The name Andrew Wood is synonymous with the term "legendary musician." Of this there is absolutely no doubt. With the album 'Apple' in 1990 Mother Love Bone created a rock masterpiece that only fell short of surefire success because of the band's inability to tour due to Andrew's passing just before the album's release.

Living in the shadows of the Mother Love Bone mystique was Wood's preceding band, and one of the band's known as "a Godfather of the Seattle Grunge Movement" - Malfunkshun. Comprised of Wood on lead vocals and bass guitar, his brother Kevin Wood on guitars and drummer Regan Hagar, Malfunshun would lay the groundwork for the grunge scene with their appearance on the C/Z Records compilation 'Deep Six' and their outrageously powerful live shows alongside Soundgarden, Skin Yard and others.

In the meantime, as Mother Love Bone were laying waste to the Pacific Northwest, a bit farther down the West Coast young Bronx native, Tony West was running the streets of Hollywood and finding his musical blueprint - in the form of Andrew Wood. "I discovered Mother Love Bone from a girl on the street of Hollywood at a place called Tommy's Burgers on Hollywood Blvd which is long gone," says West. "It was the soundtrack to my darkness and I lived those songs. Literally. "Stardog Champion" and "Chloe Dancer / Crown of Thorns" (off of the 'Shine' Ep) are the songs I connected with the most and it was immediate. You know when you just connect with something powerful and there's no real way to explain it? That's basically it, we've all been there."

In March of 2014 West (also with the band Blacklist Union) joined Malfunkshun onstage at Louie G's in Tacoma for six songs and the performance went down a storm with fans and band members alike. Shortly after the band played their first official show with West at the helm at Point Casino in Kingston, WA. "The place was packed - and Andrew's mom was there, " relates Tony. "I was so frazzled. I just had to think to myself, 'this isn't happening, your hero's mom isn't right there in front of you ... his brother isn't playing on the stage beside you.' I actually did Mother Love Bone's "Chole Dancer" acapella that night. In my world it doesn't get any bigger than that."

Malfunkshun has upcoming shows on 6 September at Hop Monk in Sebastopol, CA (just north of San Francisco) and The Elbo Room in San Francisco on 29 October. Later this year they will release a new Ep on the WammyBox Records label.

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