Wolfmother’s Andrew Stockdale Reflects On A Year Without Alcohol

Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother has shared his thoughts after clocking up 12 months without alcohol.

“Well today marks one year since I decided to stop drinking. Yes that’s right, not one drink the whole year, all those pre show and post show hangs, all of the airport lounge hangs, delayed flights etc,” he shared to Facebook.

Andrew said he had to work out a way to fill in the void of the drinking hours. “Initially my thing was to have a cold shower, at the airport lounge or the venue or at home. Somehow the slight adrenaline rush of a cold shower was similar to the spark I got from having a drink. So what I wanted to see, first of all could I do it, would my life improve personally, professionally and or financially”.

Andrew went through a complete lifestyle change after giving up alcohol. “I sold my house in Brisbane moved out of my studio in the Byron industrial estate and started demoing at home in Byron on Garage Band. To record I’d go to other studios. This is something I’ve avoided doing”.

The new ‘Drew went on a prolific creative splurge. “Through over 2019, I went to the Foo Fighters Studio thanks to Rami and recorded ‘Spanish Ros’ and ‘Higher’. ‘Spanish Rose’ was written at home before I went in. We recorded it in one day”.

“’Higher’ was written in the studio, just to play off the vibe of the place.

“‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Survivor’ was recorded at Studio 101 in Byron. Luscious from COG played drums, the guy played incredibly, it was a pretty athletic performance, I was pretty impressed with his self-discipline he left the computer rolling and did about 8 takes in a row. The guy was covered in sweet and kept editing through the day, no complaining pretty straight forward, this approach was very refreshing.

“’Freedom Is Mine’ is another track demoed on Garage Band then presented to the band at my old studio. We recorded it in one day, the one currently on Spotify was mastered with the presets on Garage Band, I thought I’d re-release it with a decent master.

“Also, ‘Special Lady’ was recorded a couple of years back I thought it might be good to throw it in with these other songs just to have as part of a body of work”.

“’Ah’ and ‘Hot Night’ and ‘Kick Ass’ were recorded at Airlock Studios in Brisbane, great studio, pretty much sounds as good as anywhere else, I’ll let you be the judge of that. I’ll come back with a more in-depth explanation and creditation of each song though for now this kind of a snapshot of the year and the reasoning behind it. Essentially, I just wanted to get this out to commemorate 1 year of no drinking. Is that a good enough reason? Anyways there it is, hope you enjoy it. If not keep listening to the old stuff, it’s still there. Best for 2020!”

Wolfmother’s debut album in 2005 sold over 1.6 million worldwide. The album reached no 3 in Australia, no 22 in the USA, no 25 in the UK and no 29 in Canada.