THE BEAT 

Enuff Znuff - Back In The Game With A Lucky Seven
By Tom Lounges
This article appears in the September 1997 issue of The Beat
© The Beat/Lounge Lizard Publications

“The songs are there! That’s the most important thing about this band - our songs!” said Chip Znuff, the bassist, founder, and namesake of Enuff Znuff, one of Chicago’s most enduring rock bands.

The group has been busy of late, having just released an album - Seven - named for it’s numerical place in their discography. They have been on a series of seemingly endless mini-tours across the US since it’s release earlier this year. The EZ boys have shared dates with such fellow road warriors as - REO Speedwagon, Jackyl, Dokken, Night Ranger and Jimmy’s Chicken Shack - as well as pounding out headline shows at small halls and large clubs.

As he prattles on about their shows, their songs, and their fans, it quickly becomes crystal clear that Znuff truly loves his job and his band. He carries with him all the enthusiasm and zeal of a teenager playing at his first school dance, rather than a seasoned veteran with more than half a dozen albums under his belt.

After covering considerable ground about the various aspects of the music business, Znuff brings the conversation back to his passion - songwriting. And when talking about songwriting with Chip Znuff the names Lennon and McCartney always seem to work their way into the mix.

“The Beatles were a great band because they had great songs,” said Znuff, who professed his bands penchant for jamming on Fab songs. “We always do a couple of Beatles tunes in our set.” The tunes sometimes end up on albums as well. Seven finds an interesting EZ take on Lennon’s “Jealous Guy,” while earlier import CDs have featured live bonus recordings of the band ripping out covers like “Revolution,” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.”

“The songs are what it is all about when you come right down to it,” he says “People don’t see your face on radio. It isn’t the kind of clothes you wear that will give you longevity in the music business. It’s the songs! All bands have their ups and their downs, but if you keep putting out good songs, you will always wind up on top at the end.”

On top is where Enuff Znuff was in 1989, when they landed a deal with Atco Records and exploded all over MTV and radio with a pair of infectious hits - “Fly High Michelle” and “New Thing.”

On top is where they were, when Rolling Stone magazine hailed them as 1991’s “Hot New Band” on the strength of their second album, aptly titled - Strength.

On top is where they were, when they were invited by David Letterman to fire up their amps on his late night gab fest. And when they were playing to thousands of screaming fans overseas.

On top is where they want to be again! They have never lost sight of that goal, according to Znuff. Not even when, like so many late ‘80s bands, they felt the stinging backlash of a fickle public and the invasion of alternative music.

Alot of people remember Enuff Znuff primarily for those two early hits from a self-titled debut album that went gold. But they put out five solid albums after that - albums ripe with the kind of quality songwriting that should now find them living in posh digs in Beverly Hills and marrying “Baywatch” babes.

Znuff seems to feel the same way. “This is a tough business,” he said “We made some mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. And sometimes those mistakes hurt in the long run.” One of those mistakes would seem to have been leaving the protective wing of Clive Davis at Arista Records, where the band recorded an album of some of their finest work - Animals With Human Intelligence.

“It was a management decision,” said Znuff of leaving Arista after that third album. “We were never dropped from the label. They never even threatened that to us. Herbie Herbert (the bands manager) felt that it wouldn’t be in our best interest to stay with Arista because we didn’t have the same vision for the group. When we signed with Arista they said they were going to make us the cornerstone of their rock department. But when we didn’t hit a homerun with the first single, they seemed to get cold feet. Herbie called up the label and politely requested that we be released from our deal.” Herbert, who has managed several arena bands including Journey and Roxette, has since retired and parted ways with the group.

“It was a decision that we all agreed with at the time,” he said, not wanting to play Sunday morning quarterback. Znuff and Herbert remain working allies, with Chip producing albums for Herberts band project, Sy Klops Blues Band. That blues/hiphop ensemble features members of Journey, Europe, The Tubes, and Steve Miller Band.

But that is all behind them now. Since 1994, the band has become more focused and cohesive in their goal to get back to where they should have been a long time ago. “Now it’s we inmates who are helping to run the asylum” laughs Chip.

The real change came with a transfusion of new blood into the band. Most fans will agree, the change in personnel a few years ago , has been a welcome blessing. Drummer Ricky Parent , has been with the group since 1993, when original skins man Vikki Foxx jumped ship to join Vince Neils band. Parent comes to the group from New Jersey, where he still maintains his home. “He’s just a tremendous talent,” said Znuff. “We saw him in a demo video and flew him out. That’s all there was to it, Ricky is family.

Guitarist John Monaco came to the band via Mr. Big nearly three years ago. “Monaco was with Mr. Big on their ‘93 tour,” Explained Znuff. “He was doing guitar tech work for Billy Sheenan. John was perfect for the band, he has the same passion as the rest of us for the songs. He writes songs, he can sing and he’s a great guitar player. We hit a homerun with Monaco, because he covers all bases.”

