The Coast News (Page 1)

A12 THE COAST NEWS
OCT. 3, 2008
Despite the Wolves scratches out a niche
LACY
OTTENSON
Scene & Heard
There’s a big buzz going
around San Diego about progressive
metal band Despite
the Wolves. Although the band
has been together since late
2006, they’ve taken their time
in developing not only their
unique sound but their fan
base as well by playing a slew
of shows around the county.
Their music is not for those
who enjoy easy listening by
any means. Theirs is a sound
chock full of angst, frustration,
anger and soul searching, and
it comes out loud. But for every
loud and heart-wrenching
scream, a beautiful melodic
voice escapes and the combination
of screaming and singing
flows extremely well.
This is the tone that fans of
Despite the Wolves have come
to love. I got the chance to
briefly catch up with front
man/guitarist Nolan Davis and
the band has some interesting
things on the horizon. “We’re
really excited right now
because we’re getting ready to
set a date for the release party
for our debut CD called
“Throwing Knives at Mirrors,”
Davis said. “Once we get that
done, we’re planning on put-
ting together a West Coast tour
and then possibly an East
Coast one as well. We just need
to find out what bands we want
to take with us.”
Despite the Wolves began
recording “Throwing Knives at
Mirrors” in January and
recently wrapped up the all
mastering of their self-produced
debut. The band is currently
an unsigned talent in
North County but for how long
remains unseen. “It’s been
really fun doing it on our own,”
Davis said. “We had to travel to
Fallbrook every week to lay
down new tracks and that was
a lot of work. But it’s really
rewarding to put everything
like we did into making this
record and now that it’s finally
done and ready to be released,
DOUBLE DUTY Nolan Davis, lead
vocalist and guitarist for North County
progressive metal group Despite the
Wolves. Courtesy photo
we couldn’t be more excited
about it.”
The band recently added a
new member to the lineup, guitarist
Ryan Fawley. Up until
the addition of Fawley, the
band had been writing and
performing as an extremely
powerful three-piece. Original
members Davis (vocals/guitar)
and Sebastian Wynn (drums)
began writing songs years ago
before finally coming together
with current bassist Marco
Savioa in late 2003 to form the
band.
All of the boys are locals
from Carlsbad and Oceanside
and are all four very good
friends. “We all come from similar
backgrounds and are all
into the same stuff like movies
and music, so that really
helps,” Davis said. “We had
been auditioning guitarists for
the last seven months and
we’ve known Ryan for a long
time so when we decided to
have him try out, it was just
perfect.”
The band has been making
its way into many conversations
around the county, which
is how I came upon them. It’s
this kind of word-of-mouth that
gives the band the ability to
TURN TO SCENE & HEARD ON A21
TERI’s Peas n’
Carrots 4-H
Club has a
good year
OCEANSIDE — Training,
Education & Research
Institute has joined the ranks
of the “first ever in the
nation” with its 4-H club Peas
n’ Carrots, a 4-H Club specifically
for autistic and developmentally
disabled students.
4-H is the largest out-ofschool
youth program in the
United States and represents
the importance of life skills in
a child’s personal growth. The
four Hs stand for Head, Heart,
Hands and Health. Meredith
Martineau-Claunch, founder
of TERI’s Peas n’ Carrots 4-H
club, is a certified teacher at
TERI’s Learning Academy.
“The name Peas n’
Carrots came from the students
and families coming
together all over the county,”
Martineau-Claunch said. “It
shows that all combinations of
people can come together and
get along. Peas n’ Carrots is a
family experience and for
some families with autistic
children, it’s the first opportunity
they’ve had to experience
a family outing together.”
Developing life skills,
along with activities and
events help the youth in 4-H
clubs becomes contributing,
productive, self-directed members
of society.The bylaws and
constitution were adopted
from 4-H and modified for
Peas n’ Carrots. Peas n’
Carrots receives funds primarily
through TERI but needs
support from the community
and a steady base of volunteers.
They are in need of
everything from a live stock
scale to surfing gear. Next year
Peas n’ Carrots plans to recruit
additional families receiving
respite services from TERI.
The Peas n’ Carrots 4-H
club consists of four projects
groups: the Equestrian group,
Swine group, Nature group
and Photography group. The
Swine group had four students
raise three swine animals and
three of them partook in the
San Diego County Fair Swine
Competition. This year, their
two swines placed third in
their class for market. Olivia
Sterk, who attends TERI’s
Country School, raised and
auctioned her swine, Roxy, to
Harrah’s Casino. Roxy
weighed approximately 250
pounds. Camden and Brighton
McCann raised a pink pig,
Harry Plopper. Harry Plopper
sold to the Valley Center
Veterinarians Clinic. Harry
weighed more than 200
pounds. Brighton attends the
Learning Academy and his
younger brother, Camden,
attends a local school in
Carlsbad. Kevin Norris, who
did not attend the fair, continued
to raise the third swine
animal at the TERI
Therapeutic Equestrian
Program. Norris is a student
also at the TERI Country
School. The students spent
many hours feeding, washing,
brushing and exercising their
swines and getting them ready
for the San Diego County Fair.
TERI, based in
Oceanside, has been a lifeline
for individuals with autism
and other developmental and
learning disabilities since
1980.