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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2017)
AUGUST 24, 2017 // 15 dining out A STORIA C ORNER D ELI Ԃ Local Ԃ Fresh Ԃ Gourmet SUBMITTED PHOTOS See for full menu 3 8TH & L, ON THE S EAV IEW BEAC H APPROAC H 3 60-642-7880 304 37th Street | Astoria, OR 97103 503-325-7768 C OV ERED HEATED DEC K for 22 $ ECIAL! Y PIZ Z A DA Piz 2 zas SP TU ES All orders take-out 503.325.7414 bakedak.com #1 12th Street, Astoria, OR North Coast and Peninsula Now offering soups, paninis, beer & wine. Come check out our new addition. You don’t need to zip to come sip. 503.861.9875 92111 Highlife Rd, Warrenton www.highlife-adventures.com Great pub grub & craft beer Seaview, WA ▪ 360.642.4150 shelburnerestaurant.com Imagine Your Restaurant Advertised Here! 503.755.1818 www.camp18restaurant.com Favorite stop to & from the Coast ILIES FAM OME! C WEL Hungry Harbor GrillE 3 13 Pa c ific Hw y, Do w n to w n Lo n g Be a c h, W A 3 60-642-5555 • w w w.hu n gryha rb o r.c o m CEL EBRATE K ITE FES TIV AL IN OUR K ITE ROOM ! Advertise Your Restaurant Here 1157 N. Marion Avenue Gearhart 503-717-8150 www.mcmenamins.com LEFT: A photo of Whizkey Stik from back in the day. RIGHT: A picture of Whizkey Stik taken in spring 2017 during an album signing at Music Millenium in Portland. From left: John Police (drummer), Howard Helm (keyboards and vocals), Carl McLaughlin (guitar and vocals), Mark Bugas (bass, vocals). Continued from Page 4 music as “dance-able, meaningful lyrics, lots of melody but with a hard edge.” “Its heart is rock n’ roll,” he said. “One of the bands we all loved and kind of modeled ourselves off of was Deep Purple.” Bugas compared their style to mainstream rock bands like The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. “I think we concentrated on being more commercial than one-dimensional,” he said. ‘On The Level’ Last year, James Beach, who co-owns retro record label NW Metalworx Music, inter- viewed Bugas for a book he is writing on the history of Northwest hard rock and heavy metal music from 1970 to 1995. Beach and his two partners, Brian Naron and Jim Sutton, asked where they could get some of the band’s music. They were stunned when Bugas said he can’t because they didn’t make an album. From there, the band released “On The Level” in 2016 and returned to performing. McLaughlin said he was humbled that com- plete strangers could listen to Whizkey Stik’s music and be touched by it. This upcoming concert is only their second performance since reuniting. They recently opened in Seattle for Mountain drummer Corky Laing’s band, Corky Laing Plays Mountain. “On The Level” is dedicated to the founder and original keyboardist of the band, Terry Duoos, who died in 2012, McLaughlin said. “He was a genius when it came to sound and electronics.” Howard Helm, 59, a good friend to the band members, performs with them on keyboard. “Howard fi ts right in,” Bugas said. “He’s a keyboardist extraordinaire. It’s a pleasure to play with him.” John Police, 61, is the drummer, and, along with the others band members, Bugas thinks of him as a brother. Whizkey Stik was an up-and-coming band that had a promising future in its time. Its song “Dirty Words” was aired on Portland radio station KGON. ‘Doing what we do’ Bugas refl ected on the fact that Whizkey Stik only went to one audition, which was with Geffen Records, a major American record label that signed many musical icons including Donna Summer, Elton John and Cher. Bugas wondered what could have happened if they tried audi- tioning for another label. “Who knows how our lives would have changed?” Nevertheless, Bugas said their drive wasn’t to become musical icons. “I don’t think any of us did this for fame or fortune,” he said, adding that they only want people to appreciate their music. Though the tracks were laid down more than 30 years ago, Bugas and McLaughlin agreed that their music fi ts in the modern era. “I think our music has held up. A lot of stuff gets dated, and I don’t think that’s the case (with us),” Bugas said. McLaughlin said that “music seems to be timeless. It doesn’t really show its age.” Everyone is welcome to attend the Astoria show. The cost is $8, $5 for attendees with a skateboard. “I’m just looking forward to being with the guys and doing what we do,” Mc- Laughlin said. CW