(pronounced "pork")


...in the beginning, there were two brothers with moderate musical talent that were recent immigrants to the lonely burg of Greencastle, Pennsylvania.

 Upon their arrival, they decided that it would be cool to start a band, and many basement jams ensued. Now they determined that it was time to add a little rhythm into the mix of punk, funk and prog-rock influence. Enter Domo.
 

The Cast
Domonic was the perfect purveyor of pugilistic percussion for the pop-punk-prog of Porque. He had the fastest hands in Greencastle, and had an obsession to play. A band geek by day (and Friday night...), he added the busy, Peart-influenced playing perfect for the poppy prog songs composed by the elder brother, Brian.

Brian was the only member who had any kind of live playing experience. The oldest member of the group (by two years), he brought an anal-retentive quest for perfection that caused great amounts of friction in the group. His pop-influenced perspective on life sometimes clashed with the slacker "whatever" attitude of the young one, Rob.

Rob (the younger brother) probably grew the most of any member of the band during its heyday. He began as a shaky, rhythmically imprecise novice, and left a seasoned, groove-laying master of the slap-and-pop technique, and his ear improved greatly.
 

The Following
Porque was fortunate enough to have several advocates, including Brian and Rob's brothers, Bill and Pat, and their "sister" Shawana. These people were kind enough to devote crazy amounts of time to the production of Porque merchandise and the promotion of the band. Due to the availability of the Porque stickers, they had free advertising on a lot of cars in the Greencastle area, and even as far away as Hagerstown, Maryland!

Porque only played live one time in its short life, at Greencastle-Antrim High School (Rob and Domonic's school). They played its 1994 talent show and didn't place. That tells you something about the teachers and administration of the school. They were so stuck in the 1950's they didn't realize that the incredible power trio that was playing was one of the best bands that Greencastle would ever see. Porque got their last laugh that day, though. At the end of the show - they were the last to go on - they played the Stone Temple Pilots' song "Plush," and aggravated all of the teachers present because the students didn't want to leave.
 

The Demise
All good things come to an end, and the end of Porque began in the spring of 1995. Brian, as usual, was away at school all year, so the band didn't get to play together very much. He was foolish enough to set a goal for the band at spring break-they would have some of their original music recorded by the end of that week. Domonic came over once, and Rob was nowhere to be found. Brian was pissed off, but in an unusual show of patience, decided he could wait until summer. Brian came home from school in May and started to try and get the group together. He succeeded, but he came to the realization that something wasn't right. Domonic wasn't playing up to his usual talents (probably due to a year of no practice), and Rob was developing an attitude problem. Brian was depressed already, due to other concerns, and he had little patience for any of it. The jam recorded from that time period is a classic, as it features some solid guitar work, stellar bass playing, and tasteful, albeit unrehearsed, drumming. It features Porque in its element (the basement on Castlegreen Court), playing its songs. It also has a completely spontaneous Ramones rip-off that is really spirited. It's a shame that the band had to fall by the wayside as other things began to rule the members' lives (hell, Domonic got married!) The end of Porque led to the beginning of another band, one that rose like a phoenix from the ashes of Porque's demise. Yes, that all-star band I'm talking about is Jive Town Jimmy and the Knights of the Purple Cadillac.
 

The Lineup
Domonic Woodring - Drums, percussion
Rob Vitellaro - Bass
Brian Vitellaro - Guitar

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The Other White Meat Anthology 93-95, Porque's only album, is never going to be released on Porque Recordings. Don't look for it!
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