History, What's it all about?

Simply put, it's about three-minute pop songs with tight harmonies, pounding backbeats and infectious lyrics. But rather than some self-serving fluff piece, here's the real skinny on this addiction we'll call the band WOW...

Peter and Andrew were the guitarist and bassist for the cover/original band Treehouse from 1990-1992. Peter had been with the band since 88' getting in only because of his ability to write better songs than Jason and Mark W.(the original bassist). When Mark W. was stolen away by the Sense, which eventually became Critique artist Gouds Thumb (albeit after replacing Mark W., oh the irony) Andrew auditioned and got in and immediately couldn't stand playing with the drummer Mark V.(a great guy but a little rigid). Anyway, as soon as things were going well Andrew took a news reporting job in Massachusetts and the band broke up.

The in between years were filled by bands such as the Culls, Gloria Jean and the Easyriders, and Mammoth for Pete and the Neds for Andrew. Peter also spent two years making trips to Nashville steadily improving his writing. Finally, in the fall of 96' Andrew moved back to Portland and gave Pete a call. However, at this time Pete was happy as the bassist for Mammoth. This obstacle was soon cleared when the guitarist quit the band and was attacked by the singer with a screwdriver. Free at last, Pete returned Andrews phone call.

Andrew, whose previous attempts at songwriting had mixed results, this time impressed Pete with several catchy, well crafted pop tunes. Peter, not wanting to be weighted down with the baggage of over 200 previous songs, brought in 8-10 new songs and the band was born. Having done the bar scene previously, it was decided that this time the band would record a disc before playing out. Recruiting Gary Burton of the rock-a-billy band King Memphis to drum, the three hit the studio to record "One Hit Wonder". Initially planning to record like the Beatles had,(half in the morning, lunch break, and half in the afternoon) the band instead spent Thursday evenings and the occasional Saturday recording throughout the fall.

In a blinding snowstorm in January the band released "One Hit Wonder" to a hearty crowd at the Free St. Taverna. The CD's, promised three weeks earlier, arrived by car at the gig that night. Positive reviews in the local press made the disc a heavy seller locally.

In May of 98' the band was invited to perform at the Undercurrents festival in Cleveland. Once again Pete thought, "I should be famous by the end of the week". (more irony) At the conference a prima donna female keyboardist/singer(who shall remain nameless, why give her any press?) refused to perform until a minuscule buzz was removed from the P.A., this pushed back WOW's set until 2:20 a.m. where a small crowd enjoyed a brief but energetic performance. Gary then went to the train station to return to Portland on the 4:00 a.m. for a girlfriends graduation. He broke up with her the next week...

Back at the conference, Peter and Andrew met Don Dixon of REM/Smithereens fame and slipped him a disc. He had seen the band on the festival compilation and was "impressed", but, "only works with signed bands". Summer led to some more shows in Portland and Boston including the famous Congress Square gig where 50 of Pete's friends invaded a rooftop bar and waved while two healthy young ladies took off their tops and danced on the roof behind the band. (and I thought the crowd was cheering for us!) A few weeks later WOW burned up the airwaves with a scorching live performance on WMPG's local motives radio show.

Meanwhile, fifty miles away in New Hampshire, another band called Attic Reggatta was recording an album and playing shows all over the seacoast. Featuring a very cool rhythm section, this five piece was becoming a local favorite. The record, "Run Through The Puddles" was released to a packed house at the Stone Church, and immediately received very favorable reviews. Everything was lining up well for the group until one freezing night in January when the singer announced she wanted to have more time to herself, and the band self distructed in a matter of minutes. Drummer Andy Beale was looking for a new gig.

Gary, being a professional drummer, was having trouble juggling his schedule between two bands, and needed to devote more time to the one that paid the bills. Pete and Andrew decided they should look for a permanent drummer. After spending a few weeks tearing phone numbers from cork boards and meeting a whole bunch of freaks, Andy stumbled across an ad on Face Magazine's website that advertised for a drummer. He fired off an e-mail to the address. Andrew Russell responded with a cassette of WOW tunes and an audition was set up.

The three met at Pete's house, and Andrew didn't like Andy's kit right off; Gary had played a classic looking four piece, and Andy play's a standard five piece. Having dealt with bass players before, Andy just said as long as Andrew played with all four of his strings... The first audition went fairly well, and Andy got a call back. At the second audition Pete had to split to run an errand, and after some noodling Andrew and Andy ran through REM's 'Fables Of The Reconstruction' in it's entirety. The vibe felt good and Andy got the gig. (mostly because he showed up and had learned the songs). The first show was a week away.....

Thus began a whirlwind of shows stretching from Boston to Orono, Maine, and all places in between. It was decided all money earned from shows would be squirreled away for a second album. The first record continued to sell well, and 300 copies were purchased by www.bandsontheverge.com for a promotion. A second pressing was ordered.

Rehearsals for recording began in August of '99. Feeling the need for an objective ear, WOW looked around for a producer who would be interested in the project. They found one in Joe Brien, a virtual legend on the Portland scene, noted for fronting the Kopterz and his new outfit The Troubles, as well as having his hand in on the recordings of any area band worth listening to from the past decade. With a budget of nearly three grand, WOW entered Big Sound recording studio in Westbrook, in late October of '99. Winter was spent alternating between recording and a still heavy gig schedule.

The sound was really coming together and the three part vocal harmonies more refined. January 2000 found the band road tripping to play an in studio show on WERU in Blue Hill. It was also in January that Andrew became a 'small time promoter' and set up a gig with Pat DiNizio of the Smithereens, which was shut down the day of the show by the city code enforcement over issues of concert permit and possible firecode violation. Luckily WOW was able to move the show into The Better End, and it became a career highlight for the group. WOW opened the show and DiNizio put on a mesmerizing two sets for a VIP crowd. He then invited the band up to close the night with a song. That one song turned into three. Pat DiNizio expounded high praise for the group, and after hearing listen mixes of the new material extended an offer to produce a tune for the album.

As the spring rolls on WOW is lining up a great summer of appearances on boats, islands, at outdoor festivals and in the clubs. The new record, tentatively titled 'That Was Then, This Is WOW' should be complete mid summer... stay tuned....