Stormer was an American Hard Rock band that was popular in the 1970s and 80s whose members were Tim Gaines, Donny Simmons, Tom Hardy, Steve Hall, Stephen Shawn, Jeremy Masana, Jimmy Bates and Randy Jones.
Most notably, Stormer had musicians from the San Gabriel Valley who went on to become successful. Stormer's bassist Tim Gaines left to become a member of the popular band Stryper. Donny Simmons, who also played in another popular band, Yankee Rose, [1] [2] [3] was known to be a highly influential guitarist in the San Gabriel Valley, especially to Tracy G, [4] the former guitarist of popular band Dio. Jeremy Masana would later play in The Tracy G Band. [5] Bassist Joe Marks of Rockandi (Vince Neil's band prior to Mötley Crüe) bass replaced Gaines in 1983.
Stormer was one of the many popular acts that contributed to the music scene of the Sunset Strip, sharing the stage with London, [6] and Stratus, [7] as well as opening up for Van Halen at the Pasadena Civic and the Golden West. [8]
On November 19, 1976, Stormer played a sold-out show with Van Halen and Smile at the Pasadena Civic to a crowd of 3,500. At this concert, Marshall Berle was in attendance, who later became Van Halen's manager. [9]
In 2008, when asked if the demos will be remastered and made public, Gaines replied, "I doubt if anyone can find the Masters. We are talking of having a Stormer reunion in the near future. We may decide to record it." [10]
Gaines occasionally collaborated with Donny Simmons and Tom Hardy when he was not working with Stryper. [10]
Josh and Steven Hall Jr., sons of Stormer drummer Steve Hall, have credited their father for being a major influence in their musical career. Josh and Steven are both in popular, award-winning bands Thr3 Strykes and Se7en4. [11]
Van Halen was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and for the virtuosity of its guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Van Halen is the debut studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on February 10, 1978, by Warner Bros. Records. Widely regarded as one of the greatest debut albums in rock music, the album was a major commercial success, peaking at number 19 on the Billboard 200. It has sold more than 10 million copies in the United States, receiving a Diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and making it one of the best-selling albums in the country.
Van Halen II is the second studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released by Warner Bros Records on March 23, 1979, it peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 and yielded hit singles "Dance the Night Away" and "Beautiful Girls." As of 2004, it's sold almost six million copies in the United States. Critical reaction to the album has been positive, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide praising the "feel-good, party atmosphere" of the songs.
Women and Children First is the third studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on March 26, 1980, on Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Ted Templeman and engineered by Donn Landee, it was the first Van Halen album not to feature any cover songs, and is described by critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "[the] record where the group started to get heavier, both sonically and, to a lesser extent, thematically."
1984 is the sixth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on January 9, 1984. It was the last Van Halen studio album until A Different Kind of Truth (2012) to feature lead singer David Lee Roth, who left the band in 1985 following creative differences. This is the final full-length album to feature all four original members, although they reunited briefly in 2000 to start work on what would much later become 2012's A Different Kind of Truth. Roth returned in 2007, but Eddie's son Wolfgang replaced Anthony in 2006. 1984 and Van Halen's self-titled debut abum are the band's best-selling albums, each having sold more than 10 million copies in the United States.
"Eruption" is a guitar solo performed by Eddie Van Halen and the second track from Van Halen's self-titled 1978 debut album. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest guitar solos of all time, having popularized tapping. It segues into a cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me", and the two songs are usually played together by radio stations and in concert. The song was later included as the B-side to the group's second single, "Runnin' with the Devil".
"Jump" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in December 1983 as the lead single of their sixth studio album, 1984. It is Van Halen's most successful single, reaching number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song differs from earlier Van Halen songs in that it is driven by a keyboard riff, although the song does contain a guitar solo. David Lee Roth dedicated the song to martial artist Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, of whom he was a student. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "Jump" at number 177 on its updated list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Richard Alfonso Martinez, better known by the stage name Oz Fox, is the lead guitarist of the Christian glam metal band Stryper. Martinez' high school friends called him Oz in honor of Ozzy Osbourne due to his ability to emulate the vocals of Osbourne while playing Black Sabbath covers in his pre-Stryper days. He was recruited by the Sweet brothers in 1983 to form what would become Stryper. As a founding member of the band, Fox recorded and toured with Stryper until the band's first break up in 1992 but has since rejoined the band.
Tim Gaines is an American bass guitarist best-known as the long-time bassist for the Christian metal band Stryper until his departure in 2017.
Edward John “Ted”Templeman is an American record producer. Among the acts he has a long relationship with are the rock bands Van Halen and the Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced multiple critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums by each of them.
SinDizzy was a Christian metal band co-founded by former Stryper members Oz Fox and Tim Gaines. The band was founded in the mid-1990s after Stryper had disbanded. Its members included young drummer John Bocanegra and lead guitarist Bobby MacNeil. Bass player Tim Gaines described their sound as "a cross between [the] Stone Temple Pilots and Nirvana".
Tracy Grijalva, known as Tracy G, is an American heavy metal guitarist best known for his time with Dio from 1993 to 1999.
Montrose is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Montrose, released in October 1973 by Warner Bros. It was produced by Ted Templeman. Montrose marks the career debut of singer-guitarist Sammy Hagar, who would later achieve significant success as a solo artist and as a member of Van Halen.
"Everybody Wants Some!!" is a song by the American hard rock band Van Halen it is the second track off their 1980 album Women and Children First. It is one of the band's most popular songs, starting as a concert highlight throughout the band's early career.
"I'll Wait" is a song by American rock band Van Halen, taken from their sixth studio album, 1984 (1984). It was written by band members Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, along with Michael McDonald, and produced by Ted Templeman.
Stryper is an American Christian metal band from La Mirada, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet, Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson, and Robert Sweet (drums).
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen was an American musician. He was the guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex in 1972. Van Halen also provided backing vocals for both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, and occasionally played the keyboard.
The San Gabriel Valley encompasses a large part in the Northeast region of the Greater Los Angeles area. This region played a major role in the music of Los Angeles, and California. The San Gabriel Valley remains home to several influential performing groups, such as, Van Halen and the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra.
Donny Simmons is an American guitarist. He is mostly known for being the guitarist of both bands Stormer and Yankee Rose, bands that were popular in Los Angeles, sharing the stage with Ratt, Quiet Riot, Mötley Crüe, Metallica and Van Halen. Simmons has also been cited as a major influence to Tracy G, the guitarist from Dio. Recently, he has been interviewed for Greg Renoff's popular book, Van Halen Rising.
Yankee Rose was a Los Angeles-based rock band in the 1970s and '80s, whose notable members were guitarist Donny Simmons of another popular band Stormer, drummer Abe Perez who recorded with popular blues guitarist Jay Gordon, singer Michael Adams who currently performs as 'Mick Adams' for the Rolling Stones Tribute Band 'Mick Adams and the Stones'.