Krippled Dogz

The Krippled Dogz are a rock band writing and performing original songs. Many of them are about military life and military families based upon our own (over 30 years) experiences and those of family and friends who have served our country.

The Krippled Dogz started as a project by Tony Mancuso who wanted to put a band together to play and record his music before the degenerative disk disease he has progressed to the point he couldn't play any more. He had joined the Army at 17 and became an Aviation Scout. At 19 he left the Army and began working and raising a family, always playing in local bands but always having to work hard to make a living. As the disease progressed, he moved to Katy, TX a few years ago to be closer to family. He auditioned a drummer, Jon Lively, a medically retired Army Sergeant First Class who had served as an Army Scout and in the Special Forces (Green Beret) with several tours of duty in combat. They convinced Tony's brother Gus to play bass. Gus had retired as an Army Infantry Colonel. The band set out to do original music that would express the thoughts and emotions of combat arms soldiers.

Despite both Tony and Jon being 100% disabled (hence the name "Krippled") they still rocked hard. In the old Army, combat soldiers were often called "dogfaces" or just "dogs". Since all three original band members were Army and all were combat arms they chose the band name "Krippled Dogz".

Although Tony had lyrics for some of the songs Gus and Jon began writing lyrics and they quickly realized a need for a musician/vocalist who could help out. Jimmy Youngblood was auditioned and accepted into the band and was a big help in putting the lyrics to the music. He also wrote lyrics and added his own compositions. Though not a veteran, he grew up an "Army brat" and fit in well. After about a year and a half, Tony's son Jason, returned from overseas, having served 6 years in the Air Force including a combat tour in Iraq. Jason had many years of playing guitar, bass, and keyboards (in addition to other instruments). He had also been lead guitar for a band in South Korea called Alarm Black. With his knowledge of music theory and composition, he was able to step in as lead guitar and help the band structure the songs for performance.

Tony's disease finally progressed to the point that he could no longer be an active member of the band. Jon also was having medical issues preventing an active role in performing regularly. Jimmy Youngblood is also the drummer.