The B'zz

  • The B'zz - Get Up [Epic Records  BFE 38230] (1982)

Biography

Doug Stone [allmusic.com]

The B'ZZ released a lone record, the exuberant Get Up, and maintains the distinction of being the only unsigned act ever to appear on American Bandstand. First came the Boyzz, a biker boogie outfit whose Too Wild to Tame gained notoriety helped by energized performances. Keyboardist Anatole Halinkovitch, now Tony Hall, took Dave Angel and Michael Tafoya when he left the Boyzz and formed the B'ZZ with Tom Holland and Steve Riley. Ditching the Godz/Black Oak Arkansas angle, B'zz instead aimed for the chart appeal of Foreigner. Within six months, the quintet amassed a huge song catalog, recruited a strong following, and snagged the notorious Bandstand spot. Inking with Epic, the B'ZZ released the snappy debut Get Up, produced by AOR maven Tom Werman, who performed pop overhauls on Cheap Trick, Off Broadway, and the Producers. The outstanding ''Too Much to Ask For'' made the airwaves, along with ''Get Up Get Angry,'' whose accompanying video landed on MTV. Hall departed for a solo career and wound up scoring the entire run of America's Most Wanted. Holland formed a new band under his own name and later worked with Tafoya in the Raw Dogs. Holland has also attempted to reunite the B'ZZ, while Tafoya plays with a reformed Boyzz. Steve Riley pounded skins for a time with W.A.S.P.