BIOS
TONY OROS
Vocals
| This is Tony's evil alter-ego,
Vociferous Tirade. I've been
asked to write his bio (oh, he
gets ALL the attention...). Tony Oros grew up self-conscious and insecure in Aurora, Illinois. Until one glorious day he decided: "If you feel like a nothing, make yourself something." He wed his two adolescent escapes, music and comic books into one cohesive vision: the re-definition of what it means to be a "rock star". Tony enrolled in music school and WORKED at his voice (nothing can be "God-given" if you don't believe in god). He became the first rock musician to endorse nutritional supple- ments, presently working with SportsNutrition2000, and has been featured in a recent issue of nationally-distributed Natural Muscle Magazine. He is also a Sponsored Athlete with House of Pain Ironwear. Due in part to his work for the Dept. of Defense, Tony has recently been selected to be an official Torchbearer for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games. | He has arranged original compositions for classical string ensemble and jazz big band. He has performed the National Anthem for the Long Beach Ice Dogs (IHL) and the Chicago Bears (NFL). Eschewing idealistic platitudes of love and religion, Tony believes the only measure of a man's existence are his accomplishments, and vows that his stockpiling has only begun. Tony says you can e-mail him any time at: egokid1@hotmail.com and that he doesn't bite. "Do not let your fire go out,
spark by irreplaceable spark,
in the hopeless swamps of
the approximate, the
not-quite, the not-yet, the
not-at-all. Do not let the
hero in your soul perish, in
lonely frustration for the life
you deserved, but have never
been able to reach. Check
your road and the nature of
your battle. The world you
desired can be won, it exists,
it is real, it's possible, it's
yours" |
MIKE McMANUS
Guitars/Vocals
| Mike McManus was born and raised in the suburbs of Boston (still pronounced Baah-ston). Weaned on his Dad's Beatles albums at an early age, he could sing every song on the Sgt. Pepper's album by age six. He soon began to acquire a taste for 70's arena rock bands such as Queen and Cheap Trick. Mike began playing guitar at age thirteen but didn't take the instrument seriously until age sixteen when he discovered he could actually write songs. During his high school years, Mike began listening to some of the cutting edge bands coming out of England such as The Clash, XTC, and the Jam. Like most fledgling guitarists in the 80's, Mike became intrigued with a lot of the technical aspects of guitar playing. | Impressed with the styles of Neal Schon, Edward Van Halen, and Brian May, Mike entered the Berklee College of Music as soon as he graduated high school. After two years of intensive harmony, theory, and guitar instruction, Mike left Berklee to focus on his songwriting skills and develop his blatantly un-wanky playing style. He spent the next two years writing songs and being a "studio rat" with various other songwriters before leaving Boston for Los Angeles, and began sowing the seeds for what would soon become EGODOG. Being the chief melody and riff writer for EGODOG, Mike is heavily into the modern rock scene but still maintains that The Beatles and Queen are his biggest musical influences. |
DAMIAN PAMPENA
Bass
| Skilled in a variety of styles, Damian has been playing bass for 15 years. His first influence was his big brother Kevin, a guitarist. "I remember he used to piss our Mom off playing 'Brown Sugar' too loud in the garage" quoth the DameTone. Partially to spite Kevin, Damian realized he wanted to be different and play bass instead. His Aunt Sissy bought him his first bass one Christmas. Listening to cats like Steve Harris grounded D with rock roots. | Soon his ears caught vibes
from funky stuff like Bootsy,
James Brown, Parliament and
Zapp. He soon developed a
style all his own. Companies
such as Charvel, G&L Guitars
and Music Lord Cab have
recognized DameTone's talent
and rewarded him with
endorsement deals. With infectious energy and an ultra-cool vibe, his stage presence has been known to incite crowds into a funkified frenzy. |