Garage-rock favorites the Woggles headline Thee Stork Club
Atlanta-based garage-rock veterans the Woggles bring their high-energy mix of R&B, surf and rockabilly influences to the stage at Thee Stork Club in Oakland Tuesday night.
Formed in 1987 by lead singer Manfred Jones -- aka the Mighty Manfred, aka the Professor -- the group has gone through a wide variety of line-ups over 35+ years, but has managed to stay relevant thanks to Manfred's spirited onstage antics and raspy vocal delivery. After releasing a series of singles, the band was signed to noted Northwestern garage-rock imprint Estrus Records for their debut full-length Teen Dance Party in 1993 that showcased the Woggles feral take on vintage sounds.
Estrus would later put out a collection compiling the band's early singles -- The Zontar Sessions -- the following year. The Woggles would continue to have a fluctuating membership, but their line-up settled as they hit the the decade mark with guitarist Montague (aka George Montague Holton III), bassist Buzz Hagstrom (Patrick O'Connor) and drummer Dan Electro (Dan Hall) for Get Tough!, the first of several albums for Telstar Records.
The band suffered a loss in 2003 when Montague died from health issued connected with diabetes. His place would be filled by Jeff Walls (ex-Guadalcanal Diary and Hillbilly Frankenstein) who had previously produced recording sessions for the band, taking on the stage moniker Flesh Hammer. The band earned an important backer in Bruce Springsteen guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who played the band on his syndicated radio show and eventually signed them to his Wicked Cool Record Co. label.
The Woggles have since released four albums through the imprint as well as a number of singles and EPs. The band was dealt another blow when Walls was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, passing away in 2019. Soldiering on with a number of fill-in guitar players including Graham Day (The Prisoners, Solar Flares, Thee Mighty Caesars) and Shane Pringle (Tiger! Tiger!, Bad Spell), the Woggles released the tribute single "Flesh Hammer," written by and recorded with talented Schizophonics guitarist Pat Beers, who will be playing with the band on their current run of West Coast dates.
Those guitarists are among the guest musicians who contributed to the band's latest album Time Has Come, including E Street anchor Little Steven Van Zandt, Reigning Sound mainstay Greg Cartwright and Boston garage-punk guitar legend Peter Greenberg (who played with DMZ and Lyres and is currently a member of Barrence Whitfield & The Savages). The effort was released last May on Van Zant's Wicked Cool Records imprint to wide acclaim.
For this Tuesday show at Thee Stork Club in Oakland, the Woggles will be joined by local favorites Hot Laundry. In the space of a few short years, the band has risen to become a leading light on the local garage-rock scene. Fronted by pint-sized spitfire singer Janette Lopez, the entertaining band matches the vocal harmonies and sass of legendary girl group the Shangri-las and the high-octane R&B of Ike and Tina Turner with the blistering proto-punk guitars of Detroit heroes the MC5.
Flanked onstage by back-up singers Ileath Bridges and Gena Serey with matching tassled/spangled outfits and tandem dance moves, Lopez and her vocal support provide the visual focal point for the group's entertaining live show that is powered by founding guitarist/songwriter Grady Hord and the rhythm section of bassist Casey G. and drummer Arun Bhalla.
While Hord was writing material intended for the band as far back as 2017, the sextet didn't make its proper recording debut until the release of their EP Shake Slide Twist in 2021. In addition to building a following around the Bay Area with their regular club appearances, Hot Laundry provided one of the highlights to the Mosswood Meltdown in Oakland that same year.
It didn't take long for Hot Laundry to follow up with its first full-length album early in the summer of 2022. Packed with catchy, fuzzed-out groovers like "Work It" and "The Dance," Pawn Shop Gold manages to capture the kinetic punch of the group's live show. Earlier this year, the band released a new video for their digital single "Made Like This" in addition to making its first trek to Europe to play Gutter Island Music Festival in Denmark last month. In October, the group played its first dates in Japan as part of Tokyo's two-day Back from the Grave Halloween Ball. The Woggles also play the Torch Club in Sacramento the following night with Sacto garage-rock kings Th' Losin Streaks, who issued their latest pile-driving effort Last House on Slovenly Recordings in February.
The Woggles with Hot Laundry
Tuesday, Dec. 10, 8 p.m. $15-$18
Thee Stork Club
