Who Remembers Whizkey Stik?

I found some obscure 70s hard rock on YouTube last night. The band is called Whizkey Stik and I kind of dig them. Problem is, there isn't much online about them. I know the band is from Astoria, Oregon. I guess they didn't get far in the business. Interesting to me because I sort of feel like I found a hidden rock gem. Someone, tell me what you know about this band.

Comments

[Sean]

I don’t know why, but I believe this band must have been fun to watch live.

[dj]

news to me ive never even heard of them/

[Metalboy!]

Again, I pose the question...

Is "obscure" really a term to use here?

Aren't bands we discover more like hidden gems?

The thing that really makes these guys more than their songs, is the lead vocals. Strong, unstrained, natural.

Also, I noticed something cool in one of the pics in the second "video"...

A Marshall Stack in WHITE! I wonder if that was reupholstered or if it was purchased that way? Very cool. Something I bet ANGEL, a great 70's band many may be familiar with who's shtick was wearing all white outfits, would have adopted had they somehow seen these guys, which I doubt they did, or the idea occured to them.

Also note the white speaker cabinets with black speakers. Makes for a cool "polka dot" look.

Whizkey Stik might have gone places had they gotten out of Oregon and stayed out.

[P]

Swedish fan here (since 1982). These guys should have been huge! OTT, ûbergreat organ-guitar band.

[reptileblvd]

We as fans of Glam are so starved for good new music that everytime we find something new we want to like it and enjoy it. Just my two cents but I think that's what is happening here. Personally I believe we have never heard of these guys because they were no good.

[Carl McLaughlin]

My name is Carl McLaughlin and I was the guitar player, singer, songwriter and vocalist for Whizkey Stik. Except for "Reptileblvd", it looks like Whizkey Stik has some late coming fans and it's great to have our music appreciated...even after all these years. Our keyboard player Terry Duoos passed away last year and was a real loss to his fellow band-members, his family and to the music world as a whole. He was a true genius in several disciplines: he was an electronics master and made all the tube guitar amplifiers used to record all the tunes. He was a musical gem on the Hammond B3 as well and had a real knack for creating interesting chord progressions and turn-a rounds. Terry was also a brilliant carpenter and hand made most of the speaker cabinets used for bass, guitar and our PA system. We recorded our tunes on a 4-track reel-to-reel, mixed down through a home-made mixer on to a 2-track deck then back to the 4-track for vocals and leads and his excellent knowledge of sound engineering pulled off a pretty incredible feet as it still sound damn good for what we had at the time...he was our engineer that made it all possible. There are lots more tunes that came out of our musical marriage over the years and anyone who has not heard the range of our material is missing out. Although we did get signed for a period of time, out manager didn't promote us and instead tried to break us apart as a whole. In my opinion, we where about 8 years too late to arrive on the musical scene as disco had taken over and commercial oriented rock ruled the airwaves. We where a jamming band and you never knew what was going to happen when we played live. As you might have guessed, we all loved Deep Purple and the Hammond and Guitar pairing proved to be the single most sound that drew us together and helped to produce the music we did. We didn't try to emulate or copy, we just were kindred spirits in the B3/Guitar sparring sound. There is still a lot of music still left in the remaining band members (Mark Bugas on Bass, John Police on Drums and me) and new music is being produced all the time. If anyone would like to hear more music from the Whizkey Stik days, just say the word and I'd be happy to share. I am as humble as they come and attribute the portion of talent that I was born with to be a gift from the gods and don't attribute it to "me". Having said that, I can objectively say without reservation that we where very good and could have a lot of fans and made some record company a lot of, but that was not to be and I hope the next time around we'll be in synchronicity with the musical wheel of fortune. Stay well and Pura Vida to all. Carl McLaughlin

[Ted Bugas]

*Bias Alert* I know this band. I know they kick ass too. As son of the bass player, I've been handing out Whizkey Stik CDs to a few of my friends through the years and have enjoyed talking about their love for this music. Although they never "made it" that doesnt take away from my belief that this band was the real deal. This band is legendary is my book.

I still find enjoyment listening to the 30 songs that I've heard from this band. I still enjoy hearing Carl slay guitar riffs. I cant get enough of Terry ten-finger punching the keyboard to harmonious death in More Desire. It never gets old hearing the story behind the lyrics of numerous songs written by bass player Mark (I get to call him Dad). And it of course wouldnt be Whizkey Stik without John tying it all together on the drums.

They stopped writing and recording songs a long time ago but like any true band would, they still get a kick jamming together in a little shop in Astoria, Oregon from time to time. And to let you in on a little secret; my Dad came back from a recent jam session with Carl and John and these were his words, "Shit! We still got it!" I don't doubt it for a second.

[Mark]

Get ready people. Whispers in the wind of an album in the works and even a live gig in spring 2016. Good music never dies it lives on and on and.......

[Mark]

Here is a link to the first album by Whizkey Stik called On The Level. Concert dates in Portland and Seattle celebrating the release of the album coming this fall. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it.


http://nwmetalworxmusic.com/products/17206383-whizkey-stik-on-the-level-lp-black-vinyl