The Furys are a legendary Los Angeles band whose blend of punk energy, power-pop melody and R&B roots helped shape the city’s early new wave scene. Formed in the mid-’70s, they earned a reputation for incendiary live shows and hook-heavy songs, and became staples at venues like the Whisky a Go Go and the Starwood.
Over the decades The Furys evolved, weathered changes and came back stronger — never losing their sharp edge or melodic bite. They aren’t just survivors of the scene. They’re writing its next chapter.
1976
A Sound and a Movement Begins
The Furys were formed by Jeff Wolfe and Gregg Embrey in 1976 as a reaction to the content of popular music of the mid-’70s.
Realizing the band could not land a major record deal with the kind of music they were writing, The Furys formed their own label, Double R Records, with manager Michael Compton — raising their flag and blazing a trail in the indie music movement.
1977
Sold Out
Double R Records released the first Furys single in June 1977: “Hey Ma,” backed with “Jim Stark Dark.” The 500-copy first pressing sold out within the first week, so the band re-released it.
The Furys took shape as a live band in 1977 with Chaz Maley on guitar, Gary Embrey on drums, Joe Conti on organ and piano, Gregg Embrey on bass, and Jeff Wolfe as lead singer.
1977
A Live Debut
The Furys’ live debut was at the Surf Theatre in Huntington Beach on November 26, 1977, sandwiched between two satin-and-long-hair “progressive” rock acts. A mystified surfer yelled from the audience: “Why are you guys wearing ties?”
That same audience became the notorious Huntington Beach punk-rock crowd.
1978
A Second Release
1978 saw the second single: “Say Goodbye to the Black Sheep,” backed with “Suburbia, Suburbia.” It took off on the burgeoning college and underground radio market. KROQ and DJs like Rodney Bingenheimer championed “Black Sheep” and played it extensively.
1978
A Legendary Performance
The same year brought The Furys’ first performance at the legendary Whisky a Go Go, on a bill with The Last and The Tremors.
1978
LA Rock History
In October ’78, promoter Paul Greenstein asked The Furys to play a new venue he was launching: a restaurant in the heart of Los Angeles’ Chinatown. The band said yes — and became the first rock ’n’ roll band to play the legendary Madame Wong’s. That first night was a rousing success, launching a decade-long entertainment empire for Wong’s.
That year The Furys shared stages with the Weirdos, the Zeros, the Last, the Alleycats, the Zippers, the Know and many more. The Plimsouls played their first gigs opening for The Furys.
The band also opened for major touring acts — British bands like Magazine, 999 and Ultravox — plus dates with New York Dolls singer David Johansen, Iggy Pop and many more.
1978
Growing a Scene
With a growing following from live shows and Southern California radio, the floodgates opened. In 1978 The Furys played extensively across Orange County, Riverside, Long Beach and San Diego.
They were at the forefront of a live-music renaissance: established venues like the Whisky, the Troubadour and the Starwood, and underground — read quasi-legal — events at the Skeleton Club, Lawn Rehearsal Studio and other pop-up gigs. Invariably, packed with Furys fans.
1979
Chasing a Moving Target
A third Furys single was released by Beat Records in 1979: “Moving Target,” backed with “We Talk We Dance.”
1979
Packing the House
The band kept up a busy gigging schedule: the Cuckoo’s Nest in Orange County, the Nugget a Go Go in Long Beach, and Hollywood venues like Gazzarri’s and the Whisky. Packed houses became de rigueur. Press coverage — mainstream and underground — kept coming.
1983
Making LA Home
Jeff Wolfe felt the band needed to move its home base from Orange County up to the Los Angeles basin. Some members weren’t willing to make the move, so in 1983 the group relocated and rebooted in LA. Gregg Embrey continued as songwriter, switching to rhythm guitar, as new players came on board. The live gigs kept The Furys in front of their fans.
1986
Radio Radio
The Furys recorded their mini-LP Indoor/Outdoor at EMI-America Studio in Hollywood. Radio play spread far beyond California as the growing college and indie radio networks picked up on the band.
