WOLFGANG PARKER

Wolfgang Parker began as a music pioneer, releasing the first punk-swing album ever recorded. Hep City Swing (1998) was followed by appearances on scads of compilation discs as the second-generation swing movement crested. But by the time Parker and his band released their follow-up full-length, Octoboure (1999), the movement was drying up and the swing resurgence was dead almost as quickly as it had arrived. Unfortunately, Parker himself was in danger of sharing the same fate.

Seven years of living out his teenage fantasies of rock 'n' roll excess had left Parker pushed to dangerous physical limits and transformed his personality into something he describes as "monstrous." It became clear to everyone—including him—that the death of swing was his cue to step away. 

After a 7-year absence, Wolfgang broke his exile to join his former band mates for a one-night performance to commemorate their tenth anniversary at Skully’s Music Diner in Columbus, Ohio.

Two years later, Parker was "discovered" by London-based Millennium Records. The label was looking to expand from its Goa Trance market into rock 'n' roll and they liked Parker's adventurous stylings. Despite the fact that Parker had no band, or even a bass guitar at the time, he struck a deal and reformed the band. The new line-up included Parker's second guitarist, Alan Mauger, and newcomer Aaron Apter on drums.

Out of the blue, Parker seemed to have gotten everything right: he had landed the record deal that had eluded him throughout the 1990s, he had a great band, and he finally possessed a healthy perspective that allowed him to enjoy it. The album, Room Nineteen (2007), was a remastered compilation of previously released tracks from Hep City Swing and Octoboure, with a deluxe packaging. Room Nineteen garnered positive reviews from the European music press and management companies were calling. Then, on the day of the album’s release, Millennium Records went under. Drummer Arron Apter left soon after.

Original members James Oberlin (drums) and Anthony Yates (guitar) returned to the fold, but even the new dynamic couldn't halt the inevitable disintegration. The four-piece released Petty Standards (2010), an E.P. of big band standards that had become set list staples over a decade and a half, to little fanfare. Despite the fact that an art scene based on the band's fusion of early American jazz and punk had materialized during Parker's 7-year absence, the diselpunk scene proved anemic in the Mid-West and the band failed to gain traction outside of the retro scene. After a brief experimental period, the act released its swan song, The Father/The Son (2013), and disbanded after nineteen years.

In the years preceding the break-up, Wolfgang had actively sought alternate artistic terrain to explore. His photography was published in Europe and America in indie fashion and art publications and revived his passion for visual storytelling and set Parker’s sights on a new territory: comic books.

Before the band dissolved, Parker managed to get a project funded through Kickstarter in 2010. The 200-page graphic novel for mature readers,  1888: Deklin Skurlock Investigation Casebook, Vol. I, is a product of an 8-year collaboration with illustrator John Amor ( Judas: The Last Days (IDW), One Week in the Library (Image) and currently Thundercats and Supernatural), and veteran letterer Jason Hanley. Wolfgang describes the Jack the Ripper epic as "Gangs of New York meets the Exorcist." The book is currently being colored by Parker himself.

The success of the 1888 campaign gave Parker the confidence to try his hand at long-form prose. He wrote the first volume of his Crime Cats series as a holiday gift for his nineteen nieces and nephews in 2014. Having never held aspirations to make art for kids, Wolfgang expected the book to serve merely as a means to remain in his relatives' lives. However, after witnessing the excitement the book generated, he reconsidered. Over two-hundred book signings later, the mystery series has sold over eleven thousand copies in the Columbus area alone and its accidental author and illustrator says the experience has been the most rewarding of his career so far. Parker expanded his middle-grade offerings with Too Scary to Read Alone, a collection of 5 short horror stories which featured haunting illustrations by Vilnius Oort.

But despite his success in children’s lit, Wolfgang Parker had lost his grit. Parker returned to music as singer, bassist, and main songwriter of the Alternative Rock outfit, Weedhaven Laughing Academy (WLA). Parker described the band’s debut anthem, GLUE, as the product of Parker's continuing artistic partnership with Anthony Yates, Alan Mauger, and newcomer, Matt Mees (The Godz). WLA recorded and released 7 original tracks before the project shut down permanently during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, shortly after the release of their final single, Portland, ME. This was preceded by Parker’s collaboration with German synthwave duo, L.A. Streethawk, and YuXiu on the 2019 single, Something Better. 

Parker has presently taken up playing traditional honky tonk as a solo artist, paying homage to life-long influences like Dwight Yoakam, Marty Stewart, and Radney Foster.