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Except
for the additionof keyboardist Russ Gambino, who is a childhood buddy, Wake
Ooloo's sound can't help but fall into that Feelies vein. After all, Dave
Weckerman is the drummer, and Glenn Mercer is still the primary songwriter,
guitarist,and vocalist. On their '94 release, Hear No Evil, Mercer even
snatched part of a "leftover" Feelies song and hooked it onto the end ofthe Wake
Ooloo song "Forty Days."
Over their four year existence, Wake Ooloo ("Wake" comes fromthe herb Wake
Robin, they explain, while "Ooloo" means "owl"in Indian) has released three CDs,
all on Chicago's Pravda Records. After losing original bassist Troyz in 1995 (he
left to join the Meat Puppets as a touring guitarist), the band adopted a "Slayer
fan", John Dean, as their new and present bassist. "Well, it's not like John
MAKES us listen to Slayer!" says Mercer, embarrassingly.
Differences between the Feelies and Ooloo? "There's more room for everyone to
stretch out," says Mercer, now that he doesn't share guitar parts with Million
anymore. Also, those earlier "perfection" days have flip-flopped into "easygoing"
days! For example, when the "record" button hits "ON," the first take of a
WakeOoloo song usually ends up on the CD. Well, it's not like Mercer and
Weckerman, now 43 and 47 respectively, haven't had time to develop a certain
instinctive chemisty: they've been playing in bands together since the early
'70s, long before the Feelies.
Wake Ooloo discography: Hear No Evil (Pravda, 1994); What About It (Pravda, 1995); Stop The Ride (Pravda,1996)
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