Singled Out: Tyler Del Pino's Wolf In The Hen House

Winnipeg's Tyler Del Pino recently released the new single "Wolf In The Hen House", and to celebrate we asked him to tell us about the inspiration for the track. Here is the story:

Back in January 2017, on a cold night, I went to see the movie "The Founder" in theaters. In the movie Nick Offerman's character, Dick McDonald, delivers a memorable line, cautioning his brother about the exploitation of the franchise they helped create, spearheaded by Michael Keaton's character, Ray: "There's a wolf in the hen house!". I remember hearing that line and immediately thinking, "oh, that would make an amazing song title."

Often, when I come across a great title or idea, I don't immediately write the song. I'll typically make a note of it and save it for future writing sessions. "Wolf in the Hen House" stayed with me for a long time, and I knew I wanted to craft a powerful song around it, but it lacked a story and a clear message.

Fast forward a year, and I found myself regularly having to deal with an incredibly frustrating individual. Throughout that time I found myself thinking "How can someone be so malicious? Don't they realize the pain they're causing? Do they even care?"

It was the combination of witnessing different examples of evil in the world that inspired me to create a song capturing the essence of a truly evil person. The character in the song embodies all the qualities one might associate with someone who's evil to their core - dark, sinister, and manipulative, seeking to bend rules and exploit others for personal gain.

From an artistic standpoint, I wanted the song to sound aggressive. So, in the production room, I reached for my Les Paul instead of my usual Fender Strat to lay down initial ideas. I aimed for a heavy, almost angry tone to truly capture the essence of evil. I wanted the song to be a true rock song and one of my favorite rock bands is Oasis. I have always loved the energy that comes out of their recordings so when I was producing Wolf I remember listening to "What's The Story Morning Glory" and "Be Here Now" looking for ideas for how I could inject a little rock and roll into the song. The result was an aggressive mid-tempo anthem that I knew I'd get to belt out live. My good friend Kris Ulich contributed some electrifying slide guitar work to the track, taking it to a whole other level. The final touch was the mixing by Grammy Award winner F. Reid Shippen (Ingrid Michaelson, Dirks Bentley, Hailey Whitters), who, having grown up listening to rock music, perfectly captured the intensity and energy of the song.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here

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