Everyone remembers their first band. To be accurate, La Paz was Doogie's second band but it ranks as his first because they lifted themselves above a "pub band" status and came oh-so-close to that deal...
Doogie White - vocalist with La Paz
La Paz were formed in Lanarkshire, Scotland in the early 1980's when Doogie met Chic McSherry. They'd been playing in the local music scene for a number of years and had run across each other often enough but the time hadn't been right to work together until then.
They hit it off immediately on a personal level, they liked the same music and they had the same influences and heroes (Purple, Rainbow, Journey, Gary Moore) so they started to recruit other members to try to form a band and go do some gigs. They decided to add keyboards right away as, at that time, the "classic" guitar/keys combination had declined from favour and it would immediately make them different from the other all-guitar bands that dominated the circuit at that time.
The final line-up was Doogie White (Vocals), Chic McSherry (Guitar), Alex Carmichael (Bass), Andy Mason (Keys) and Paul McManus (Drums) and they went on to considerable acclaim in Scotland and beyond. They were featured regularly in Kerrang and showcased in the world-famous Marquee Club in London. A deal was secured but then, as often happens in the music business, the deal stalled and eventually fell through.
The band released two albums on their own:
Old Habits Die Hard The Amy Tapes
Last word to Doogie:
"Playing in La Paz was certainly the most fun of any band I have ever been in. We took it very seriously though and our professionalism was never in question. What killed us, in hindsight, was image. At that time bands like Bon Jovi and Whitesnake were going all pretty-boy and then Europe came along and everyone in the music business wanted to sign androgynous blonde Swedes. It just wasn't us and we were probably stupid for trying to get that "look", but that was the only way that anyone in A&R would talk to us. Classic case of "never mind the music, feel the spandex". So we lost our deal before we got our first album released...such is life. It was a great wee rock band though and we've all remained true friends. We do occasional get-together shows just for the hell of it and man do we have a blast. We've also put up our old demos for sale online with the proceeds going to charity. Buy 'em all folks! "
Find out more about La Paz at www.lapazrocks.com
La Paz on stage in 2009
Site content © Doogie White 2009.