The history of Whiskey n Lace written - Riqi Harawira in August 2022. Gavin Elshaw, Scott Cortese and I had the 3 piece band “Cherry Bomb” around 1985. We were hunting for a singer for a couple of years as good rock singers were like hens teeth in Aotearoa back then. We finally met our future singer Karl Wahlberg at a party on the North Shore. Karl was a couple of years older and pretty aloof.
We met up with him at Harvey Jackson from Nine Livez house a few times after that. Scott, Gav and I were super serious and had already hired practice rooms on Barry’s Point Rd honing our craft, passionate as ever about rock and metal, very “Wayne's World” Karl agreed to come and audition but said he wasn't interested unless Woody (Simon Woods) was involved.
So we had a rehearsal and played “Sweet Child O Mine” and we knew straight away that Karl had the pipes and Woody had the chops as well. After that we started rehearsing regularly at Woody's house in Redvale. We had a mean little practice room, all carpeted out and covered in GnR pics and egg cartoons, very Beavis and Butthead Our musical style was a combination of hard rock, alternative rock, metal, punk and pre Nirvana grunge.
Karl was into the Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, New York Dolls and Hanoi Rocks and Woody was a huge Alice Cooper fan, where Scott, Gav and I were into US rock bands like Motley, The Cult and later GnR when they came on the scene.
We played mostly at the Power Station and had a great loyal following. We also recorded a 4 track demo at Last Laugh Studios on Vulcan Lane in the city which is currently being remastered.
Woody left the band around 1990 to move to Canada and LA and Scott left to join Push Push, then I (Riqi) joined Dead Flowers not long after. Karl Wahlberg - Vocals Riqi Harawira - Lead Guitar Simon Woods (Woody) - Lead Guitar Scott Cortese - Drums Gavin Elshaw - Bass
We met up with him at Harvey Jackson from Nine Livez house a few times after that. Scott, Gav and I were super serious and had already hired practice rooms on Barry’s Point Rd honing our craft, passionate as ever about rock and metal, very “Wayne's World” Karl agreed to come and audition but said he wasn't interested unless Woody (Simon Woods) was involved.
So we had a rehearsal and played “Sweet Child O Mine” and we knew straight away that Karl had the pipes and Woody had the chops as well. After that we started rehearsing regularly at Woody's house in Redvale. We had a mean little practice room, all carpeted out and covered in GnR pics and egg cartoons, very Beavis and Butthead Our musical style was a combination of hard rock, alternative rock, metal, punk and pre Nirvana grunge.
Karl was into the Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, New York Dolls and Hanoi Rocks and Woody was a huge Alice Cooper fan, where Scott, Gav and I were into US rock bands like Motley, The Cult and later GnR when they came on the scene.
We played mostly at the Power Station and had a great loyal following. We also recorded a 4 track demo at Last Laugh Studios on Vulcan Lane in the city which is currently being remastered.
Woody left the band around 1990 to move to Canada and LA and Scott left to join Push Push, then I (Riqi) joined Dead Flowers not long after. Karl Wahlberg - Vocals Riqi Harawira - Lead Guitar Simon Woods (Woody) - Lead Guitar Scott Cortese - Drums Gavin Elshaw - Bass
Whiskey and Lace on Soundcloud Burned out paradise - Demos 1988
ADRENALIN ANIGMA ALARUM ASTAROTH BAD BLOOD BLACKJACK BLUE DEMOM BLITZ CIRCUS CONFESSOR
COVENANT DESPISER DIZZY BLONDE DVS FAT SALLY FURY GRAVEL MONSTERS HAMMERACK HEADBUTT
HEAVY DUTY HARLOT KNIGHTSHADE LIONHEART MALEVOLENCE NAKED BLADE NINE LIVEZ PUSH PUSH PHOBIA
ROSE BAYONET SABBATH SACRAMENT SHIHAD STONEHENGE STORMBRINGER TEMPEST
THE NOD TOKYO TYRANT STRIKEMASTER SUICIDE SUITE WHISKEY N LACE WORLD WAR FOUR