THE PASTIES!

THE PASTIES were at the forefront of the "post grunge" scene in Vancouver Canada during the early to mid nineties. Founded by brothers Dave (Tankhog) and Sean Mawhinney and long time friend Al Doyle, the Pasties gained momentum when drummer/singer/songwriter Doug "Donut" Proulx (Death Sentence, Mr. Pink, Kim Band ) joined and recruited Winnipeg bassist Ralph Allen (The Wongs, The Brushed Onions).After gaining a huge following and selling out dozens of shows in a row they were courted at length by Geffen records. After doing everything except signing on the dotted line, (You've heard this one before but it actually happened) Geffen had a staff "shift" and the Pasties were left with a great recording and no distribution. In walks Hemisphere records, a Vancouver Indy label who understood the magic the band evoked and had the group back in the studio with none other than Mike Plotnikoff (Chicago, Metallica, Van Halen) revamping and remixing the tracks of what was to become their 1995 self titled/self produced debut. The song "Deadbeat Surf" reached number one on the local radio station C-FOX "alternative playlist" for weeks, and the album sold impressively with rave revues. Put it this way, unlike alot of the bands of the same era, you won't find the cd in used music shops. With an incredibly energetic live show and Al's vocal gymnastics The Pasties were revered by acts such as Nickleback (who used to back them up), Copyright, The Lemonheads, The Four Horsemen, and Rick Ruben to name a few. As well, the song "Failed You" was featured in the Chris Penn movie "The Boys Club". Due to disagreements with songwriting and melody credits Doug Donut left the group to pursue a few other acts (Mr. Pink, Todd Kerns band, Mary's Chicken, The Kim Band, SunbeamTiger) and a career in broadcast television. The group continued on with various drummers like the awesome Terry Russell (Slow, Tankhog) but never found "the" groove they initially had, and unfortunately disbanded. Ralph and Sean are currently playing in the Vancouver group Quincey Gold. There is a New York power pop group called the Pasties as well as a folkster type unit out of Olympia Warshington with the same moniker.