 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2019) |
Balance | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City, United States |
| Genres | Hard rock |
| Years active | 1980–1983 |
| Labels | Portrait |
| Members | Bob Kulick Peppy Castro Doug Katsaros Andy Newmark Gregg Gerson Dennis Feldman Chuck Burgi |
Balance was an early 1980s American hard rock band. based out of New York City, United States, and fronted by Peppy Castro, formerly of Blues Magoos. [1] They are best known for their top 40 1981 hit, "Breaking Away".
In addition to Castro, original members included guitarist Bob Kulick and arranger/keyboardist Doug Katsaros. [1] The trio recorded their self-titled debut album with session musicians, one of whom, drummer Andy Newmark also co-wrote one of the songs on the album and was apparently an official member of the band at one point. Newmark was later replaced by Gregg Gerson, who departed soon thereafter to play with Billy Idol. Prior to recording their follow-up album, Balance added the rhythm section of drummer Chuck Burgi (ex-Brand X) and bassist Dennis Feldman (ex-Speedway Blvd.) to the lineup. [1]
The group's most noteworthy release was 1981's "Breaking Away" from their eponymous debut album which reached No. 133 on the Billboard 200. The song peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The album's follow-up single, "Falling in Love", peaked at No. 58. The band failed to ever reach the Hot 100 charts again.
In early 1982, Balance entered The Power Station in New York to produce their sophomore album, In For The Count, [1] with Tony Bongiovi, a cousin of Jon Bon Jovi, engineering and co-producing. After a massive house cleaning on so-called 'Black Friday', when 200 staffers at CBS, Epic and Portrait were let go, Balance would lose their supporters at the label and In For The Count became a direct casualty of the turnover.
Although things looked bleak at home, the band experienced one last hurrah when they were asked to write a song for a major Japanese commercial to launch the new Daihatsu Charade. The resulting song was "Ride the Wave" which was also commercially released through Polydor, with album leftover "She's Alone Tonight" on the B-side. Balance played a short tour of Japan before calling it quits due to lack of interest from their label and management company. [1]
Castro, Katsaros, Burgi, and Feldman (along with Bob Kulick's younger brother, Bruce) reunited briefly when they appeared on Michael Bolton's 1985 album, Everybody's Crazy . Kulick and Feldman, the latter adopting the name Dennis St. James and handling lead vocals, would re-team again in the band Skull whose sole album, No Bones About It, was released in 1991; Bruce Kulick and Chuck Burgi guested on various tracks.
In the wake of the 2006 re-issue of In For the Count, Italian label Frontiers Records inquired about a possible new Balance album. Equilibrium was released in 2009 and features original core members Kulick, Castro and Katsaros, along with drummer Brett Chassen, who also co-produced with Kulick, as well as guest spots from Bruce Kulick on bass and Jesse Castro on drums.
In 2014, the band reunited for its first live shows in 31 years for a short three-date tour in Sweden. Peppy Castro, Bob Kulick and Doug Katsaros were joined by Dan Larsson on bass and Jonas Wikström on drums. Sweden Rock Magazine gave the band a rave review of their gig at the Rockland Club in Sala, Sweden, on August 26, 2014.
On October 6, 2015, Peppy Castro was interviewed by Swedish Radio about the continued and renewed interest in the band, such as fans of the band recently setting up a Facebook page wanting the band to play at Sweden Rock Festival in 2016.
Bob Kulick died on May 28, 2020, at age 70. [2]
| Title | Album details | Chart | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [3] | |||||||||||||||
| Balance |
| 133 | |||||||||||||
| In for the Count |
| — | |||||||||||||
| Equilibrium |
| — | |||||||||||||
| "-" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
Rainbow are a British-American rock band formed in London and Los Angeles in 1975 by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Established in the aftermath of Blackmore's first departure from Deep Purple, they originally featured four members of the band Elf, including their singer Ronnie James Dio, but after their self-titled debut album, Blackmore fired these members, except Dio, recruiting drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Jimmy Bain and keyboardist Tony Carey. This line-up recorded the band's second album Rising (1976), while Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) saw Bob Daisley and David Stone replace Bain and Carey, respectively. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll was also the last album with Dio before he left the band to join Black Sabbath in 1979.
