The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Horned Wolf

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

Don Bailey: We play metal. It’s been a lifelong passion. I think any metalhead will say that is a way of life and not just music.

Sav MangelsDorf: we’re a group of musicians who get together and build a wall of sound intended to evoke emotion.

Describe your first musical memory.

Don: My first musical memory is probably listening to Weird Al and Michael Jackson on my cassette walkman. I Have no idea how I got them but from that moment on I was hooked.

Sav: sitting in my papa’s truck listening to Mr. Breeze by Skynyrd. My pops was a hell of a guitarist himself, and loved that song. I watched him air guitar it in the car in awe. And I was hooked.

Dan Hocklander: Yeah honestly my love for “Bad Hair Day” by Weird Al. But it really took grip when I was moving with my family as a kid, we spent multiple trips driving hours to shop for a new house. That was right after I got my first “Discman” or whatever. I fell in love with music but was going back and forth with cds like “What’s the Story Morning Glory” by Oasis and “Backstreet’s Back” by Backstreet Boys. Sprinkle in some Offspring, Beastie Boys, Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Hanson’s first album. I’ve always been a little all over the place.

Justin Mullin: My Dad is an old metal head and music nerd so I was inundated with fantastic music from day 1. I remember going through his CD collection at an early age and being fascinated with the album artwork. Specifically Iron Maiden’s Powerslave. The artwork for that album always caught my attention. The music is pretty damn good too.

David Zey: probably watching Sesame Street as a tiny kiddo.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Don: That’s tough because there have been so many! As a fan Seeing In Flames in a small venue when they were touring for “Reroute to Remain” is one of my favorite moments. The place was so packed you had to decide before they started playing if your arms were gonna be up or down because everyone was smashed in so tight. As a band it was a show we did in October 2021. It was Sav’s first show with us and our first in two years due to covid. For a Thursday night the place was packed and there are so many amazing photos from that show.

Sav: There are so many, so I’ll pick my favorites. Seeing Motorhead play briefly before Lemmy’s death was a cross off the ol’ bucket list, as well as seeing Slayer and Slipknot the same day. Seeing System of a Down on their reunion tour also rocked my shit. Any of the times I saw Deftones really got me as well. As Don mentioned, filling the venue in 2021 with the boys. Hadn’t played live in so long, and it was exhilarating.

Dan: Yeah, there are a lot. I think my number one would be seeing Between the Buried and Me play “Colors” in its entirety during the anniversary tour of that album.

David: first time I saw Coalesce in the late 90’s.

Justin: I got to see Van Halen at Madison Square Garden. That was pretty awesome.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Don: I mean with the internet it feels like almost everyday. People are so quick to give their thoughts and fast to dismiss anything they don’t believe in themselves. Kind of a bummer really. Like were all aliens from different planets trying to convince the others our truths are the only truths. Just don’t be a dick and let people exist how they want.

Sav: all the time. I’ve been clean for over a year, and it’s very important to me. Alas, temptation can rear it’s ugly head. The band helps keep me in check, we’re a big family.

Dan: When I realized being pissed off all the time at the world was just zapping my spirit and my will to live. It took years to really change my mindset completely and I still have to fight it sometimes. But I have found being a patient and compassionate person is way more fun than resenting the fact that you were forced to be alive without your consent haha.

David: the word belief insinuates an acceptance of something as factual without evidence or based on faith. I try not to do that shit these days. Something either is factual or it is not, belief is not required.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Don: Either total bliss or absolute madness.

Sav: You really can’t say, can you? Entirely situational.

Dan: Wherever IT wants to lead you.

David: to either finished or unfinished art projects.

Justin: For me personally it leads to killer riffs, that then get filtered through Don and he makes them even more killer.

How do you define success?

Don: For me success is having thousands of people get joy from your art. Being able to play a venue in your city and knowing people will come out to support you. That’s what I think of as success. Anything beyond that is just a bonus.

Sav: For me, it’s happiness and security. The idea of being happy and financially stable enough to make music and not have to work on the side is everything. To be able to make a positive impact on others.

Dan: Success is incremental in my opinion. It used to be simply booking a show. Now I see strangers wearing my band’s merchandise in public places and I feel like that’s a level of “success.”

David: the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

Justin: I picked my daughter up from school and her teacher said she watched our music video. That defines success for me.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Don: The 1999 movie Wing Commander. In Retrospect I don’t think I needed to see that.

Sav: I could answer this in all seriousness, but nobody cares about that body I found. How about the movie cannibal Holocaust as a teenager. It still occasionally inches its way into my nightmares.

Dan: The movie “Arachnophobia” when I was like, 6. Scarred me for life, I am TERRIFIED of spiders to this day. That and basically EVERYTHING that’s happened in the world in the last 10 years.

David: the last few seasons of Game of Thrones.

Justin: I watched children of the corn at a sleepover when I was 8. That scene in the cafe when all the kids start killing the adults messed me up.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

Don: It doesn’t have pointy bits but it’s also not round. Like a Hooloovoo it does resemble a super-intelligent shade of the colour blue. it’s really only going to be useful 1 time. That’s all I can say right now.

Sav: Maybe an award winning dance routine, or maybe an entire album that can’t be put into a genre.

Dan: A doom-metal cover of the song “Dance Yrself Clean” by LCD Soundsystem.

David: the next Horned Wolf album.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Don: The creativity it inspires in all of us. Either by looking at it, or listening to it, or just thinking about it. Otep said it best “Art Saves”.

Sav: Don already said it, down to Sevas Tra (art saves) said best by Otep Shamaya. Its been the biggest outlet for me.

Dan: Using your own experiences and giving words or meaning to someone who couldn’t find it themselves.

David: It depends on the piece and the context. It could be physical (serves a physical purpose), social (addresses aspects of a collective experience rather than an individual’s experience), personal (highly subjective forms of self-expression), or any combination of the above. In other words, this is an impossible question to answer in any general way.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Don: I am about to start reading Jurassic Park for the first time. I am pretty stoked about that. I am also looking forward to more of the current F1 season and the start of the Kansas City Chiefs Football season.

Sav: the Bob’s Burgers movie. I am just SO excited for the Bob’s Burgers movie.

Dan: I have a pizza out for delivery, pretty excited about that.

David: I recently read that Netflix is doing a series of Neil Gaiman’s “the Sandman”. I am looking forward to watching that.

Justin: I’m looking forward to this video game coming out in June. It’s called “The Quarry”. It’s got David Arquette in it.

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Horned Wolf, Become Like They Are (2022)