2005 Best Oldies Rock Performer
40.58% Spike & The Bulldogs*
Others with Votes (more than one):
* On the ballot |
When it comes to recapturing the sound of the Golden Age of rock n’ roll, Spike & the Bulldogs have it down better than any other band. At least that’s what whatzup readers think. And whatzup readers must be right, right? Right. For four years now Spike & the Bulldogs have turned rock n’ roll originally spun into vinyl between 1955 and 1966 into Whammy gold. But they’ve been reeling off the golden oldies for far longer. When you find a good thing, stick with it. That’s what Val (Spike) Asay thinks. And who wants to argue with a guy named Spike? "We’re just off cruise number 14," Asay said. "We took 294 people to the Mexican Riviera. We hung out at Cabo Wabo for a while. That’s Sammy Hagar’s place. But that was just one of the stops." I’ll bet Sammy never knew what hit him. Asay moved to Fort Wayne from Utah with his wife, a Fort Wayne native in 1979, and quickly got a band together with Carl Snider. They cruised along for seven or eight years, playing a variety of music before adding a set of vintage pop tunes, just for kicks. Well, it turned out the kicks were good shtick, and before long Spike & the Bulldogs were rekindling the fire in area nostalgic sock-hoppers. There are a lot of sock-hoppers. Spike & the Bulldogs, (Jim Heimann, Pete van Bibber, Wayne Neukom, Bernie Stone and Phil McDonald) soon found themselves playing 130 or so gigs a year. Asay said the band is working on their fifth CD, which should be out by spring. Releasing CDs of cover material has it’s rewards and costs, he said. "ASCAP has really tightened their rules on releasing things," he said. "The last one we did, a British tribute, we had to have the royalty money upfront. Although we’re selling a bunch, it takes more time. It’s getting tough." That may be. But Spike & the Bulldogs have a good thing going, CDs or no CDs. Their reputation and popularity will continue to grow, more than likely. After all, they’re not making anymore Golden Oldies and somebody is going to play them, right? |
Copyright 2006 Ad Media Inc.
