Performer, Musician, Writer, Audio Engineer & Producer Bryan Lee Woolsey aka Doc Gunn has carved himself a strong foothold in the music industry. In 2011 he founded his record label ¡batDOG! RECORDS when he saw there was a need for other talented musicians to have a stepping stone platform to help promote their music. Hosting an open mic in a small college town in Northern California gave him connections to local singer songwriters and with help from a local community of artist access to a recording studio lit a fire for him to blindly jump into producing original content for any artist willing to be recorded. He compiled over a dozen different musicians and out of his mothers living room released the first ¡batDOG! RECORDS Compilation on burnt CD’s and Jewel Cases making only 25 in existence. As fate would have it that same year he met a fellow musician from Florida and the two ventured in a beat up 6-door White Cadillac Limo with a small dog named Link who was the inspiration behind it all.
Needless to say the limo had its problems, breaking down nearly every major stop from Humboldt to Tallahassee and luckily, with a little help with some friends, they crash landed in St Petersburg, Florida where they were greeted with great recompense & reward leaving the limo behind but keeping the memories. In Florida, Doc got his first ever paid gig playing music through a local hero GeriX on Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately after a short stint but a good bit of experience under his belt performing live and booking shows as well as DIY recording sessions with Shoestring Studios tracking original songs such as “The Gambler” & “Seamstress” his father passed and it forced him from the Sunshine State back to the Golden State.
During the Limo Sessions Doc was going under the moniker ‘Bad Juju’ but when he hit LA after a call from a long time friend who invited him to stay in his garage and start a band with access to a real studio Doc decided it was high time to change the name to something a little more user friendly & thus The Mother Vines were born.
Nave, Casey, Doc & Fellatio the Doll at The Calvert Meat Castle. But it all really started at a Jewish delicatessen bar in Hollywood when after performing a blazing two song set at the Sunday Nite Open Mic the bartender approached with his number on a piece of paper saying he loved their style and sound and thought they were exactly what that little dive needed. This set off huge opportunities as they met more patrons and musicians who were also eager to help the boys get their footing in the LA scene. Securing residencies at a couple venues around Echo Park and Silver Lake & house shows in Pasadena and the Hollywood Hills the band was full steam ahead. Even graving the famous Whisky A Go Go stage a couple times. Mushroom Mondays became the club house meet up every last Monday and this gave more opportunity for Doc to book more local bands.
THE MOTHER VINES PERFORMING ‘COMPANY’ & ‘WISHING WELL’ AT THE CANTERS KIBBUTZ ROOM IN HOLLYWOOD
Doc had a vision for The Mother Vines which was an edge of your seat surf punk with a pinch of that so cal ska full blown sonic assault that made you want to move your ass and head bang until you slipped in sweat and into the bosom of high energy mistress known as music. Penning songs like ‘Vampire G.F.’ ‘Following Me’ ‘Read ‘Em & Weep’ ‘Nature Boy’ & ‘Tombstone Read’ songs meant to really deliver a punch, bite & kiss!
After the dust settled and the line up changed feelings were hurt and girls came into the picture Doc ended up living in a 10x10 jam space in Crenshaw and decided his time in LA had ran its course he headed back to Northern California to sharpen his Axe as it were and do The Mother Vines the way he wanted (what a stinker ain’t he) Again met with great praise and regard he found a solid drummer who loved punk and thus breathed new life into an almost defunct project. Taking the advice of his biological mother (the only advice to be honest) he kept the name and on his birthday played to a packed house at a small venue aptly named The Green House.
Full steam ahead and bound for glory through the help of crowd sourcing The Mother Vines were able to raise enough funds to put an album on wax, a 4 track e.p. Called named after the single “Following Me” (co-written by the legend Cornbread Kelly) the album helped to give the band footing as serious players in the small local scene and kept them busy as a turnstile for every touring band that would come through the small college town. Did we also mention that during this time he also was writing songs for his solo project that was more based in folk/blues/Americana and instead of using Bad Juju as his moniker he just called it Doc Gunn. Picking up any random angel that would pick and grin and pluck and shuck.
