Warpig was originally formed in and operated out Woodstock Ontario under the leadership of Rick Donmoyer. Rick's first introduction to guitar was one his father brought home in hopes of learning but the guitar quickly disappeared again. He then sang in music class in public and Jr. High School but had no instrumental training until a couple of years after the passing of his father. Donmoyer, as a young teenager learned lap steel guitar. Soon the kid was playing tunes by The Ventures, The Surfaris and other 'Surf Bands' of that era. Rock and pop guitar licks on a "Hawaiian style" guitar was unheard of and his guitar teacher Richard Crotty was intrigued to the point that Donmoyer was hired as a student teacher. By 1964, the bug had bit and Rick formed and joined several bands, his first paying gig was with The Turbines while still in high school. Rick was later called on by soon-to-be friend and band-mate Jim Walker to follow a dream, quit their day jobs, and eventually form The Kingbees. Some time later with new member Terry Brett, classical guitarist turned bassist recently returned from living in Britain, the band was re-named The Wot.
Dana Snitch, meanwhile, had been floating in and out of bands but decided to go it alone as a folk-guitarist and singer. Rick Donmoyer and Jim Walker met Snitch in Toronto in the mid 60's and together they proceeded to seek out more players to form an R&B group with Dana playing bass. The rehearsals were both difficult to stage and non-cohesive so things fell apart and Dana returned to enter college in North Bay later returning to form the 3 piece folk group Thomas Dana & Co. doing standards of the day and composing. He finished school and found himself as a guest artist doing warm-up gigs with Mass Destruction (featuring Donmoyer, Walker and Brett again) in Woodstock, Ontario, then was invited to play with the band as rhythm guitarist in its dying days. With the nucleus of Donmoyer on lead guitar and vocals, Terry Brett on bass, and Snitch on rhythm guitar and vocals, auditions were held for the percussion position. The obvious gem of the applicants was Terry Hook. Dana then expanded his roll to keyboardist and after many rehearsals in the Hook basement in 1968, Warpig, the heavy, "take no prisoners" rock band was taking shape.
They released their self-titled debut with executive producer Robert Thomson and engineer Ken Fresian on Fonthill Records in 1972. With the popularity of the band increasing across Southern Ontario, London Records signed them and re-issued a re-mastered record the following year, re-recording "Rock Star" and "Flaggit" with engineer Terry Brown (Rush, Max Webster, Klaatu). Warpig charted for 7 weeks on the RPM charts peaking at #52 with their single "Rock Star" in June and July of 1973. A second album, begun with engineer Tom Brennand of Deep Purple fame was never completed.
With the departure of Terry Hook from Warpig in 1974, followed a year later by Dana, there were several attempts to carry on, but the heart was gone as a group and the problems that drove the others away persisted. Rick played and sang for many more years with various groups including the long surviving road-warrior band Ash Mountain until leaving the road and re-marrying. Employed in a music store and also as a “live sound” technician in Burlington Ontario for a few years, Rick then landed a job in sales with Yorkville Sound where he is now District Sales Manager.
30 years after the band split up the original album is fetching tidy sums on Ebay and has been bootlegged on CD and vinyl in the US and Europe. After a Sunday afternoon internet name search in January 2004, Rick phoned Dana now living in New Brunswick. After 26 years of having not a single conversation, Dana knew Rick's voice almost instantly! It didn't take long to decide they must move forward again and they contacted both Terrys, still living in Woodstock. They decided after one get together in the spring of 2004 to rekindle the group's friendships and collaborate on completion of their long un-released original material along with some new song ideas that emerged quickly during that single reunion. An authorized re-release of the original Warpig album is expected in 2006.
01 - Flaggit - 3.09
02 - Tough Nuts - 2.20
03 - Meody Withh Balls - 6.01
04 - Advance Am (Lyrics Defy Description) - 7.26
05 - Rock Star - 4.10
06 - Sunflight - 4.29
07 - U.X.I.B - 7.37
08 - The Moth - 5.09
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