Joana and the Wolf

Joana and the Wolf
Joana and Ali performing at The Social in April 2010
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	New wave rock
Years active	2005-2011
Website	joanaandthewolf.com
Members	Joana Glaza (singer, songwriter) Ali (guitar) Katie (bass) Louis (drums)

Joana and the Wolf was a London-based alternative new wave rock band, formed in 2005. Musical influences included Patti Smith, PJ Harvey,The Stooges, and Björk.

The band was made up of lead singer and songwriter Joana Glaza (Joana Mikalauskaitė, who has a degree from the University of Vilnius), guitarist Ali, bassist Katie and drummer Louis. Joana is originally from Lithuania, and has always sung in English since she was a child; the rest of the band are English.

The band formed in summer 2005 after Joana and Ali met through an advert on Loot. Ali originally suggested the name "Joana and the Bitches" as a joke, and Joana changed it to "Wolf" partly due to the use of the wolf in Lithuanian symbolism. The band found new management in 2010, and changed their sound, taking influences from Eastern European folk and classical music.

They began performing in public in September 2005, playing their first gig at a venue called The Betsey Trotwood in Farringdon, London. Since then, they have played at many well-known London venues, including The Spitz, Barfly,100 Club, Purple Turtle, Luminaire, The Enterprise, Water Rats, Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, Proud Gallery, Metro, Ghetto, Favela Chic,Rhythm Factory (supporting Babyshambles), the Dublin Castle, and Koko. Joana prefers playing in East London, particularly at Favela Chic. She says that after the fire at Camden Market, Camden is a "tourist haunt".

The group toured in July / August 2006 to promote their single "Purple Nights", playing venues in Nottingham, Middlesbrough, Hull and London, as well as supporting James Dean Bradfield at his solo gig at ULU on 11 July 2006. The tour culminated in an appearance at Bestival on the Isle of Wight in September 2006. Joana and the Wolf also played in Brighton in summer 2006 as part of The Great Escape Festival, supporting The Bees. Following the gig, they were offered a live session on John Kennedy's Xfm show, which was recorded and broadcast later in 2006.