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The Wig/Wags
Hope, Arkansas
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The information on the Wig/Wags in Fuzz, Acid and Flowers is sketchy—they may have been from Texas or Ohio, and none of the members names are listed. The Wig/Wags recorded one 45 in 1966, "I'm On My Way Down the Road" b/w "The Goofy Goggle", and the A-side appears on Essential Pebbles 2. I was surprised to hear from Steve Orak, who sang and played rhythm guitar for the Wig/Wags, and now lives in France. I asked Steve to fill in some of the details about the Wig/Wags:
The band was formed in Hope, Arkansas (it's true that our lead guitarist was from Texarkana, but we hadn't any link with Ohio, whatever the rumor says).
The personnel consisted in:
- Johnson Perry: lead guitar (and songwriting)
- Gary Rinati: drums
- Paul Rinati: bass
- Me (Steve Orak): rhythm guitar and vocals
I met the Rinati brothers in 1965 and we discovered we had a lot of common musical leanings: rhythm'n'blues à la Pretty Things, Yardbirds, but also soul music (I was—and still am—a big Motown fan) and delta blues à la Skip James or Fred McDowell. I knew Johnson since school, and we began to rehearse in a barn owned by the Rinati family. We played many covers ("Roadrunner", "Heatwave", "You Gotta Move"—before the Stones!) and had some original material, including the 45 you know ["I'm On My Way Down the Road"/"The Goofy Goggle"]. We made several gigs with local bands (including the Vipers) and opened for the Swinging Medallions and the Gants in the summer of 1966. Shortly after that we recorded an acetate for Sama, but some personnal matters made us split in late '66, just before the 45 was published.
I was only nineteen at this time, and my father got promoted in France, so I had to follow my family. I haven't talked to any other member of the band since 1967! So I can't tell you what they've done since, and I guess they might have recorded this 45 you mention under that silly name [Fuzz, Acid and Flowers suggests that the Wig/Wags may have recorded a 45 in 1967 under the name the Loving Years].
I'm sad and not too proud to say that I do not play music anymore (I have a lot of work), but I keep on listening to it, sharing these delights with my son Simon, who is DJ on a local radio in Orléans where he plays sixties pop music.
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