Band History
TEEZE - THE TRUE STORY OF
PHILADELPHIA'S LEGENDARY GLAM METAL MANIACS
By Mick Baker
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Our story begins with two guys, guitarist Gregg Malack and vocalist Luis Rivera, who went to the same high school together (North Penn)and were in rival rock bands, Lust and Telstar respectively. Even though both bands came from the same school (located about an hour north of Philadelphia), neither Malack or Rivera knew each other. While both bands played the same "cover" renditions of the latest Kiss, Rush, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and AC/DC songs (and crossed paths doing the same local club circuit), the two future band-mates were soon introduced to each other and discovered that they both possessed a burning desire to be in the hottest rock band in the area.
They soon joined forces and quickly decided on what direction this new band would take. They wanted it to appeal to the ladies first (for all of the obvious reasons) and they knew it had to rock hard for the guys. Most importantly, they wanted the "show" to be front and center, the one you talked about for weeks after. Those first gigs done at school dances, fire halls, grimy shot and beer taverns, etc., would be the informal announcement of a musical partnership that would last twenty five years. Luis would be the one to name it Teeze.
Teeze would endure all of the typical growing pains of any young band trying to find its identity and sound. A seemingly endless succession of guitarists, bassists and drummers would come and go during the group's formative, part-time years until 1980 and the arrival of bassist Dave Weakley. It soon became apparent with the addition of Weakley that the personality of the band was beginning to gel.
Those fortunate enough to witness the early gigs will remember an agitated, animated Weakley on the bass doing scary dead-on versions of Bowie's Ziggy persona. The group continued to do the heaviest tunes of the day, including Ozzy, Scorpions, Def Leppard and new punkier stuff like the Dead Boys. It was also during this time that the infamous Teeze shredded "look" developed; something akin to some kind of mutant Twisted Sister/Motley Crue hybrid on steroids. It wouldn't be long before it was taking close to an hour just to apply makeup and clothes before a show. Malack, Rivera and Weakley would soon be joined by drummer Kevin Stover as the operation opted to make the ultimate commitment and become full time (complete with its own unique form of trucking; the fabled yellow school bus).
Teeze had always been devoted to live gigs and the lure of the road. Now as a full time act, they were playing five to six nights a week in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and New York. It was this dedicated commitment to heavy touring that would eventually give them a five figure mailing list/fan club base and a huge loyal following. It would also lead to the decision to start focusing on original Teeze material and re-vamping the entire stage show. It wasn't an easy decision since the band was making a healthy living off of the cover circuit and the "original" metal scene hadn't really gotten started in Philadelphia.
Teeze was stuck at a career-defining crossroads. Half the band wanted to continue doing cover material and the other half wanted to pursue originals. It would take the stunning, unexpected departure of guitarist Gregg Malack to force the issue. Malack quit because he was unable to convince some of the others that the cover circuit was a dead end and that the only way to move forward was to play Teeze music and nothing else. Even though his departure lasted all of one week, it would prove to be a pivotal moment by opening the door for guitarist Brian Stover, Kevin's younger brother, to join the band.
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Cooler heads prevailed and Gregg re-joined the new, improved lineup. Bigger hair, louder amps, tons of smoke, concussion bombs, flash pots, spinning guitars, blood spurting, hair spray and spandex, spandex, spandex......If Motley Crue owned the L.A. glam scene and had successfully released a self-financed debut album on their own label, then Teeze was their east coast rival and was about to do the same. Philadelphia, arguably the birth place of rock & roll and the home of stars such as Todd Rundgren and Hall & Oates, had never seen a hard rock band breakout big from the City of Brotherly Love (although one could make a case for The Nazz in '68/'69). Teeze would lead Philly into the fray for what would become an Eighties' heavy metal hairband onslaught, a scene that wouldn't end until the arrival of a guy named Cobain from Seattle in 1989.
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It's 1984 and in just a few short years, every major city in the US has a thriving metal scene with its locally based stars; L.A. has Motley Crue, Poison (Pennsylvania transplants), and Quiet Riot; Chicago has Enuff Z'Nuff and Seduce; New York has Twisted Sister and White Lion; Baltimore has Kix and Wrathchild; northern New Jersey has Bon Jovi and southern New Jersey has The Dead End Kids; and Philadelphia has Teeze, Cinderella, Britny Fox, and Tangier.
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Teeze began the year by writing the songs that would eventually make up their debut album. The recording process started that summer and would stretch into October of that year before the original eight tracks were in the can. A special promo 45 seven inch single,"Party Hardy"/"Going Away" ( SMC 45-925), was released on the group's own SMC label to press and radio in November. Intended to announce the upcoming release of the LP, the disc (complete with a picture sleeve) was only pressed in a limited edition of 500 copies and was quickly snapped up by collectors.
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This single quickly proved its value when it arrived on the desk of Philadelphia radio DJ Mark Didia at 50,000 watt flame-thrower WYSP. Didia, who would later go on to fame and fortune as an A&R rep for several major labels, had a little late night show called "Metal Shop". After giving "Party Hardy" a few spins, the phones lit up. It wasn't long before the song was in heavy rotation and the boys were making regular Saturday night visits as special guests. Although they probably didn't realize it then, WYSP would be instrumental in making the "Teeze" LP an immediate, huge independent success.
The boys made their first television appearance on Philadelphia's "Dancin' On Air", which was a locally produced American Bandstand clone that featured school girls dancing to their favorite songs. Although it wasn't apparent at the time, the show's producers had booked the group as a gag (figuring that their unusual "look" would provide some sort of freak show) to augment their yearly Halloween segment. All they had to do was set up their equipment and lip synch to "Party Hardy". Pretty simple, right? They hadn't counted on the reaction of several fourteen or fifteen year old girls who got a little too close to the stage and quickly came unglued at the sight of Luis, Gregg, Dave, Kevin and Brian wailing away. The segment barely made it to tape when some of the girls, obviously overwhelmed at what they were witnessing, burst into tears and had to be escorted out of the studio. Teeze was never invited back, but did manage to engrave their name on the bathroom wall next to a then-unknown going by the name of Madonna.
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Plenty of "underground" street buzz was spreading about this maniacle glam band from Philly. Articles and reviews started appearing in music magazines as well as traditional mainstream media (an early color shot appeared in Oui magazine). SMC Productions, the group's management firm, also licensed one song to lead off a heavy metal compilation album called "Iron Tyrants", which was released by World Metal Report magazine.
It was also during this time that the band began transitioning the new songs into their regular three-set per night stage show. Before the year was out, most of the cover songs were gone and the show was trimmed down to one 90 minute blast of metal mayhem complete with local opening bands. Even though Teeze had always attracted record setting crowds to their club gigs, the group decided to test its strength by doing a special holiday concert at a VFW hall known as Forest Lodge in Sellersville, PA in December. The idea for the gig was to celebrate the impending release of the album and thank the fans for being so patient at the same time. Well, some folks to this very day still claim it was the unlimited supply of beer and lack of security personnel that caused one long, unforgettable, crazy night. Approximately 1500 rowdy fans showed up, got loaded, fought and partied until the sun came up. Teeze rocked so hard that the hall's huge circuit breakers were blown more than once, the stand holding the soundboard collapsed and crashed to the floor and Gregg Malack's Marshall caught fire and threatened to burn the whole building down! Female fans were still crying for more as the group fled the stage and local police arrived to pick up the pieces.
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The stage was set as the New Year began with anticipation of the group's first album. "Teeze" ( SMC-1200) was released on February 4th on the group's own blood-red SMC label. The group's management had no idea what to expect when that first pressing of 2000 copies soldout within days and they were forced to rush release a second pressing of an additional 5000 to meet demand. A special concert was planned at the historic Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA (co-promoted by WYSP and featuring the legendary Dead End Kids as support) to raise funds for further pressings. The group's management had been actively trying to get major label interest, but had met with rejection probably due to their extreme appearance. One major independent distributor, California's Greenworld Distribution, did express interest and sent their New York office down to check out the band. Greenworld was a major worldwide distributor of heavy metal and punk titles and had released Motley Crue's Leathur Records debut and LPs by Slayer, Megadeth, Great White and Keel, among others.
It was the comparison with Crue that got their attention and, after experiencing the Keswick show while a blizzard of snow raged outside, they signed Teeze to a one album exclusive distribution deal. A sub-licensing agreement was also reached with Holland's Roadrunner label for all territories outside the US. The original eight track album was re-designed, repackaged and remastered. "On The Run" was added to the new LP re-issue and "Crank It Up" was added as a tenth song to the cassette release. A special picture disc was also planned but never released. The Greenworld re-issue hit the streets in June and was an immediate hit. The new improved full color cover was brutally shocking in its presentation. Long time fans accustomed to Teeze's colorful, shredded look now had an LP cover in dripping color to hang on their walls. The back cover photo was a live shot taken from the February Keswick concert.
Critic response from around the world was swift and unanimous: Pennsylvania Musician's Metal Mike Davis proclaimed them "red hot...power metal from the tightest outfit since Victoria Principal's sweater"; the Aquarian Weekly's Bill Chemerka pleaded "you've got to check out Teeze, Pennsylvania's most impressive heavy metal band"; the August 24th issue of Billboard called the album "an all-out heavy metal assault"; Circus called Teeze "a cross between Aerosmith and Kiss by way of Rush"; and Baltimore's Relaxer East described it as "two sides of metal madness that will placate the most discriminating head-banger". But perhaps it was Malcolm Dome from England's hallowed Kerrang! Magazine that summed it up best by declaring "I've unwrapped a wild one here.Teeze are truly wonderful and their anthemic 'Party Hardy' is a worthy successor to Kiss' 'Rock And Roll All Nite'...the next smokin' Motley Crue!"
Meanwhile, the group co-headlined an outdoor show in the streets of Philadelphia with Keel. The May 30th concert was sponsored by WYSP and drew an estimated 5000+ fans in 90 degree heat. Teeze unleashed a blistering 45 minute set that left fans waving album covers and screaming for more. The group was featured on WYSP's "Rock News" the following day with reporter Gary Lee Horn walking through the crowd asking "why did you come here today?" The answer echoed six times during the sixty second spot; Ôwe came to see Teeze".
Teeze won the Stroh's Superstar Talent Search Contest regionals after a special "battle of the bands-style concert at Castle Gardens in Allentown, PA in April. The group's management received free instruments during a June press conference that also served to announce the Stroh's "Local Electricity" LP (featuring Teeze's winning "Midnight Madness") on Starstream Records. Had they gone all the way to the finals, they would have followed Bon Jovi and Twisted Sister as winners.
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Teeze was also featured in Hit Parader's "Shooting Stars" section and had "Party Hardy" appear on a special compilation cassette called "Hit Parader's Wild Bunch" (Reachout International Records) along with other acts such as Raven, Grim Reaper, Slayer and Laaz Rocket.
The group continued to tour non-stop with nationals such as Steppenwolf, Black Oak Arkansas, Rough Cutt, Ace Frehley, Kix, White Lion, Stryper and Blackfoot, while management started fielding offers for a tour of the UK (that never materialized due to financial concerns). Several concerts also featured Britny Fox and Cinderella as opening acts during this period. Perhaps even more telling was the number of concerts that were canceled by headliners such as Aerosmith, Loudness, Zebra and Iron Maiden By this time, the LP was firmly lodged in the import charts of the major British music mags; reaching #2 in Sounds, #3 in Kerrang! and #3 in New Musical Express. "Party Hardy" became a club hit in Paris and Poland. Belgium's "Telemoustique", West Germany's "Streetfighter" and "Rock Hard" and Italy's "Metallo" magazines all championed the band.
But even though the music press was raving about the group and worldwide sales of the album would eventually reach nearly 40,000 by year's end, the major labels were nowhere to be found. Of the few A&R reps that did check out the band, the general consensus was that they were "too wild, something akin to Twisted Sister on acid!" The shirts in New York couldn't figure out what to do with Teeze, so no major deal was forthcoming and the band soldiered on. It was at this point, sometime towards the end of the year, that management began pushing for new recordings. It had been a year since any time had been spent in the studio and Teeze had been on the road virtually every night. Getting the group to start writing again proved to be more difficult than pulling teeth. And then one sunny day in late December, two things happened. A registered letter arrived announcing that Greenworld Distribution had filed for bankruptcy and Aerosmith's management was on the phone.
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The Greenworld situation was a critical blow to the group's momentum since all of its product was pulled from retail outlets and returned at the request of the court appointed bankruptcy trustee. This killed sales of the album at the very time it was in peak demand. Worse, SMC Productions became embroiled in a year-long legal battle to re-gain the LP masters and original photos and artwork. To add insult to injury, Teeze was owed thousands of dollars in back royalties. Ultimately, the masters were lost in a court-ordered asset auction and the group was deemed an "unsecured creditor", thereby letting Greenworld off the hook for royalty payments. Pleadings for help from ex-Greenworld executive Wes Hein (who had moved on to Enigma Records) went unheeded. The original "Teeze" LP would never again be available in stores and now trades on E-Bay for impressive money.
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Meanwhile, Tim Collins, of Collins Management, had recently taken over the management duties for the newly-resurrected Aerosmith and was currently in the midst of the group's "Done With Mirrors" tour. A copy of the "Teeze" LP had somehow reached his office and he instructed his staff to contact the group. Collins liked what he heard on the album and wanted to hear more. Collins had successfully cleaned up Aerosmith and was now looking to develop some new bands. Teeze was at the top of the list. The problem was that the group didn't have any new material ready beyond some basic rough demo tracks. The heavy touring schedule they had undertaken in 1985 was now about to cause them a golden opportunity.
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Management rushed them into the studio where the boys would spend the next fourteen days writing and recording a new album that would never see the light of day. Now affectionately known as "the lost basement tape", it was intended to show the Collins group that Teeze was more than a one shot flash in the pan. The songs were good. The quality of the recording was not. A number of those songs such as "Sleaze Patrol" and "Lock Up Your Daughters" were already familiar to fans lucky enough to catch the live shows in late ‘85/early 1986. Other songs on the demo (including "I Can’t Live Without Your Love", "King Of The Night", "Keep On Rockin’" and "Keep The Fire Burnin") were only "pre-viewed" at a handful of live shows and are now considered to be the group’s rarest studio work (and also the final studio recordings featuring the classic Teeze lineup of Rivera, Malack, Weakley, Kevin & Brian Stover). Despite that, a meeting was arranged with Collins when Aerosmith appeared at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, he decided against getting involved and the boys were now faced with deciding in what direction to pursue.
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What had shown incredible momentum and promise in 1985 had now suddenly come to a standstill. Tensions were high, tempers short, frustration was setting in. Some of the members wanted to pull the group off the road for an extended period in order to write and record. Others wanted to continue the heavy gig schedule hoping that their amazing live shows would eventually land a major label deal. The band fractured along those opinion lines and Kevin and Brian Stover would leave the group shortly thereafter. Even though Teeze was now facing a dire situation with no record in the stores, having to advertise for new members and being short of cash due to the ongoing battle with Greenworld, they never considered quitting.
