WOOFWOOF started in the summer of 1987 after breaking up the cover band
MAXIMUM PENETRATION (MAX PEN) which had started in 1985.
Max Pen was me just singing with no guitar, Joe Swain on drums, Paul Prescod
on bass, and Mike Soler on Guitar and keys. WE HAD AN EARLIER BASS PLAYER NAMED SCOTT.
We were basically a u2 cover band that did some clash, ramones, and sex
pistols but we could also do rush and police QUITE NICELY.
We had a bunch of gigs in queens and long island and I wanted to play
originals but we kept covering a lot of u2 cause I could sound like Bono.
after some kind of fight between the bands girlfriends Mike left the band and
we decided to go ALL ORIGINAL
We had A room in the basement of backstage studio in bayside and a lot of
queens bands played there
but looking back no one made noise like what me Paul and Joe were doing.
Because I learned to play the guitar writing for the and with the band Paul
and Joe always wanted another guitarist because I was very raw and I couldn't
do eruption by Eddie van halen.
Joe and Paul were very technical back then with the funk thing and I just did
what I could to keep up. At the same time I just started writing these licks
that have still remained unchanged all theses years later and they had to
figure out just what i was doing. so i had to write shit i thought would stump
them and I still do it the same way.
I was big into bands like the minutemen and meatpuppets and i loved the 3
piece thing but these guys wanted more depth so we auditioned a lot of guitar
players and we ended up with a keyboard player named Ben Carinsi.
Ben was really musical and skilled and of course ODD so he fit right in
i think Joe's girl met him in college and that's how he found us.
*** the name was born because Ben had a bearded that Joe would obsess on and
one night after a late jam Joe said to Ben I know who you look like you look
like that doll Eddie munster carries around THE WOOF WOOF! THUS THE NAME WAS BORN> WOOFWOOF we laughed hard that night
its a great memory
We did a lot of rehearsing back then and early stuff like EARTHSHAKER, THE
FRIG, AND SESSION X WERE BORN.
We later took in a guitar player who was like 40 named Darryl Thompson he was
from pomonok housing project were Paul and Joe lived and played some mean
funk and rock so we took him in even though he was a little freaky.
In 1988 woofwoof was playing anywhere from the queens botanical gardens to
the right track inn in Freeport we played all over queens with a large amount of
people digging the band and a lot of haters also. we had a large Long Island
following we would even come to queens too hear the shows. this was the
beginning of the term "WOOFIE"
The band was solid and we had a huge amount of fun twisting the songs and
freaking ourselves out. We rehearsed 3 to 5 times a week. Paul was always late
for practice and we just kept jamming away ... so many songs are lost be cause
we didn't record most of the time..... Songs like bEEFPATTY never made the cut.
As I recall we kind of got sick of rehearsing in queens so we took a room out
in Huntington
it was a big room and shortly after Darryl left the band.
We auditioned a lot of players who just could not figure out what was
happening which was funny to see once we got them stoned or liquor up.
Before Darryl left the band we recorded 10 SONGS CALLED HOME MADE BISCUITS
at SRS studio in mannhatan. Its just a live two track that we nailed pretty
nice as I remember. I made a cheesy cover with a hush puppy dog and released it
on cassette.
Songs like BEST YOU CAN and Prosciutto were on that one. I had been on The
NYC dept. Of Sanitation 2 years in the summer of 1989 and songs like Jackson
heights and beatnik blues and of course prosuitto are clear reflections of my
street life in the back alleys of queens. I seen some wild shit.
It was around that time 1990 I met raspy at the piers of the West side highway
by this time the band was playing with this Spanish guy LOUIS' and we
recorded a mish mash session I called the "Lisa" sessions. Lisa was a very strong
song early on and everyone thought it was gonna be a big hit and we were gonna be
rock stars because of it. Maybe with proper management things like this could
have happened but who cares we were having fun and that's all that seemed to
matter early on.
I had like a 300 person mailing list we did by hand and the boys would come ov
er my house and help me get it out. A lot of people still have the fliers of
the early shows.
This guy Louis was a trip and he gave us a good laugh especially when we
found out he was sniffing heroin and we kicked his ass out of the band.
He was crying when we told him ... it was a funny time the band was a
definite circus.
IM not exactly sure how or why Ben left the group but it was mid 1990 he did.
It seems he was having a hard time with Joe and Vice versa.
Joe and I met long before the woof woof thing Rich the poet negri hooked us
all up in like 1981 0r 82. We all jammed some weird covers at this studio in
flushing but nothing became of it.
Joe was a very intense person with a military background. He was a great
player and very creative. Joe was always cool with me and we had some serious
JAMS. Paul was just like mind blowing on Bass. He taught me a lot and was really
laid back to the point it was the bizzare,hysterical and the most intense
thing ever to be able to form my songwriting and playing at the same time with
this intense rhytmn section.
We played as a 3 piece and got shit so tight we went out and did some 3 piece
shows
I had a wireless head set and guitar set up and it was a really special time
because we went from like this 5 piece progressive thing to a raw more PUNK
sounding WW.
We went into a studio in Manhattan and recorded songs like Harry BIG MAMA The
90..ACT UPON REACTION CHUMBOY..... Songs from The Kennel was released in 1990
I Know This is Where TONY CONTOS stepped in. Tony was at some shows and he
was always talked about cause Paul and Joe jammed with him years before.
Tony came to a mixdown session for songs from the kennel and we played a hand
full of shows but hoe and Paul wanted more guitar depth and I agree only
because I liked Tony.
He seemed interested in the band and was always a really nice guy so I was
all for it.
First Phase - Maximum Penetration Frank Carbone -Lead vocals- Guitar? Paul Prescod- Bass Mike Solar-Guitar Joe Swain- Drums Second Phase- Woof Woof Frank- Paul - Darryl-Guitar Ben- Keyboards Joe - Third Phase-Woof Woof
( I always felt this was Woof Woof's ("Finest Hour") "Song's From The Kennel" Frank Paul Joe Fourth Phase Frank Paul Joe Tony C. Fifth Phase Frank Joe Tony Kevin Sixth Phase Frank Raspy Kevin Tony
Perry Mcneil--Sax on "One Fine Day" and "Puppy Love"
John -"The Italian Horn"Leone -Sax on "Passion Sauce"