Ten Thousand Wolves is a multidisciplinary workhorse. The projects gathered under its flag are unapologetically eclectic, mixing songwriting, storytelling, theater, comedy and whatever other tool comes to hand. The result could be called contemporary songspiel.
The set-list changes frequently. Genres get mussed, instrumentation varies and the line-up, so far, fluctuates between one person and fourteen. Future projects may involve either more members, or fewer, but currently, the key collaborators are: bassist\composer\producer James Meger, composer\guitarist Ron Samworth, performance maker and designer Kyla Gardiner, theatre artist Megan Stewart, vocalist\arranger Shannon Scott, vocal group Company C (featuring Ashley Aron), guitarist\arranger Gavin Youngash, drummer\songwriter Skye Brooks, production collective Sawdust Collector, and online magazine\cultural entity VANDOCUMENT. We work with friends.
Running through it all is an obsession with the music of the performed word-- whether sung or spoken, whispered to the private ear or spontaneously bantered. Subject matter varies, but is often oriented around relationships: between people, between people and places, between groups and outsiders, between nature and society. The words matter, but so does rhythmic conviction. The ensemble was conceived as a way to bring coherence to a process of ongoing reinvention, so the best way to get to know it is through the current projects.
And yes, Ten Thousand Wolves is earnestly manifesto-prone on bio pages. But in live performance, it aims to be good company.