Indie electronic act Crywolf will bring his melodic and lyrical style to Legends on Thursday night for the first time in his career after a stint spent studying at Appalachian State University.
Crywolf producer Justin Phillips attended Appalachian in fall 2011.
“When I was going to App, I was in a period of life where I just worked on music every day upstairs in the solarium,” Phillips said. “That’s where I learned to produce.”
The origin of the name Crywolf came from an experience Phillips had while living on Appalachian’s campus.
“I was tripping on [10 hits of acid] in my dorm room in Frank Hall when the fire alarm went off,” Phillips said. “[During the trip] in my mind I was a wolf, and I fell down a mountain. It was the grassy hill by the tunnel underneath Rivers St., and that vision of a wolf remained with me until I calmed down. When I finally calmed down I started to make music that later became part of a Crywolf song.”
“Crywolf relates to being truthful to your art,” Phillips said. “Not lying to yourself and creating a hype that’s not really there.”
Phillips said he was originally attracted to Appalachian because of the people at the university.
“The school attracts lots of interesting people, and there is a lot of artistic inspiration that comes from being far away and at a school like App,” Phillips said.
Phillips said he was excited when Appalachian called and wanted him to play.
“People that I got to share my first stuff with will be there,” Phillips said. “App was my trial period.”
Randy Kelly, university program specialist for Student Programs, said he is excited for the students to experience the upcoming show.
“I do expect it to be big,” Kelly said. “It’s the first event we do and people are always looking for something to do.”
Don Winsley, who has played at Legends in the past, will open the show with his high energy dubstep act. Kelly said Student Programs originally sought Winsley for the performance, but the agent the two acts share suggested Crywolf as the headliner. It will be Winsley’s fourth show at Legends.
“[Winsley] saved us with the Grammatik show, entertaining for an hour past his contract while we waited for Grammatik to get here after a broken down bus,” Kelly said.
Doors open at 9 p.m. and the show kicks off with Don Winsley at 9:30 p.m. Tickets will sell for $5 at presale Thursday in Plemmons Student Union and will also be available for the same price at the door.
Story: Paul Heckert, Columnist