Lead by Bryan Wohlust, Doorway 27 was one of Palm Beach County's biggest alternative-rock hopes in the mid part of the last decade. Coming with a postgrunge style that wasn't overly aggro, a pop sensibility delivered with just enough rock edge, and an appreciation for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bopping bass lines, the Doorway 27 boys offered something for everyone. Their stellar 2006 record, The Rescue Effect, positioned the quartet on the short list of local bands that stood a chance at breakout commercial success.
But shortly thereafter, the doors shuttered for Doorway 27, going the way of Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Janis Joplin and perishing young at the height of its popularity -- before ever realizing its full potential.
There was no drama, but life just got in the way. Drummer Angel Lozada moved with his then-girlfriend to New Jersey is all.
The fellas will be taking the stage together for the first time in three years at the second-annual BBQ Bash in Bryant Park (all proceeds benefiting the Grind for Life cancer charity.) In VH1's Where Are They Now? fashion, we caught up with Bryan Wohlust to see what became of the promising West Palm Beach lads.
Turns out Lozada is still in New Jersey. According to Wohlust, Lozada is a drum instructor and plays the skins for a couple of Northeast regional bands (Marlowe Grey and Eyeswan).
For a time, guitarist Chris Cartrett teamed up with charismatic local musician Chuck Andrews to form indie folk group Fire Zuave. That group has put out a couple of albums and toured the nation with the indie-pop hulks Of Montreal, led by Andrews' cousin Kevin Barnes.
Bassist Max Fraser joined forces with Boxelder frontman Bryce Rutkowski's surf-rock project B-Liminal. Wohlust tells us they "have been doing really well," just signed to Secret Seven Records (Jett Beres of Sister Hazel's label), and are hitting the road hard.
As for frontman Wohlust, he had a baby daughter named Madison in 2007 -- which admittedly "kept him out of the loop" for a little while. Recently, Wohlust went back into the studio and waxed a recording with a nifty backing band made up of bluesy-indie rocker Nick Eberhardt (Noble Rocket) and Rob Niemenen and Chris Wood of the Brit-pop influenced unit eL. His debut solo EP, The Art of Graceful Dodging, will be out in the next couple of months.
Wohlust tells us that there are no plans to bring the group back together but hinted that another show might be booked for a big yearly party on Clematis Street near the end of October.
Doorway 27 is scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. at the BBQ Bash. Wohlust says the four of them are happy to be performing again for the Grind for Life charity (founded in 2004 by professional skateboarder Mike Rogers, a two-time sarcoma cancer survivor.) According to Wohlust, his group has been involved with the cancer charity since its inception.
Second-annual BBQ Bash with Doorway 27, the Hard Richards, Angry Pudding, and After Fall. 9 a.m. Saturday, May 14, at Bryant Park, 30 S. Golfview Road, Lake Worth. Admission is $10 for ages 15 and up and $5 for 14 and under. More info click here.
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