(Photo: Steven W. Terrell)
Rock ‘n’ roll is old enough to have a Hall of Fame and a museum, and enough subgenres to confuse even the most dedicated music fan. One of the constants, however, has been “garage rock,” a subgenre of rock that’s indebted to raw, unfiltered sounds coming from a basic guitar/bass/drums band from the 1960s. Think Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs, The Kingsmen (of “Louie Louie” fame), The Standells (“Dirty Water”), The Troggs (“Wild Thing”) and many more. It’s an energetic, danceable style, something that has probably fueled its enduring popularity over the years, to the point where there are now “Garage Rock Revival” acts keeping the original style alive in various ways.
One of the latter is the long-running Atlanta band The Woggles, which has been around in some form or another for over 30 years, so to call them “revivalists” may not be entirely accurate–they probably influenced many of the newer bands themselves.
Featuring a two-guitar lineup, classic bass and drums rhythm section, and the irrepressible frontman “The Professor” Mighty Manfred, The Woggles have taken the garage rock blueprint and built their own sound on that foundation. 60s British Invasion, R&B and soul music classics and more form the border-less abandon of a Woggles show, with Manfred holding court up front as a slightly lunatic ringmaster of his own rock ‘n’ roll circus. It’s like a “Nuggets” compilation manifested in human form on whatever stage they appear on.
The problem with writing about a band like The Woggles is that there’s no real substitute for actually hearing them or seeing them live. So, in preparation for this Friday night’s Art Bar show, here’s a quick primer on some of the best Woggles tunes:
From their 1992 debut LP “Teen Dance Party,” this is a cover of an obscure 60’s tune from Don Gardner; it’s typical of the dance numbers they would make their name on.
From 1998’s “Wailin’ With The Woggles,” this one shows off their mostly instrumental surf rock tendencies, a fun side of the band.
A must-have for your Halloween playlists, this one from 1996’s “Get Tough!” is another surf-rock style number but with spooky sounds added.
A veritable mission statement for the ever-touring Woggles, this one’s a great showcase of the slightly unhinged vocals of Manfred. From the 2012 album “The Big Beat.”
While not quite a ballad, this one proves that The Woggles can slow down a bit and throw out some great melodic pop tunes when they want to. Great harmonica solo here, too.
A terrific cover of the Spirit classic that takes the dizzying speed of the original and fuzzes everything up even more. From the 2005 collection of singles, “Soul Sizzling 7” Meltdown.”
The Woggles with the Capital City Playboys:
Art Bar
Friday, May 19th
9:30 PM
Facebook event: