Starz (band)

The rock band Starz was a 1970s heavy metal and power pop band from New Jersey, United States. Despite a lack of big commercial success, the band has a lasting cult following and has been cited as a major influence by bands such as Motley Crue, Poison and Twisted Sister.

History

Starz was formed out of the ashes of an early 1970s pop music band, Looking Glass, which had the #1 hit single "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)" in the summer of 1972. After the official breakup of Looking Glass, two of the remaining members (Peter Sweval and Jeff Grob) formed Starz as a heavy metal band. Starz was signed to Capitol Records in 1976. The original line up included vocalist Michael Lee Smith (brother of Rex Smith, vocalist for REX, and later a popular actor), Richie Ranno (formerly with Stories) on guitar, Brendan Harkin on guitar, Peter Sweval (Piet Sweval) (b. 13 April 1948, Toms River, New Jersey) on bass, and Joe. X. Dube (Jeff Grob) on drums.

Their major hit single was "Cherry Baby" in the spring of 1977, from the album "Violation", although they had several other songs chart in the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100. Most fans consider "Violation" their best album and compare it stylistically to Kiss (Kiss' manager, Bill Aucoin, was also Starz' manager) and Aerosmith. Their third album, "Attention Shoppers!", is more in the vein of power pop than heavy metal, featuring a Cheap Trick influence in songs like "X-Ray Spex." Brendan Harkin and Peter Sweval left the band prior to the final album, "Coliseum Rock", replaced by Bobby Messano on guitar and Orville Davis on bass.

Influence

Although not being able to build up major commercial success and not well remembered, Starz has proven to be influential far beyond their commercial success. Several 1980s glam metal artists, including Poison, and Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe, cite Starz as a primary influence. "Kerrang!" magazine included the first two Starz albums on their list of the most important heavy metal albums of all time.

The band regrouped in 2004 for a number of successful club dates, culminating in the two day, 2005 "Starzfest" held in Teaneck, New Jersey which featured the entire band including new bassist, "Insane" George DiAna, Bobby Messano and Orville Davis. The band played their entire album catalog to include songs which had never been played live before. Two concerts in California were also performed in late 2005, one recorded for a television special. In addition, a show recorded in Cleveland, Ohio in 2004 was released on CD in late 2006.

Discography

* "Starz" (1976)
* "Violation" (1977)
* "Attention Shoppers!" (1977)
* "Coliseum Rock" (1978)
* "Requiem" (2000)
* "Greatest Hits live" (2004)
* "Double live" (2006)

References

* [http://www.starzcentral.com/ Official band website]
* [http://www.famousinterview.ca/interviews/richie_ranno.htm Interview with Richie Ranno]
* [http://www.fullinbloommusic.com/richie_ranno_starz.html Interview with Starz guitarist Richie Ranno]