Doublehorse!

Doublehorse! member sticks around for the
ride
By RYAN CORMIER
Staff reporter
07/21/2004
When Doug O'Donnell's former band got the big break they were waiting for
- opening for the soaring, national act My Morning Jacket - O'Donnell had a
decision to make.
Should he stay with his side project, Dr. Dog, and reap the benefits of a
high-profile tour or go back to Doublehorse!, the band that he had been part
of since fourth grade?
For O'Donnell, 27, of Wilmington, it was a no-brainer. He decided to stick
with his old mates.
"Doublehorse! goes back all those years, so there was never any question I
would be in it," he says. "Obviously, it was a drag to bow out [of Dr. Dog]
just as they were taking off."
O'Donnell is a guitarist and singer for Doublehorse!, but the bulk of the
songwriting comes from Matt Fuga, who also plays guitar.
With a sweet voice and a penchant for an eclectic mix of musical genres,
Fuga makes Doublehorse! a band that rises above many on the local scene.
"He writes really amazing songs," O'Donnell says. "That's our greatest
asset. Well, that and my physical appeal."
Just like O'Donnell's comments, the band's songs are saturated with humor,
easily reminding listeners of bands like Ween, who use humor and revel in
mimicking different types of music.
But also like Ween, Doublehorse! is not a joke band. Behind the sly puns
and one-liners there are well-crafted, well-arranged songs.
"It's really a broad range of stuff that we're trying to do," O'Donnell says.
"We're all over the place."
The majority of the band members have known each other since grade
school, where they started the band under the name The Monkee Twos. "We
always took it serious, even then," he says. "We'd do publicity stunts on the
playground."
O'Donnell lived with the other members of the band in Philadelphia until he
got married last month and moved to Wilmington. He, along with his wife,
Heather, and two band members work as social workers at the Philadelphia
Corporation for Aging.O'Donnell's foray with Dr. Dog began when the band was formed as a side
project by members of the now-defunct Philadelphia band, Raccoon.
"It wasn't ever really taken seriously," he says.
But then a band member got a CD to Jim James, lead singer of My Morning
Jacket, and he was so impressed that he asked Dr. Dog to open several
shows.
With that came write-ups in Mojo magazine and other press, making the
side project a hot commodity.
Even now, members of Dr. Dog and Doublehorse! also perform in the
Delaware-based bluegrass band, the Conowingo Homeboys, who played in
Newark at the Blue Crab Grill this past weekend.
As for Doublehorse!, O'Donnell says the exclamation point was added to the
band's name for "flair."
Also, they discovered a Japanese chemical company had the same name
and they got worried. "I don't know if punctuation keeps you from infringing
on a copyright, but that's why we did it."
Over the years, the band has put together four self-produced- and-distributed
discs that are available for fans at shows, including one titled
"Flabbey Road."
The albums and EPs were recorded in a home studio, where the band
spends a lot more time than on stage, leaving them as a relatively unknown
band. But recently, they have booked several shows, including Thursday
night's show at the East End in Newark. The idea is to jump-start a
following.
"We always had the idea that we should be superstars," O'Donnell says,
"but for years it took the form of being serious, but in a basement."
Reach Ryan Cormier at 324-2863 or rcormier@delawareonline.com. Read
his blog at www.delawareonline.com/blogs.
IF YOU GO
Doublehorse!
When: 10 p.m. Thursday
Where: East End Cafe, 270 E. Main St., Newark
Cost: $5
On the web: www.
doublehorse
music.com
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7/22/2004 http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/life/2004/07/21doublehorse!mem.html
- Wilmington News Journal