20/20 (band)

Last updated
20/20
Origin Tulsa, Oklahoma
Genres Power pop [1]
Years activec.1977–1983, 1995–2005
Labels Bomp!, Portrait, Enigma, Oglio
MembersSteve Allen
Ron Flynt
Past membersMike Gallo
Chris Silagyi
Joel Turrisi
Dean Korth

20/20 was an American power pop band based in Hollywood, California. They were active from 1977 to 1983 and reunited during the mid-1990s to the late 1990s. In the mid-1970s, Steve Allen and Ron Flynt played together in Tulsa. Allen and Flynt were graduates of Nathan Hale High School, and both attended Oklahoma State University, where Flynt earned a degree in music. [2] Allen decided to move to Los Angeles in 1977 after fellow Tulsa natives Phil Seymour and Dwight Twilley met with success. Once in Los Angeles, Allen met with Mike Gallo (singer/songwriter/keyboardist/drummer), who had already conceived of the idea and name for the band (after having spent time in the UK). Gallo first started writing with Allen, and later auditioned Allen's friend from Tulsa, Ron Flynt, for 20/20. The three-piece band signed with Greg Shaw's Bomp! Records in 1978 to record a single. [3] Between the release of the single, and their first LP on Portrait Records, Chris Silagyi joined the band as a keyboardist. [3]

Contents

Personnel

Personnel changes and break-up

During the recording of the first album, Gallo was let go from the band. Phil Seymour played drums on all of the album's songs except one. Afterwards Joel Turrisi joined and played on Look Out!, their second album. [3] The third album, Sex Trap, was recorded with drummer Dean Korth and released on Mainway Records, followed by a later release on Enigma Records. 20/20 then split up. [3]

Flynt moved to Austin, opened his own recording studio, and headlined the 2005 Austin music festival with a newly released CD on Zip records including the powerpop tune "Mary's World". Steve Allen moved to Nashville, Tennessee and continued to record and write music there. Chris Silagyi became a record (The Untouchables, Dave Alvin, The Redskins) and video producer. Joel Turrisi became an actor and works in other areas of film & music. After splitting with 20/20 in late 1979 (and taking twenty unreleased/recorded 20/20 songs, which he is the sole writer, with him) Mike Gallo went on to form the bands RadioMusic and Two Moons, and signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell.

Current activities

Five band members now operate five different recording studios in five different cities.
Ron Flynt - Jumping Dog Studio in Austin, Texas. Headlined the 2005 Austin music festival, and released a solo album on Zip Records with such tunes as the power-pop track "Mary's World".
Steve Allen - Blue Planet Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. Currently plays with The Long Players band. [4]
Chris Silagyi - PlayBox Music Room in Pinon Pines, CA. Also became a record (The Untouchables, Dave Alvin, The Redskins) and video producer. He currently plays with The Ex Teens.
Bill Belknap - Long Branch Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Joel Turrisi - VFG Productions/Panaview filters in West Hollywood CA. Works in acting and other film/music areas.
Mike Gallo - Opened his own label, Two Moons Records, in 2008 to release his catalog (previously unreleased 20/20 recordings, and Gallo's two post-20/20 bands, RadioMusic and Two Moons). He writes and records at home, and also signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell. Mike is currently focused on songwriting, his label and publishing.
Dean Korth - Currently plays with the band The Catalina Scramblers in Santa Cruz, CA.

Discography

Albums

YearTitle Billboard 200 PeakRecord LabelComments
1979 20/20 138 Portrait Records
1981 Look Out! 127 Portrait Records
1982Sex TrapMainway Records
1983Sex Trap Enigma Records Enigma records picked up the album for wider distribution, but "Sex Trap" and "Fast Car" were remixed, and "Please Please (Listen To Me)" was replaced by "Jack's Got a Problem."
199520/20/Look Out! Oglio Records First two LP's, 20/20 and Look Out! remastered and released on one CD. Now out of print and commercially unavailable. A later edition includes two non-LP B-sides from the Look Out! era.
19954 Day Tornado Oglio Records
1998Interstate Oglio Records
1999Sex TrapJapanese releaseIncludes bonus track, "Best of Your Life."

Singles

Appearances on compilations

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References

  1. Borack, John M. (2007). Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide. Not Lame Recordings. p. 42. ISBN   978-0-9797714-0-8.
  2. "Tulsans Find Success In Los Angeles Clubs :: TULSA AND OKLAHOMA HISTORY COLLECTION". cdm15020.contentdm.oclc.org. Retrieved 2019-01-16.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. 1 2 3 4 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 296. ISBN   0-85112-579-4.
  4. "The Long Players Bios" . Retrieved March 27, 2015.