Chip likes to think of the current line-up as being the true Enuff Znuff band, because the chemistry and collective thought-process is right between all four men. “We are like a hand in a glove,” he said. We are the four fingers on the same hand. Since Parent came on board, and now Monaco, the band has really been riding a creative and productive wave.

“We have been releasing alot of material in the last few years. We’ve been averaging an album a year or better.” said Znuff. It’s true. In the last three years, the band has recorded for two labels. - Big Deal/Caroline and Mayhem - giving its fans three releases - 1985, Peach Fuzz, and last year’s Tweaked.

“We got a nice little thing going. 1985 came out in 1994. We had Peach Fuzz come out in 1995, and then in early 1996 we had Tweaked. And now here we are in 1997 with Seven. We’ve got a nice little streak going and we’d like to continue that. 1985 did considerably well at retail. Helping to draw attention to both the record and the band was renown shock jock, Howard Stern, who scribed the liner notes for that album. Stern has loyally remained in their camp, along with David Letterman, who invited the group to make a second appearance on his show.

For those as confused as I was about why the band was inked to two labels, here is the scoop - the earlier, previously unreleased material that was gathered up for the 1985 and Peach Fuzz collections - are on Big Deal/Caroline. “They handle more of the catalog kinds of material like those,” he said. “Mayhem has the two newest albums that we have been touring on - Tweaked and Seven.

While Seven may be brand new to these shores, area fans may already have it under a different name. It was actually released in Japan as Chip & Donnie : Brothers back in 1995. “That whole Chip & Donnie [name] thing was once again a management decision,” said Znuff. Regardless of what it’s called or who it is credited to, the bottom line is that this album is a wonderful collection of music. Recorded in a mere two weeks, the bassist recalled the Seven sessions as being - “marathon work.”

Engineered by Chris Shepard (Smithereens, Smashing Pumpkins, KMFDM, ect.), the project enlisted such stellar guests as saxophonist Mars Williams (Pyschedelic Furs), violinist Johnny Frigo, and drummer Greg Errico (Sly & The Family Stone). Even so, it was still brought in for the low budget of $12,000. “You have to learn to work with what you have,” said Znuff. “We had to work around costs by being well-rehearsed so as not to waste time. We made this record the old fashioned way by playing live and rolling the tape. I think the result was a real organic recording, with alot of warmth and feeling in it.”

This “macaroni and cheese” method of making an album obviously agrees with the band, for the album ranks among their best. In league with Strength, it is considerably better than anything they’ve done in the last few years.

But will it be better than their next one? “We have two new albums in the works as we speak,” he said. Two? “Yeah, two...a new live album and a new studio album. We started the new stuff in a studio downtown, at the Chicago Recording Company (Pearl Jam, STP, Cheap Trick). We were lucky enough to sneak in and track half a dozen songs late at night when they were about to turn off the electricity. We’ve been doing the rest of it over in Crestwood at Star Trax with Jeff Luif (Blondie, Inxs, Ray Charles).”

The albums are still both without a title and Znuff is hesitant to say which of their two recording labels will be home to either or both albums - Mayhem or Big Deal/Caroline. “It all depends on who wants it more. But who really cares what label in comes out on as long as it comes out...That’s how we look at it, and I think that is how the fans look it at too.” he said. “our window for releasing it, is in February or March of next year.”

Given the abundance of material that they’ve been putting out and the rash of live work they’ve been doing, has being with indie labels made the band happy campers? “No...(pausing)...we’re not happier. I’d be lying if I said yes to that. It’s almost equivalent to a guy saying he’d rather pitch in the minor leagues than in the big leagues. Does that make sense? Maybe a baseball analogy isn’t the best way to put it. I just think it would be in our best interest to have somebody putting the records out, who actually wants as many people to hear them as we do. Because then you are all on the same page.” he said.

“That’s not to say that I’m not grateful that we have a chance to put records out and tour, because we are. it’s just that in the major leagues, there are a lot more people there to help you out. There are alot more telephone calls made, and alot more hustling...you get taken more seriously! We have the songs, we just need some push. We need someone who can help us channel it all in the right direction, guiding us...”

To that end, Chipster cites how difficult it has gotten for this band to get airplay for newer music, even though several of the city’s top rock jocks are counted among their friends and fans - Steve Dahl and Mancow - to name but two. “When we were with a major label, we got some airplay - here in Chicago. Not much - but we got some. Now it’s nearly impossible because an indie label band just doesn’t have the hustle behind it that a major label band does.”

So what of this live album? When, where and what? “The live album is songs I’ve gathered up from shows we’ve done all over the country,” he said. “We went through a lot of tapes and picked the best ones.” Znuff expects it to be in stores in time for Christmas gift-giving this retail season.

In the meantime, between tweaking out the bugs on the live album and trying to wrap up work on the new studio project, Enuff Znuff will continue to do what they’ve always done - plug in and play! “We will stay out there and work this record,” said Znuff. “it’s an important record and we need to get out and make sure people hear it!”