  It was his unit in Iraq that recognized his lone wolf persona and they renamed him Wolf, a name that still applies today.

Wolf compares walking the desert on patrol, to a lone wolf as he grasped his M16 to now expressing those very emotions while stalking the stage during a live performance and enjoying his Luna guitar.  When performing his music Wolf puts all his emotions into his instrument.  It is somewhat therapeutic and a way of venting. "There are certain things as an artist that are hard to put into words but are easier to sing," he says. That is exactly what song writing is for him, a way to tell his story.

These days Wolf Critton can be found performing with his pack mate, another lone wolf, Mike Colona, a drummer who is a veteran in the field of making great music.  To quote the website, “When Wolf and Mike make a song, there is a combined sound, as unique as wolves howling at the moon.”  Wolf continues, "I can honestly say that there will never be a musician/brother that has the chemistry me and Mike have. He is the heartbeat of each and every song. Without him, it’s like making a monster without lightning."

Wolf’s lyrics are very relatable.  They have an old-school edge and are woven with the current lingo of a younger generation. 

The band appeals to all age groups, and I guarantee once you start listening to his riffs and beats you will hunger for more, returning to his music for a little bit of rock, blues and inspiration.

This article touches briefly on the history of what drives Wolf Critton to write and perform music. His story continues and will deepen as Wolf and Mike are heard and appreciated at the venues and across various forms of media – social and otherwise.

What’s coming up for the Wolf Critton band?  I can tell you that they are going to be interviewed on 103.7 WPWL at Pawling Public Radio on Wednesday, October 19^th at 8 pm.  You can stream the hour-long interview by logging into www.pawlingpublicradio.org.  They are also performing live Friday, October 21^st in the Pawling Public Radio Show’s Music Hall Showcase, hosted by yours truly from 8-10 pm.  The public is invited to participate as a live on-air studio audience.  Come on down.  26 E Main St., Pawling, NY.

If you were as inspired by this article, want to keep up with what’s next or looking for links to music, visit Wolf’s website at: http://www.wolfcritton.com and be sure to LIKE him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wolfcritton1

BTW . . .  Critton rhymes with written! ;-)

Jacque Roche is a “More Sugar” contributor, author of a weekly “Positive Insights” newsletter, a booking agent, FB Jedi Master and host of the WPWL radio program, Jacque’s Giant Hudson Valley Music Show on Thursday nights at 8-9 pm, streaming on www.pawlingpublicradio.org.  Can I tell your story?  Send an email to: jacquebutterflypresents@gmail.com