the doosies |
1994 - 1998 |
Discography Photos Flyers Video Artwork
Left to right: Keller McGuinness, RTP, Andrew King, and Brian Vance
Photo by: R.E. Hergert
The doosies were formed in 1994 when Andy King & I found ourselves living together in a haunted apartment on Westland Ave in Boston. We had played in 2 other bands together previously while still in Southbury, CT (M.F.P. & Chapter Eleven). I was enrolled at Emerson and King was at Northeastern, we could not ignore the itch to play any longer and began to make plans for a new band. Andrew recommended lead guitarist Keller McGuinness, a guy from the dorms who he had played with twice, but was walked out on by both times. Keller recruited his new roommate, also a Northeastern student, Brian Vance to play drums.
We began to practice in Brian and Keller's basement apartment and soon had enough material to record a full length album. The album was recorded by Brian McTernan at his Salad Days Studio and was entitled "Lil' Hooey". The album was released as a cassette only version and was technically the first release from Big Wheel Recreation. From here, the band began to play lots and lots of shows all over NY and MA. Highlights include; A fashion show at the Avalon for Geoffrey B. Small with The Vehicle Birth, an outdoor show at Northeastern in honor of Deaf Awareness Week, a rickety stage in the parking lot of a Napa, and a boiling hot library that not a soul set foot in at BU Party for Grad students (the band was paid $500.00 and 4 Lobster dinners.) The doosies soon attracted the attention of an Entertainment Lawyer named Patricia Jones and began producing a series of 4 song demo tapes directed at the courtship of majors. The band played several successful showcases, but could never seem to close the deal. The doosies were also recruited as the 1st artists for local Boston Imprint Espo Records, who released a 7" of our song, "Fat Foot". Soon after, the doosies released the highly collectable split 7" with our sister band, SLEPT. The band was also featured on the Big Wheel Recreation Comp entitled, "They Came From Massachusetts."
When we started the doosies, it was completely different than any other band I had been in previously. Sure, Andy & I had played together before, but those were primarily "dictatorships". In M.F.P., the songs were already written by Damien and I, and Andy was brought in to build a LIVE band. In Chapter 11, I had written songs over the course of my 1st year in college and then forced Andy to learn them. The doosies had nothing to start with, no songs. On top of that, we didn't really know what this combo was really capable of. We had never put a bunch of people in a room and said, "Let's make music" before. The 4 of us were all in college while working full-time, and we clearly needed a place in our lives to feel in charge of our own happiness. I remember how ambitious we were in the beginning. It was so exciting. Getting enough songs to perform and to record was the main priority, and we busted our asses to get there. We quickly became our own little gang. It was great, and life really seemed perfect. We all seemed to fill a certain void for each other. Andy was concerned with the song structures and other such details, Keller was the guy who wanted it to always be fun but maintain the element of danger, I was the dad with all of my drive and positive encouragement/reinforcement, and Brian was the muscle and the maintainer of our dignity. Brian was the tough guy that wouldn't allow the band to be walked all over. I feel like we really looked after each other and needed each other. We all looked forward to practice, we all wanted to become a better writing unit, and we all wanted to play as often as possible! In the 1st year of our existence, I believe we played at least 100 shows. Over the course of 4 years, the band accomplished so much together. We played assloads of shows all around NY, CT and Ma, we recorded several times in several different studios, and most of all, our songwriting had grown in the way we intended it to. When I think back on "THE BAND" that had the most impact on my life, it will always be the doosies.
After 4 years together, the doosies had accomplished a great deal "artistically", but found a market unwilling to embrace our brand of Metal driven, power-pop-rock. We grew up together and sadly, got all of those all too clear glimpses behind the curtain of life in the music industry. In the end, we weren't kids anymore, we became seasoned veterans that truly felt like we had done and seen it all. In 1998, Vance announced that he was moving back to Virginia after graduation and ultimately departed from the band. The remaining three members recruited drummer Jonathan Gorman and changed their name to the control group.