2012
The Furys Live
Interest in The Furys began anew in 2012 with radio play and fan interaction. Wolfe reformed the group, and they started playing Southern California dates again.
2013
Back to Chinatown
On June 15, 2013, The Furys returned to Chinatown to headline the LA Weekly Live Music Stage at Chinatown Summer Nights, presented by LA Chinatown and KCRW. It came 35 years after they became the first rock band to play Madame Wong’s.
2016
Nothing but the Best
With fans engaging and live gigs back on, The Furys released a compilation CD, The Sound of The Furys, featuring two new tracks recorded with the new band.
2018
40 Years A Go-Go-ing
On February 17, 2018, The Furys celebrated the 40th anniversary of their first gig at the Whisky a Go Go — with Dave Lewty, and Chris Silagyi on guitar.
2021
New Writing Duo, New Music
The band’s lineup solidified when Dave Lewty came on board; Dave is now the longest-serving member of the band. Wolfe and Lewty have written dozens of songs together, releasing The Furys Again. “New Wave Girl” hit #1 on New Visions Radio’s Fresh Cuts chart in New York in September 2021, and “Glitter Bomb” followed at #1 on Radio Candy’s New Music Show in Los Angeles in January 2022.
2023
The Releases Keep Coming
New Wave Hit Parade arrived in August 2023, collecting the three ’70s vinyl singles, the 1986 Indoor/Outdoor mini-LP, and a bonus track — “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore,” recorded with Brian Wilson’s string section in 2016.
2024
A New All-Star Lineup
A massive new sound: Jeff and Dave joined by Cliff Roman (The Weirdos), Jeff Jourard (The Motels) and Ray Herron (The Sloths).
2024
Taking It to the Stage
The new lineup gigged around Los Angeles through 2024, including a featured slot at the Shaky Town Strut at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach and shows at the Maui Sugar Mill Saloon in Tarzana.
2024
Nothing Mysterious
With new music to put out, The Furys formed their own label: Arcane Alley Records.
2024
Back with a Bang
Two electrifying tracks, “Everybody’s New” and “Without You,” written by Jeff Wolfe and Dave Lewty, produced by Oliver Roman and recorded at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606. The band’s debut on Arcane Alley Records, celebrated with a release party at the Maui Sugar Mill Saloon on October 4, 2024, alongside The Glimmer Stars and The Drool Brothers.
2025
Hey Girl, Goodbye
“Hey Girl, Goodbye” lands on May 15, 2025, heartland hooks meeting jangle-pop grit. By July it’s on Little Steven’s Underground Garage on SiriusXM, spun by Bill Kelly. Without You follows in a new single mix.
2026
The Lineup Today
Jeff Wolfe, Dave Lewty and Cliff Roman are joined by John DiMambro (Down by Law) on guitar and Paolo Dell’Olio on drums. Sweet Connection (AA-007) arrives January 16, and Your Eyes (AA-008) follows, launched live at the Redwood Bar in downtown LA on March 6.
2026
Still on Rodney’s Radio
“Sweet Connection” was picked up by more than 70 stations in over a dozen countries, from the UK and Germany to Japan, Brazil and South Africa. Little Steven named it one of the Coolest Songs in the World the week of January 20, and it hit #1 on New Visions Radio’s chart the week of March 2. Among the DJs spinning it was Rodney Bingenheimer on SiriusXM, the same Rodney who broke “Black Sheep” on KROQ in 1978. “Your Eyes” followed, reaching #4 on the Radio Indie Alliance Top 100 the week of March 16.
2026
Homecoming
Three weeks after launching “Your Eyes,” The Furys played Costa Mesa’s Tiki Bar on March 28. Costa Mesa was the band’s original Orange County headquarters, and the show came four decades after the move to Los Angeles.
2026
Fifty Years of Truth
Wicked White — written by Jeff Wolfe and Gregg Embrey in 1977 as a warning about technology pulling people apart — finally gets its proper studio life on September 3, 2026. Fifty years later, it’s not a warning anymore. It’s a diagnosis. The single arrives with a music video built around the band’s July 3 Maui Sugar Mill show, and the CD carries “Say Goodbye to the Black Sheep” as a bonus track.
