The Woggles

“I saw the Beatles at Shea Stadium. I’ve seen the Stones, the Animals, Sam with Dave, and I just have to tell you that you guys got it. Whatever it is, you got that something. I mean, you guys just totally blew me away.” That’s a mighty nice compliment from anyone, but when those words came from the mouth of “Little Steven” Van Zandt — of Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band and “The Sopranos” — the Woggles’ Manfred Jones was, for once, left speechless.

??
“He swore that he wasn’t blowing smoke up our butts when he said that,” laughs Jones, who formed the garage-rockin’ band in 1987. Van Zandt saw the band play live in August 2003, on a bill with the Detroit Cobras in Brooklyn, N.Y. “By the time we made it back down to the dressing room, he was there waiting, with a huge smile on his face.” Earlier this year, Van Zandt offered the gregarious and energetic Jones his own radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio, which airs Mon.-Fri., noon-3 p.m.

??
The demands of producing a daily program, however, haven’t stopped the oft-touring band. Jones simply records the show into his laptop from the van as it blazes across the country. “It’s pretty cool,” he says. “Occasionally you can still hear the ambient noise of the locale, like bottles crashing or street noises.”

??
Little Steven programs the format of the station, but Jones, who also has an encyclopedic knowledge of rock ‘n’ roll, has the freedom to throw in tunes of his own choosing. As he records the show, the Woggles shake and shimmy on down the road to their next gig. For the Woggles, he says, life is simple. “The schedule is: wake, eat, perform, sleep. Then repeat.”

??
The Woggles play the Earl with the Electric Six and the Bloody Hollies, Tues., Oct. 4, 9 p.m. $10-$12. 488 Flat Shoals Ave.,404-522-3950. www.badearl.com.