Michigan’s experimental noise machine Wolf Eyes is a tough band to get a hold of both literally and figuratively.

After several fruitless attempts to nail the band down for an interview, Pulse finally managed to get a hold of Mike Connelly, provider of guitars, electronics, metal and vocals to Wolf Eyes, according to the band’s record label biography.

Connelly is also the newest member of the unit.

He took time out while driving to the trio’s next gig with Dominick Fernow, of one-man opening act Prurient, in tow to discuss the band’s “stoned, rotten industrial noise” and “nuclear bombast beats.”

Joshua Haun: So, how did you get into the band?

Mike Connelly: In December of last year, [founding member] Aaron Dilloway moved to Nepal for a little bit and John and Nate wanted to fill the slot in and it just kind of fit. I was working with John at the time and I’ve been friends with him forever, so it just kind of came naturally and we’ve been jamming ever since the beginning of this year.

JH: What attracted you to the more experimental approach that Wolf Eyes has as opposed to joining a more conventional type of band?

MC: Well I mean, it’s just something that all three of us have been doing for years and years and years, you know. Since the 90s we’ve all been playing this kind of music. None of us has ever been in conventional bands, you know, this is what we know how to do. It’s never been like, an option to me, the thought never crossed my mind.

JH: Do you feel like you guys push the envelope with what you do?

MC: It’s not really something we think about. We just write the music and play the music that makes sense to us; it’s not really like a conscious effort to push any envelopes at all. That has essentially no interest for us whatsoever, being like, shocking people, that’s not at all our goal. It may happen, but that’s not we set out to do.

JH: Is there a goal?

MC: To make the raddest sounds possible.

JH: How do you guys approach the songwriting process?

MC: Basically, we just kind of get together and we pretty much play every day when we’re home and then when we’re not at home we’re on tour. So we pretty much just jam together every single day of the year and from that you get a lot of new ideas. We go into the practice space and just kind of start jammin’ and things just happen.

JH: How does that translate to the studio?

MC: For the upcoming album, we have a lot of different ideas about how we want to record. Basically, every way you can record, we try. From recording straight live in the studio to recording track by track, too, you know, we’re talking about renting out a club and recording through a PA, like, just trying all different kinds of things. That’s how we’ve always done it – recording to the shittiest Walkman or recording with some killer mics every way we can do it. We do it for the desired effect.

JH: What are you guys’ live shows like?

MC: Here, I’m going to pass it over to Prurient because I really don’t know how to describe our live shows, here, Prurient’s going to describe it though …

(hands phone to Dominick Fernow of Wolf Eyes’ opening act Prurient)

Dominick Fernow: The live sound is like the most stoned-rotten industrial noise with explosions of the most-ripping punk with the shittiest attitude possible.

JH: What’s the crowd reaction usually like?

MC: The best crowd reaction is when people are flipping out you know, it’s great. That’s what we like.

JH: So is there moshing?

MC: For sure man, we’ll play shows where there’s just a circle pit going from the first strum of the four string hell-bass to the fuckin’ you know, last note of the goddamn fuckin’ nuclear bombast beat. Those are the best kind of gigs man.

JH: What kind of emotions do you go through when you’re playing?

MC: My mind’s pretty blank usually. That’s pretty true for most of the day, though. My mind’s pretty blank when we’re on stage, so a lot of times I can barely remember like any of the set. It’s a rad place man, I’m going to a rad place.

JH: You guys started in Michigan. How does originally being from the Midwest shape you as an artist?

MC: Yeah dude, the Midwest you know man, that’s the only place where this crew could have ever come together. Man that’s where it’s at man, Michigan dude. It’s something you can’t put your finger on I guess.