Felony (band)

Felony is an American new wave and rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in the early 1980s by brothers Jeffrey Spirelli and Joe Spirelli, and Danny Sands. The brothers were also known as Jeff Spry and Joe Spry.

History

Before forming Felony, Jeff Spry had been the singer with Detroit Proto-Punk/Hard rock legends, Ron Asheton (of Iggy & The Stooges) and Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson (of The MC5) in a short lived super-group (based in Los Angeles) that was called "The New Order" (preceding the English new wave group of the same name). Jeff was in the band in 1975 and recorded an album with them that was released in 1977.

After a period playing shows and making music business connections in the Los Angeles scene, Felony appeared in the horror b-movie "Graduation Day" (1981), playing their song "Gangsters of Rock." [ [http://www.issues-mag.com/mar5/frameSetFile.php?filename=fisher.phtml&department=features Issues Magazine ] ] Soon after, they signed with producers/managers Don Rubin, formerly of pop group The Ivy Three, and Artie Kornfeld. [ [http://www.artiekornfeld-woodstock.com/resume.htm Resume ] ]

Felony went into the studio and emerged with single "The Fanatic," which became a hit on Los Angeles radio station KROQ with help from program director Rick Carroll. The song reached the top 30 in the singles charts and topped the alternative and dance charts. It became a key track in the development of the Modern Rock radio format. "The Fanatic" was included in the influential 1983 "Valley Girl" soundtrack, which also featured Modern English's "I Melt With You". Felony also performed the track on "American Bandstand". [ [http://www.issues-mag.com/mar5/frameSetFile.php?filename=fisher.phtml&department=features Issues Magazine ] ]

The band, which now included Jeffrey on lead vocals, Joe on guitar, Louis Ruiz on bass and Arty Blea on drums, recorded their first full-length album, also called "The Fanatic", which was released in 1983 on Scotti Brothers Records with distribution by CBS Records. It included the single and nine other tracks that helped define the trendy-but-never-huge power-pop new wave sound of the early 1980s.

Felony's second single was 1983's "The Pied Piper," which producer Kornfeld had written with Steve Duboff in the 1960s and which had been a hit for Crispian St. Peters and Cher. "Kristine" from "The Fanatic" was also a single in 1983.

The band recorded songs including "All the King's Horses" and "She's My Little Girl" for a second album on Scotti Brothers that never materialized, and in 1985 EM-HI released Felony's sophomore effort "The Vigilante", which featured a more traditional rock sound. The title track got a lot of radio play and was number two in KROQ's "Top 106.7 songs of 1985." [ [http://www.radiohitlist.com/KROQ/KROQ-1985.htm KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985 Countdown List ] ] "The Vigilante" also featured the track "I'm No Animal," which appeared on the soundtrack of 1986's .

In 1988 Felony released their final album, "In the Name of Rock-n-Roll" on the Q9 label. It included 10 tracks, half of them with Joe on vocals.

Jeffrey Spirelli commited suicide in March, 1992. Joe formed his latest band, KanaWormz, with bass player, John Avila, of Oingo Boingo fame. Most of the band currently resides in Shingletown, CA.

Discography

"Gangsters of Rock" from "Graduation Day" (1981)

"The Fanatic" Year: 1983 Tracks: The Fanatic/The Girl Ain't Straight Label: Rock 'n' Roll Catalog #: 3497 Formats: 7", 12"

"The Fanatic" Year: 1983 Tracks: 1. The Fanatic, 2. No Room in Heaven, 3. One Step, 4. Positively Negative, 5. Aggravated Man, 6. What a Way to Go, 7. Kristine, 8. The Girl Ain't Straight, 9. Teaser, 10. 666 Beware. Label: Rock 'n' Roll Catalog #: 38453 Formats: LP, CS, CD

"Pied Piper" Year: 1983 Tracks: Pied Piper (long), Pied Piper (short) Label: Rock 'n' Roll Catalog #: 04220 Formats: 7"

"Kristine" Year: 1983 Tracks: Kristine, Kristine Label: Rock 'n' Roll Catalog #: 03999 Formats: 7"

"The Vigilante" Year: 1985 Tracks: 1. Modern Rome, 2. I'm No Animal, 3. Ruler In My Mind, 4. The Vigilante, 5. Shake The Demon, 6. Spinning Red. Label: EM-HI Catalog #: 53155 Formats: LP

"All of Us" Year: 1986 Tracks: All of Us, The Vigilante (Arthur Baker Remix) Label: EM-HI Catalog #: SBP 73152 Formats: 12"

"In the Name of Rock-n-Roll" Year: 1988 Tracks: 1. In The Name Of Rock-n-Roll, 2. Bad Guy, 3. Gladiator School, 4. Rock-n-Roll Hoodlum, 5. Vigilante, 6. Youth, 7. Love Junky, 8. Passion, 9. Revolution Solution, 10. World Gone Wild. Label: Q-9 Discs, Inc. Catalog #: Q-999 Formats: LP, CD

Compilation appearances

"Valley Girl Soundtrack" Year: 1983 Tracks: The Fanatic Label: Rhino/WEA Catalog#: Formats: CD, CS

"Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites, Vol. 3" Year: 1994 Tracks: The Fanatic Label: Oglio Records Catalog#: Formats: CD, CS

"Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s, Vol. 11" Year: 1995 Tracks: The Fanatic Label: Rhino/WEA Catalog #: Formats: CD, CS

"Alternative 80's Hits" Year: 1998 Tracks: The Fanatic Label: Rhino Catalog #: Formats: CD

Television appearances

"American Bandstand" [ [http://www.tv.com/american-bandstand/irene-cara---felony/episode/219176/summary.html American Bandstand: Irene Cara / Felony - TV.com ] ] First Aired: Saturday April 30, 1983 Tracks: The Fanatic, What a Way to Go Episode Number: 2534 Season Number: 26

References