Orvenwolf

Orvenwolf is the name of a heavy metal MusicAL group consisting of a drummer, Travis Halvorsen, and a bass player, Toby Boetcher, who also plays guitar. The name of each member is a moniker for his real name and was taken to create the image of "loads" or metalheads from small Midwestern towns with populations of 1,000 or less. The name "Orvenwolf" is a conglomeration of two names of men who attend the same church as Travis and Toby. The names "Orv" and "Wolf" were combined to invoke mystical imagery common to heavy metal music of the 1980s. Orvenwolf rehearses in what is called "The Wolf Den" which is located in Travis' basement and has sound proofing that gives the appearance of a modern art museum, such as the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The lyrical content of Orvenwolf, while nearly always based on the symbolic reference of pumas, is created in a unique process in which a topic is chosen by one of the members, a story or poetic verse is written and then all lyrics are placed through a multi-language online translator called Babelfish. From this translation, the results are pored over and the most comical or intriguing line becomes The Title of the song. The resulting title often will have no bearing on the content of the orinigal lyrics. Titles that have stemmed from this process include, "Bevelkoeren (The Pagination of Santo)", "Fetching the Helder" and "Checker of the Grave." Topics of songs can range from pumas eating other animals to the slaughter of Scandinavians. The musical style of Orvenwolf can be classified as heavy metal likened to that of Iron Maiden, High on Fire, Deep Purple and Spinal Tap. Some of Orvenwolf's songs are performed with Toby switching from bass guitar to electric guitar. When assuming this ensemble, Orvenwolf temporarily changes its name to The Brown Stripes, in childish comedic reference to the guitar/drums duo The White Stripes. For recordings, Orvenwolf employ layered guitars on top of their bass/drums configuration to give a fuller sound. As of this writing, Orvenwolf has not performed professionally outside of The Wolf Den. However, Toby and Travis have performed in many capacities together under many guises with various musical instruments, but never formally as the entity of Orvenwolf.