Wank gets a grip on its future
Members of Huntington Beach, Calif.-based hi-fi pop quartet Wank aren’t looking to secure their futures through well-diversified no-load mutual funds, money market accounts or T-bills.
Their future is now, and it involves touring – a lot of touring.
“Right now, it’s just work, work, work,” guitarist Danny Walker said recently. “We’re going to be on the road for at least a year. We definitely want to make sure anybody who invests in Wank gets their return. We’ve always invested in ourselves, and if we didn’t think we were going to do well, we wouldn’t have been doing it.”
Madonna’s label, Maverick, is a firm believer, so much so it reissued Wank’s debut album, “Get a Grip On Yourself,” originally released on the group’s Bordello Pop Records. The album resurfaced March 31, and since then, the hopelessly catchy lead-off single “Forgiven” is steadily gaining momentum at radio.
Walker, singer-bassist Bobby Amodeo, drummer Spider and guitarist Billie Stevens formed Wank two years ago in Orange County, fully aware that their four-part harmonies went against the grain in the land of surfer-punk and ska.
“We definitely didn’t fit into the scenes,” Walker said, “but we did have friends in different types of bands. Orange County is still a nice community, a nice place to be in a band, because there’s so many bands to play with.
“We’re more of a pop band, it’s just because of our influences. When I’m writing a song, I’m thinking of the Beatles and The Clash, stuff that moves me. Everybody thought we were treading dangerous ground, because it didn’t commit to the ska scene or the punk scene, but why should we fit into anybody’s scene?
“Everything ended up panning out for us, or at least we moved forward a little bit when Zeke from the radio station (KROQ) saw some value in what we were doing. That was a pivotal moment for the band, when they picked up our song.”
In early April, Wank opened four shows for Social Distortion in Los Angeles, then toured the East and Midwest with Goldfinger, before hooking up recently with Jimmie’s Chicken Shack.
There’s no rest for the weary.
“If we keep touring and continue to have shows booked and do the work that’s necessary, probably a year’s worth of touring,” Walker said, “I think the record will do well. I’m not really sure what well is, a lot of that is probably relative, but I’m sure the label would like to see us become a multiplatinum band; if that comes, fine. But if we can play for people and they can dig us, that’s pretty much it. That’s all you need.”
BWF (before we forget): Get a grip on Wank on the Web @ www.wankusa.com.
About the Author
Gerry Galipault Gerry Galipault debuted Pause & Play online in October 1997. Since then, it has become the definitive place for CD-release dates — with a worldwide audience.
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