All the while also helping to release a second compilation but instead of just all local artist he used the power of the internet to pull bands from not only all over the country but even from down under. Funded by money he earned dish washing and trimming weed he produced a 20 track album with 16 bands and distributed it accordingly. Helping once again to be a stepping stone for other artist to be heard. Bands like The Monster Women, theHILL, theKIDNEYS, White Lodge, I’d Die For Lo-Fi, La Migra, Over Yonder, Smooth Weirdos and Let It Fever & More!
Pretty Busy guy right? Well as luck would have it he met another amazing producer Brandon Cochise and together they agreed to help produce a hand full of local bands. All credit for audio production goes to Mr. Cochise and Medicine Mountain Productions, ¡batDOG! simply helped to manage the art and distribution funneling a dozen CD’s for each artist involved.
To the success and failures Doc realized he wanted to be more involved in the recording process! To learn the lingo and understand the science to recording. Nave the original bass player of The Mother Vines had attended a Sound Audio Trade school and by that time was on tour with Lionel Richie doing front of house! Doc with a nagging voice saying “If I was in LA, if I was I in LA” Finally made the leap and headed south, promising the Over Yonder boys if they made the trip he would utilize the time at the school to help them produce a full length album. Being a man of his word, 3 months into the school Over Yonder was tracking in a professional setting and they cut twelve tracks.
Doc was able to help produce a handful of bands while attending but also worked washing dishes to afford living in LA & focused more on honing his craft and curating his projects. With help from long time friend Ricky from theKIDNEYS he put together backing tracks to preform live shows and slow released demo singles of new material for both Doc Gunn & The Mother Vines.
After the graduation Doc was hard pressed to find a paying gig that would keep him in LA. He ended up taking a traveling sales gig doing motorcycle rallies and house and garden shows all around America. His real mom Sherrie put into perspective he got 2/3 things he was manifesting, he was traveling and making money and the music was, is and always will be with him.
The traveling aspect for Doc is what he would consider to be normal! The majority of his childhood was spent in the passenger seat of his moms cars, going to a different school every year sometimes 2 or 3 schools in one year from California, Florida, Nebraska, Northern California, Oregon and everywhere in between. Not because his parents were in the military or traveling sales people they just couldn’t sit still. So being on the road felt right back at home, his writing was able to breathe and because he was making good money selling magic bracelets he was living comfortably and still stationed in Southern California staying with his Aunt. Our boy is a regular ol Tom Sawyer. He even got to see an old friend that gave him his break in Hollywood while he worked a show in Ohio and he took him to Andy’s Golden Dragon where you sing for a free egg roll. God Bless you Cory, in our hearts forever you crazy son of a bitch!
As luck would have it and the season started winding down for the magic bracelets Doc stumbled upon an instagram ad for a booking position at the World Famous Whisky A Go Go. Hence the fact once you think your out it pulls you right back in. Landing the job he walked into the doors of The Whisky welcomed by a huge signed picture of Black Sabbath and Ozzy wrote “Go fucking crazy”
The time spent booking at The Whisky a Go Go was like a dream come true. Finally after a lot of hours standing in the sun hustling magic bracelets he got the opportunity to do something he truly loved and was passionate about. Booking over 100 bands and even performing a handful of times on the legendary strip was an amazing opportunity and he cherished every waking breathing moment. Getting to meet idols of rock n roll and rising stars chasing their dreams and passions gave him a fulfillment like no other job had in his entire life. To finally work a job that when people would call in they were excited and enamored. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances and a plague he was violently awoken from his slumber. Luckily by this time he was exactly where he wanted to be, living two blocks up from the the sound audio engineering school where two years prior he had been sleeping in his car in the parking lot of the Kodiak theater, to his own loft and custom studio to record and produce artists of all genre.
IN 2024 DOC SPEARHEADED HIS VERY OWN AUDIO ELECTRONIX COMPANY DOWD AUDIO ELECTRONIX
