Wanderlodge hails from Portland, Oregon, but like their RV namesake, they’ve spent most of their time on the road.
The duo was brought together in 2016 when Matt Cadenelli (Fernando and The Don of Division Street) returned to the Pacific Northwest after a two year stint living in Ojai, CA. While in southern California, Cadenelli deepened his taste for the sunny, country rock sounds of Los Angeles and the surrounding canyons. When Cadenelli returned to Oregon, he soon caught up with his dear friend, Kris Stuart, the long time frontman of hard-hitting Portland, Oregon rock band, Root Jack. He then talked Kris into starting a new project where they could focus on those sunny melodies, with a rock outfit lean enough to hit the road and tour — or wander as they prefer to call it.
Tracked in the mountains outside Morro Bay, California in a space as Wanderlodge puts it, “the rest of the world falls away, the stars light up the land like nature’s cathedral, and what matters most falls graciously into place. The road to this magical mountain spot is Cypress Mountain Drive.”
In February of 2020, just before the world dipped into the grips of a pandemic, Wanderlodge traveled to this sacred place to cut their debut full length record, aptly entitled ‘Cypress Mountain Drive’. Surrounded by golden hills and close friends, in seven days, the duo was transformed into a full fledged musical outfit. Joined by Eric Patterson of The Turkey Buzzard’s engineering, Kris Stuart on a slough of electric guitars, Matt Cadenelli on drums and guitar, Patterson playing bass, and Dylan Nicholson adding some tasty slide guitar. The result here is a west coast style, country rock gem that features original songs by Cadenelli and Stuart – as well as songs by Oregonian favorites Mike Coykendall (M. Ward and Old Joe Clarks), Taylor Kingman (TK & The Holy Know-Nothings), and Janis Carper. The record sounds like a 70’s southern California beach party with deep harmonies, mouthwatering electric guitars, and a pair of fiddle and banjo tunes. Calling to greats like Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and The Eagles, Wanderlodge gives us tones from an easier, more simple time. A record made by friends for each other, in the spirit of being together.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the music video for I Want More, a tune that gets your foot stomping from the first snare hit. Its catchy vibe and organic instrumentation breathes clarity into the simplicity of boiled down desire vs what is truly most important in life. As singer Kris Stuart puts it, “I Want More is like a nine word meditation on things that you know can’t be good for you, yet you indulge. The 3rd verse has that hopeful twist. A refrain as old as singing and songs. Love is the answer.”
WATCH:
Preorder the album at https://wanderlodge.bandcamp.com
Photo Credit: Nathan Stuart
