The Woggles

Combine a whole lot of 60’s rock’n’roll, a few fistfuls of soul, a hip flask of rhythm & blues, and a splash of surf and you get the musical phenomenon that is the Woggles. From songs that shake the rafters to shows that make for “a dance party rave-up that could melt Dick Clark’s face off” (Village Voice), the Woggles are a four-man delivery system for 200-proof, butt-shakin’ rock’n’roll. For two decades The Woggles have carried out their assault on the anemic state of popular music. They share a vision and blaze a trail with the same insanity as the true wildman originators of three-chord mayhem. Pop music fads and fashions may come and go, but the Woggles cut to the chase and drink from the source. Their new full length disc is the modestly titled “Rock And Roll Backlash”, on Little Steven Van Zandt’s new imprint label, Wicked Cool. “It’s Not About What I Want (It’s What You Got) was voted the “Coolest Song of 2006” by listeners of Sirius Satellite Radio’s Underground Garage Channel. Other choice cuts include “Porridge”, “Sayonara Blues, “Drive On”, “El Toro”, and the title track. Their ’06 release “Soul-Sizzling Seven Inch Meltdown” (Chicken Ranch Records) combines many of their now-rare b-sides, singles, instrumentals, and covers of obscure rock and soul nuggets, as well as three new songs. The four members of the Woggles conjure up a sound that bypasses the brain and goes straight for the hip-bone. The Woggles’ wailing, tambourine flailing front man “the Professor” Mighty Manfred conducts energy through the audience like electricity from his fingertips. Current guitar-slinger Flesh Hammer has become heir-apparent to the late and great Montague’s (R.I.P. ’03) string-bending legacy .(since the Woggles’ first seven-inch in ’90, Mr. Hammer has also handled the production on most of the band’s releases). Pouring on the soul coal and making sure that the Woggles keep their fans’ chiropractors busy, the Woggles’ ferocious rhythm section features Alabama catfish farmer Dan Elektro on drums and the unflappable Buzz Hagstrom on bass. Mr. Elektro embarked on his banging career at the tender age of ten, when he sat behind the skins of his father’s band the Country Gentlemen. Mr. Hagstrom is native to Folkestone England, and his impeccable continental sense of style comes with a license to kill. The Woggles have sired an extensive discography that encompasses a wide variety of cd & vinyl releases spreading over various international labels. They have appeared in several videos and independent films and have also contributed to numerous compilations, tribute albums, and film soundtracks. They have shared stages with legends Iggy & the Stooges, the Zombies, the New York Dolls, Johnny Cash, the Troggs, Bo Diddley, Nancy Sinatra, the Pretty Things, and Big Star as well as newer sensations like the Strokes, the Raveonettes, Beck, Holly Golightly, and Guitar Wolf (as well as countless others). “Go see a Woggles show. It will change your life” (Meredith Ochs, NPR All Songs Considered). Wherever they may be, on tour around the world, the Woggles carry forth in the sprit of the ancient maritime explorers. They are the Johnny Appleseeds of bare-knuckle rock, spreading the seeds of three-chords- no waiting rock’n’roll to the far flung corners of the globe.