The Blues Magoos are an American rock group from The Bronx, a borough of New York City, United States. They were at the forefront of the psychedelic music trend, beginning in 1966. They are best known for the hit song "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet", their only single to reach the Billboard top fifty.
Bruce Howard Kulick is an American guitarist most known as a former guitarist of the band Kiss (1984–1996). He was also a member of Union with John Corabi from 1997–2002, Blackjack from 1979–1980 and Grand Funk Railroad from 2000–2023.
Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar is a drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie.
Bent Out of Shape is the seventh studio album released by English hard rock band Rainbow. It was originally released in September 1983 as an LP and cassette. The cassette featured several longer edits compared to the vinyl version. It was recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen.
Andrew Newmark is an American session drummer who was a member of Sly and the Family Stone and has played with George Harrison, John Lennon, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Ron Wood and Roxy Music.
Robert Joel Kulick was an American guitarist and record producer, who worked with numerous acts such as Kiss, W.A.S.P., Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Meat Loaf, and Michael Bolton. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was the elder brother of former Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick.
The Romantics is an American rock band formed in 1977 in Detroit. The band is often put under the banner of power pop and new wave. They were influenced by 1950s American rock and roll, Detroit's MC5, the Stooges, early Bob Seger, Motown R&B, 1960s North American garage rock as well as the British Invasion rockers.
Graham Bonnet is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri. He is known for his powerful singing voice but is capable of also singing soft melodies. His singing has been noted as "very loud" by both his contemporaries and himself, and he claims to be a self-taught singer with "no discipline for lessons". Bonnet's visual style, considered uncharacteristic of hard rock musicians, has been described as being a cross between Don Johnson in Miami Vice and James Dean.
Killers is the second compilation album by American hard rock group Kiss. It was released only outside the US, but quickly became available as an import. Of the album's twelve songs, four were new compositions recorded specifically for it: "I'm a Legend Tonight," "Down on Your Knees," "Nowhere to Run" and "Partners in Crime." These new songs were recorded at the behest of Phonogram, in response to the commercial failure of 1981's Music from "The Elder".
Blackjack was an American rock band, active from 1979–1980, featuring Michael Bolton, Bruce Kulick, Sandy Gennaro and Jimmy Haslip. The band was short-lived, released two albums, the self-titled Blackjack in 1979 and Worlds Apart in 1980, and embarked on a small US nationwide tour.
Paul Stanley is the first solo album from American musician Paul Stanley, the singer-songwriter is best known for serving as the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of hard rock band Kiss. It was one of four solo albums released by the members of Kiss on September 18, 1978, coming out alongside Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, and Gene Simmons. It is the only release out of the four Kiss solo albums to feature all original songs, as Simmons, Criss and Frehley each recorded one cover song on their albums.
Charles Arnold Burgi III is an American drummer. He has performed with many rock bands and musicians, ranging from local New Jersey/New York-area artists to international groups, throughout his prolific career. He is the current drummer for The Billy Joel Band.
Everybody's Crazy is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Michael Bolton. The album was released in 1985 by Columbia Records.
Russell Glyn Ballard is an English musician.
"Rocket Ride" is a song by the American hard rock band Kiss. It was originally featured on their 1977 album Alive II.
Worlds Apart is the fourth studio album by the Canadian neo-progressive rock band Saga and was originally released in 1981. The album was produced by Rupert Hine, and has been released with several different covers. Frontman Michael Sadler stated in the band's video DVD Silhouette (2002) that Hine told him to stop "singing like a choir boy". Sadler's vocal style was noticeably different on Worlds Apart than on the first three Saga albums; he kept that style in successive performances with the band. Hine reportedly had Sadler climb to the roof of the English barn where the band was recording in order to get the proper emotion from Sadler for "On the Loose".
Santo Michael "Sandy" Gennaro is an American rock drummer, author, musician, public speaker and mentor. He has recorded and toured with many musical artists including Blackjack, The Monkees, Pat Travers, Cyndi Lauper and Joan Jett.
Blackthorne was an American hard rock project, that involved Bob Kulick on guitar, Graham Bonnet on vocals, Frankie Banali on drums, Jimmy Waldo on keyboards, and Chuck Wright on bass. The group released the album Afterlife through CMC International (US) and Music For Nations (Europe) in 1993.
Doug Katsaros is an American keyboardist, arranger, composer, and conductor.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
