ABBY AND THE WONDERDOGS

The beginning of the end. The end of Abby and the Wonderdogs. The beginning of something greater. But what could be greater without the presence of such an influential band.

“After a lot of soul searching, a lot of reasoning, and a lot of nothing, we have ended it. Abby and the Wonderdogs is over,” says Ruby at the official announcement of their departure. The members all have stern faces that show nothing- remorse nor happiness.

“It was a big decision but had been coming since we last broke up. Nothing was the same and things have just been getting worse,” Abby speaks first, as all the members except Donovan are present and we sit in the lobby of The Hilton hotel in London. They sit apart and don’t make eye contact with each other, tonight is there official last show. I expect there to be more tears or any tears at all. They are quiet and are watching what they say. One can only imagine there is more to the story but they don’t let on.

“We have spent the everyday of the last couple of years with each other, and that gets really…… um……. Whats the word….?”

“Shit full?” Abby tries to help Ruby, who agrees on her choice of words.

“And the longer we’ve been in this business the harder everything has become,” D’Arcy adds as she fiddles with the button on her jacket, “We’ve grown apart from each other. We have different lives from each other. Different visions. Different dreams.”

“Yeah I have 2 kids and another on the way who don’t even know there mother.” Ruby speaks sternly while powdering her nose, “Or, you know, whatever.”

“During the making of ‘Fuckology’ when we broke up is where it should have finished,” Abby interjects putting the conversation back on track, “since then we’ve been living a lie that everything is perfect with the band. It has nothing to do with Todd or Donovan, it was just that at the time we were exhausted. Not just physically and within our lives but musically and creatively, we had no idea what road we were travelling down and even if we wanted to go there.” Abby is interrupted with Donovan’s presence in the room. Noticing he is late and right in the middle he quickly takes a seat beside Ruby.

“Sooner or later,” Abby continues, “the inevitable happened where our personal lives became important and we needed to explore that.”

Their albums and work say so much more into the lives and souls of not just themselves but of others. Grasping their ideas and concepts is done is a second as you find yourself agreeing to every word and every note. “The world is a place no-one can fully understand as is the human mind. We can only come into reality to what we see. Provoking thoughts has to be someone’s job.”

Not everything has to be dark and meaningful and I’ve even caught myself singing to them in the shower. Their songs are catchy but sting, their attitudes are additive but bitchy, their looks are shocking but sassy.

The exciting world of Abby and the Wonderdogs seems to much for some of us to even grasp. The stories and scandals only make us want to experience this for ourselves even more. But their world will still continue on. They are going to prove that their is a greater more self-fulfilling life after what they have already bee abundantly given.

Instead of trying to hide from the spotlight they’ve lived under for the past 4 years they want to cherish their past and channel it into a different direction. Their futures will run parallel to what they currently have.

Abby the singer. The curly haired slacker, self-confessed bitch and slag with “a little bit of derro”, who claims the band “brought knives back into fashion,” has opted for a fairly quiet life. Her pregnancy to long time partner, Brian, seems to be her reason for this. She plans to live in her retreat in France until the birth of her first child, and is working on her second on screen film to be a physiological ad brutal thriller. There is also talk of her involvement in the running of ‘The Kink Shop’ in London with Ruby.

Ruby the red-headed bassist. The optimistic, gay man seducing, fashion fetished, drama queen, who claims the band, “brought slashing your wrist back into fashion”. Besides music- fashion and art are Ruby’s other passions. Her side project always consisted of designing dresses and clothing much of which was used for Abby and the Wonderdogs’ main events. Ruby created her own label ‘Kinky Machine’ and started designing fetish clothing and wear. “Throughout my music career I noticed there weren’t enough of this kinky stuff around. You can hardly get anything good and so a lot of the time I made my own. So why not make it for everyone? I think someone who doesn’t own a whip, handcuffs, or even a latex body suit is a very deprived person………..”

Ruby is opening outlets in London, Paris, New York, Sydney, and Tokyo to realise her style of clothing and everyday necessities. The stores have been named ‘The Kink Factory’ and should open later in the year. “I cater for all types of people- gothic people that is. I even have some pregnant wear I designed to accommodate my latest bundle of joy.”

D’Arcy the bassist. The ………………. who claims the band “brought stalking back into fashion.” In the film clips and their movie, the girls of Abby and the Wonderdogs showed their acting talents but one shined like none other. D’Arcy is now pursuing her dream of acting. She has already won herself the role as the hidden temptress who holds the key to saving the universe. The erotic futuristic action movie written and directed by Jeffery Matters, who raves about her performance, “D’Arcy filled this role magnificently. Sheba (her character) is a woman of elegance and beauty but is also catatonic and manipulative.”

Donovan the drummer. The demure soft-spoken, man loving, sweetheart of the group, who claims the band, “brought sex back into fashion.” Over Donovan’s time in the band he has managed to capture more than one heart. Most of Donovan’s private life has bee kept secret due to his shyness but at times has been very catty. Donovan is already signed to a new and up coming band from his German home land. A lot of popularity has arisen for ‘Stairs’ and people are eagerly awaiting it’s debut release.

And Todd just fades into the wood work.

Most bands like to go out with a bang. A last extravaganza to be remembered. A powerful moving performance to mark their territory in music history. Sadly and disappointedly Abby and the Wonderdogs didn’t. Their performance was much the same as their pre-show feelings. Sure it was filled with emotions- full of exhaustion, melancholy and a bit of desperation. But their solemn performance came from the heart. Although it added to the songs of depression and desolation, their songs of love and hate didn’t mix as well in their deflated moods. Their actual on stage presentation was also dismal.

The overly large group of fans and music lovers filled the floors and seating area. The stadium reeked of sweat and teenage angst and the air was that thick it was almost unbearable to breath. Everyone was packed in tightly to witness the finale of Abby and the Wonderdogs. The lights went off and everyone screamed in anticipation. Seconds passed and turned into minutes. “What’s happening?” was the general conversation converging amongst the people. The lights came back on and still nothing. “What the fuck is going on?” a rather heavy gothic girl from the front row screams, before more pre-recorded music from the early 90’s plays.

They break open their set with the slow and moody ‘I’m having Satan’s baby’, of which they’re started playing again to commemorate Abby and Ruby’s pregnancies. The slow hypnotic strumming and beating allows them to stay stable in their positions. During the five minute musical solo Abby runs off stage and appears just in time for the final verse. Throughout her departure I’m sure that everyone was wondering what was really happening with Abby and the Wonderdogs. “Impregnate me with your soul / reign over me until time comes/ from this we will evolve” the chorus calls. A song that was shunned in the media believing it was telling young girls to get pregnant to older evil men.

Next they play one of their earlier songs, ‘Bimbos at the Mirror’, although it doesn’t have as much emotion and feeling as their first it still sounds amazing. Tonight every song seems to sound intense and heartfelt as do the vibes from the crowd, maybe because we all know that this is the last ever appearance of Abby and the Wonderdogs, maybe not.

I think back to previous times in which I have seem them play live. This one is very much different. They do not jump or dance around, none of them have converged with the audience. Nothing. They are just standing there and playing. The only thing that has happened so far was at the start of ‘Bimbos at the Mirror’ during the opening guitar chords when Ruby pretended to put on some lipstick to suit the song and after which D’Arcy put on some fake mascara.

The Members
Discography
Biography
Interview with Abby, Ruby, and D'Arcy
The Cooking Show
The Movie
Interview with Todd And Donovan
One Night In Paris