Gamma (band)

Last updated

Gamma
Gamma Elektra.JPG
Gamma in 1980. Left to right: Jim Alcivar, Ronnie Montrose, Denny Carmassi, Davey Pattison, Glenn Letsch
Background information
Origin San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genres Hard rock, AOR
Years active1978–1983, 2000
Labels Warner Bros., Elektra
Past members Ronnie Montrose
Davey Pattison
Jim Alcivar
Glenn Letsch
Skip Gillette
Denny Carmassi
Alan Fitzgerald
Mitchell Froom

Gamma was an American hard rock band formed by guitarist Ronnie Montrose and singer Davey Pattison in San Francisco in 1979. [1] They released four albums: Gamma 1 (1979), Gamma 2 (1980), Gamma 3 (1982) (all on Elektra Records) and Gamma 4 (2000). [1] Their biggest hit was 1982's "Right the First Time", which was a minor chart entry in the US, but a top 40 hit in Canada. Some of their other best known songs include "Fight to the Finish" from their first album, and "Meanstreak" and "Voyager" from the second album.

Contents

History

Original incarnation (1979–1983)

Ronnie Montrose put the band together after having released a solo album Open Fire in 1978, after having disbanded the hard rock band Montrose in 1977. Gamma was a far more AOR-oriented band than Montrose, and used a lot of the latest keyboard technology in its sound.

The debut album Gamma 1 was released in 1979 and reached No. 131 on the Billboard 200, totalling 17 weeks on the chart. Gamma scored a hit single with "I'm Alive" which got to No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "I'm Alive" had significant airplay on KSHE, Crestwood, Missouri. The original lineup of Ronnie Montrose (guitars), Davey Pattison (vocals), Alan Fitzgerald (bass), Jim Alcivar (keyboards) and Skip Gillette (drums) recorded this album. [1] Guitarist Montrose, bassist Fitzgerald and keyboardist Alcivar had all been members of the band Montrose. [1]

Gamma 2 was issued in 1980. Alan Fitzgerald (who later joined Night Ranger as their keyboardist) was replaced by bassist Glenn Letsch, and Denny Carmassi (another ex-Montrose member) came in on drums. [1] The album had a cover design by Mick Haggerty, featuring two sharks with only their fins visible burrowing through a lawn that was being sprinkled. The album peaked at No. 65, and featured a heavier sound. (e.g. "Mean Streak" and "Cat on a Leash"). There was also a cover version of Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air". It was produced by Gary Lyons and Ronnie Montrose.

Keyboardist Jim Alcivar was replaced by Mitchell Froom and Gamma 3 was released in 1982. [1] The album reached No. 72 and produced the single "Right the First Time" which reached No. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 10 on Billboard 's Album Rock Tracks chart. In Canada, "Right the First Time" peaked at No. 27, making the song the band's only top 40 hit on their national pop chart. The album's opening track, "What's Gone Is Gone", and tracks like "No Way Out", were arena rockers, while others like "Condition Yellow" and "Moving Violation", continued the odd writing style and sounds that the band started with on their debut album.

However, Gamma's label Elektra Records never really promoted the band, and with only moderate sales, they disbanded. [1]

Post-break-up activities

Reunion (2000)

Montrose reunited with Pattison in the 1990s and reactivated the band in 2000. The new line-up was Davey Pattison (vocals), Ronnie Montrose (guitar), Denny Carmassi (drums), Glenn Letsch (bass), and Ed Roth (keyboards). Carmassi and Letsch had also played on Gamma 2 and 3; Roth was a new addition to the band. In an interview around the time of the release of Gamma 4 (2000) Carmassi stated "For me, it was a chance to play with Ronnie again. I always loved playing with him. There are certain people you "get off" playing with. I've played with many guitar players over the years, some with big reputations, and Ronnie stands out as one of the best." [2] The group recorded the album Gamma 4 before once again dissolving.

Remastering (2011–2013)

In 2011, Rock Candy Records, a reissue label in the UK, began remastering and releasing the Gamma catalogue. They started with Gamma 2 which includes 24 bit remastering from original source tapes and extensive liner notes with comments from Glenn Letsch.

Gamma 1 was remastered in 2013 by Jon Astley, (who remixed the remasters for The Who) and features a new interview with vocalist Davey Pattison. [3]

Gamma 3 includes interview comments from Glenn Letsch, Davey Pattison and drummer Denny Carmassi plus a single edit of "Right the First Time" as a bonus track.

Gamma (2013–present)

After the death of Ronnie Montrose on March 3, 2012, the original members of Gamma (plus Marc Bonilla on guitar) performed to a sell out memorial concert in San Francisco, California. It was here that former Montrose manager/promoter Jim Douglas of Primetime Entertainment suggested that Pattison form a new band. Gamma was reformed with Pattison on vocals, Dan Buch (Butch) on drums, Van Spragins on bass, Tommy Merry on guitar and Brad Barth on keyboards. Notably Gamma performed with Deep Purple in Saratoga, California in the summer of 2014 and with Boston in Lincoln, California in the summer of 2016.

