A Dirty Dozen with BLAKE ALLARD from JOYOUS WOLF – September 2026

According to a recent press release: “So Cal rock band JOYOUS WOLF — Pedro Cordeiro, vocals; Blake Allard, guitar; Robert Sodaro, drums; and Greg Braccio, bass —will issue their new album In Between on August 21 via Blue Grape Music. Forming in Orange Country, CA, with humble beginnings, Joyous Wolf have created their own hybrid of hard driving rock ‘n’ roll, soul, blues, and alternative music. Heavily influenced by artists spanning not only various genres, but literally decades of music, their electric live performances have taken them from the clubs of the Sunset Strip to international stages.” We get guitarist Blake to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Our newest release has been a looooong time coming.  Our first full-length record In Between dropped August 21st and has songs that we held out releasing for upwards of 5 years.  I think a lot of the underlying harmonies and individual parts might take a few listens to appreciate fully.  A lot of effort was put into mapping out natural key changes, harmonies, and certain syncopations that might not be obvious at first because of the engagement of the songs themselves.  Which is a great thing in my opinion because if someone can listen to a song, think that it’s a good experience, and then come back and pick out all of the instrumentations individually and find new voicings or overdubs that they didn’t hear the first time, that to me is such a fun and unique experience for a listener’s perspective.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Guitar Hero! Haha seriously, I was extremely into video games as a young teenager and when my parents bought me Guitar Hero they noticed I was super into it.  Around 13, my Dad taught me guitar and I then started to learn things on real guitar instead of Guitar Hero.  The moment I realized I wanted to be a musician was when I played my 8th grade talent show.  I was so incredibly nervous but I had so much fun playing in my garage to my favorite band Avenged Sevenfold at the time that I wanted to play it in a live setting to share with other people.  After getting a good response from a full room it was the best reception to anything creative I had ever done in my entire life;  I was completely hooked from that moment onward.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I was extremely into Metallica when I was growing up.  I was absolutely in love with …And Justice For All and Master of Puppets. I just wanted to learn all of their songs and have that same kind of energy that they did whenever I went to perform and hope one day that I could put enough effort into writing / composing songs that were similarly inspired by my favorite artists growing up.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

I think I would have to say Rick Rubin. He has worked with just about every single one of our favorite artists and has an absolutely pristine track record with getting the absolute best out of Hard Rock / Metal artists.  The ability that he has to remove the artist from their ego and own instrument to make way for a better song would be an incredible and dream-come-true type of collaboration.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

To decompress I love going on hikes, watching anime with my girlfriend and our dog, and it sounds kind of messed up but I’m really into math, haha.  I’ve gone back to school recently to get my formal degree and I’ve been extremely interested in different levels of higher level mathematics.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I’m always so bad at comparing ourselves to other artists or sounds but if I had to I would say it’s probably a similar sound to The Black Crowes / Audioslave / Led Zeppelin.  Those are some of our favorite bands and a lot of comparisons we get are usually from those three but I would love it if anyone interested in our sound would play our new album, I think truly the only way to describe an artist is to listen to their body of work and for the listener to make the decision for themselves what box(s) they choose to put you in.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Pedro is a hell of a chef, Blake gets the drinks in, and Greg is definitely the first to bust out an acoustic guitar for a band get together. Rob has been finger drumming on the table since he arrived.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Definitely Dolly Parton.  We used to be signed to the same management company as Dolly and we had the pleasure of meeting her during a visit.  It’s an absolute tragedy to hear of her passing so recently because of how absolutely sweet and welcoming she was to all of us after having just met.  We wish nothing but the best for their family during this time of grieving.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part about being a musician is having chemistry within a band.  The role of a musician changes when you’re for hire and having a solid, core group of guys who you share so many instincts and interests with and can rely on is something most people may never experience in a musical setting.  It’s extremely rare and something that should be held onto.  I would say my dream job would be a Software Engineer.  I’m very interested in technology as well as problem solving and would absolutely love to use any of my creative problem solving skills in the world of tech.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I’ve always wanted an interviewer to ask who I main in Super Smash Bros.  The answer is Bowser and if anyone wants to play us in Smash DM our instagram and we’ll set up a band game of smash with you!  There isn’t a single question we are tired of hearing honestly.  The fact that anyone is interested in asking us questions at all is an absolute privilege and one that we will never take for granted no matter how tired we are.  We remember what it’s like only playing within a 10 mile radius of where we live and no one knowing we exist so the fact that anyone cares at all is continuously an engaging and appreciative experience.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

We probably wouldn’t have toured for seven and a half months straight to be honest haha.  We had released our EP in the year of 2019 and toured relentlessly without coming home.  That really wore on the band physically and mentally.  In hindsight, it would have been advisable to pace ourselves instead of trying to do so much all at once but it made us who we are today and are thankful for the experiences.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Led Zeppelin II for sure.  That record cemented in stone what every rock band did that followed them and it would have been a seventh-wonder-of-the-world type moment to see John Bonham play drums and Jimmy Page write “What is and What Should Never Be.”

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Category: Interviews