Personnel

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Trower</span> English guitarist

Robin Leonard Trower is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montrose (band)</span> American hard rock band

Montrose was an American hard rock band formed in 1973 and named after guitarist and founder Ronnie Montrose. The band's original lineup featured lead vocalist and frontman Sammy Hagar, who later found greater success as a solo artist and as a member of Van Halen. Rounding out the original foursome were bassist Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi. The band experienced moderate success before disbanding in early 1977. The 1973 debut album Montrose eventually proved to be an international sleeper hit, selling in excess of one million copies and attaining platinum status in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Montrose</span> American guitarist (1947–2012)

Ronald Douglas Montrose was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock, Beaver & Krause, Boz Scaggs, Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, The Beau Brummels, Dan Hartman, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Marc Bonilla and Sammy Hagar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denny Carmassi</span> American drummer

Denny Carmassi is an American drummer most notable for playing with many rock bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davey Pattison</span> Musical artist

Davey Pattison is a Scottish-American singer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Pattison started his career in 1969, and it took off after arrival in the United States in 1979, on invitation from Bill Graham, to front the rock band Gamma, formed by Ronnie Montrose.

<i>Paper Money</i> 1974 studio album by Montrose

Paper Money is the second studio album by the American hard rock band Montrose, released on October 11, 1974, by Warner Bros. Records. It was produced by Ted Templeman and is the band's final recording with original vocalist Sammy Hagar. It marks the arrival of new bass player Alan Fitzgerald, replacing original bassist Bill Church.

<i>Gamma 1</i> 1979 studio album by Gamma

Gamma 1, released in 1979, is Gamma's debut album. It reached No. 131 on the Billboard Album charts, totalling seventeen weeks on the survey. "I'm Alive" reached No. 60 on the Billboard singles charts. "I'm Alive" is a cover of The Hollies song from 1965.

<i>Gamma 2</i> Album by Gamma

Gamma 2 is Gamma's second album, released in 1980. On this album Ronnie Montrose keeps his streak of not having the same personnel on two albums in a row, changing the line-up once again. Davey Pattison (vocals), Montrose (guitar), and Jim Alcivar (synthesizer) remain from Gamma 1. Glenn Letsch replaces Alan Fitzgerald on bass and old Montrose bandmate Denny Carmassi replaces Skip Gillette on drums.

<i>Gamma 3</i> 1982 studio album by Gamma

Gamma 3 is the third studio album released by the rock band Gamma. It was released in 1982.

<i>Gamma 4</i> 2000 studio album by Gamma

Gamma 4 is Gamma's fourth and final album and was originally released on Ronnie Montrose's own label, RoMoCo, in 2000. In 2005, it was re-released by Wounded Bird Records. It was the last full album in Montrose's lifetime to feature contributions from him.

<i>Mean</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Montrose

Mean is the fifth and final album by American hard rock band Montrose, released in 1987. It has much more of a glam metal sound than previous Montrose albums. It was the lowest-charting release on Montrose's career, reaching No. 165 on the Billboard 200 in June 1987.

<i>Warner Bros. Presents Montrose!</i> 1975 studio album by Montrose

Warner Bros. Presents Montrose! is the third studio album by American hard rock band Montrose, released on Warner Bros. Records on 26 September 1975.

<i>Jump on It</i> (Montrose album) 1976 studio album by Montrose

Jump on It is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Montrose.

<i>Red Hot!</i> 1987 compilation album by Sammy Hagar

Red Hot! is one of the many Sammy Hagar compilation albums from his Capitol Records era. This one compiling material from his two live albums released for the label, All Night Long and Live 1980. Tracks 1-6 were taken from All Night Long and tracks 7-11 were taken from Live 1980.

<i>Blood Sports</i> (album) 1984 studio album by Avenger

Blood Sports is a 1984 album released by the British heavy metal band Avenger. It was reissued in 2002 by Frontline Records.

<i>Open Fire</i> (Ronnie Montrose album) Debut studio album by Ronnie Montrose

Open Fire is the debut studio album by American guitarist Ronnie Montrose.

Glenn Letsch is an American bass guitarist. He was in a Los Angeles band with Mitchell Froom called "Bullet Park". After Ronnie Montrose produced their demo, he asked Letsch to join his band Gamma, where Letsch became friends with singer Davey Pattison. When Gamma disbanded in 1982, Pattison became Robin Trower's principal vocalist and Letsch continued with several of Ronnie Montrose projects and session work including playing bass on Sims computer games. He joined Trower's touring band in 2008 reuniting with Pattison.

<i>The Diva Station</i> 1990 studio album by Ronnie Montrose

The Diva Station is a mix of instrumental rock music with three songs with vocals. Former Gamma vocalist Davey Pattison reunites for two songs with Ronnie Montrose.

<i>The Best of Gamma</i> 1992 greatest hits album by Gamma

The Best of Gamma is a compilation of music from the first three Gamma albums.

<i>The Very Best of Montrose</i> 2000 greatest hits album by Montrose

The Very Best of Montrose is the only compilation album by American hard rock band Montrose. It was released in 2000 by Rhino Records. The album contains songs from the group's five albums, the first four in consecutive years in the mid-seventies and another from 1987.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 142/3. ISBN   0-85112-656-1.
  2. ↑ "RONNIE MONTROSE TEN QUESTIONS WITH DENNY CARMASSI INTERVIEW GAMMA DISCOGRAPHY". Anti-m.com. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Rock Candy". Rockcandyrecords.com. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.