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August Issue That time
again Z’nuffers! Well it’s
hard to believe that it’s August already and the band has been touring nearly
nonstop since May! Still the rest of this month and the Z Fest in Germany on the
8th will conclude (maybe) a tour that has brought new fans into the
Enuff Z’nuff camp and old ones that didn’t realize that they were still
together. They have weathered Ricky breaking his hand at the beginning of the
tour, Donnie breaking his ribs and injuring his foot as well as voice problem
rumors. At every venue I saw him he did a GREAT job and any worries about his
voice were highly exaggerated in my opinion. This tour has
turned out much better than many of the skeptics have suspected it would. The
bands are getting along famously and making friends with each other. Enuff
Z’nuff has gained the respect of all the other bands on the tour and Chip has
done COUNTLESS interviews throughout the tour thus far. They have made
themselves highly visible to fans at their shows, which just proves even more
how down to earth these guys really are! The long awaited California visit has
been a long time coming for some of you and tickets are in high demand so all
shows out west should prove to be capacity filled ones. At the
conclusion of the tour the band will take a well-deserved rest before venturing
into the studio for yet ANOTHER release! There had been much speculation about
what the CD should be called and what approach it should have. Thematic and what
have you. Whatever shape it takes with all the time on the road you KNOW
whatever it is will probably be some of the strongest material to date! Being on
the road all summer and part of the spring will only fuel the fires of
inspiration between Donnie and Chip. Being on a long tour has brought new
perspectives to them and will surely show in their 11th release. Ok, we have one
more contest for you all before the tour is over and this one will involve band
member trivia. There will be live video tapes given to (3) winners so if there
are more I will have to borrow one of Chip’s many hats to get down to three.
;) This should be fun for all and many hard-core fans should be able to figure
these out. Here goes. Donnie: Who
is his idol? Chip: What
are his favorite cigarettes and be specific please. Ricky: You
will have to look on the Tweaked CD for this one. What did he use to wear around
his neck and what was in it? Last but not
least, Monaco: What band was he a guitar tech in? These have all
been floated out there on occasion so I KNOW you can get them. One catch is that
some people will be negated from participating because of inside knowledge. If I
get correct answers from these certain people than I will have to disqualify
them. ;( Sorry! The winners of
the contest will have their choice of these prizes as follows. 1)
Enuff Z’nuff’s music video chronology. Thanks to Traci
(Snow) Peters for providing us with the contest tapes! You can either email
Traci or me with your answers. My email address is: cscap@enter.net
and Traci’s is: abbyrd8@hotmail.com. For this
next section I am using a ‘what if’ on their history based on how things
should have panned out. Some of it is true but most of it will be fiction. Just
read up and I’m sure you will all feel a bit higher on the band if you
aren’t already there so let’s get high on a new thing! 1989: The band makes the musical scene with "New Thing" in mid-summer. Supported by heavy video play and moderate single sales, the song reaches no.27 on the Billboard charts. Their self-titled debut album enters the Billboard 200 album charts at no.176. In September, EZ'N makes the promotional rounds and Atco releases "For Now" as the second single. More radio friendly than "New Thing," it climbs up to no.6 on the charts. Enuff Z'Nuff goes on tour, opening for several high-profile artists as their album reaches no.42. In late November, Atco is forced to release "I Could Never Be Without You," due to radio demand. Leaving the girls swaying and crying and the guys grabbing their lighters, "...Never Be Without You" is a show-stopper live. During Christmas, "I Could Never Be Without You" reaches no.1. After three weeks on top and a gold certification, it yields to Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract." The album has by now climbed to a new peak of no.4 and gone platinum. 1990: In March, "Fly High Michelle" is released as the fourth and final single. Despite heavy MTV and radio play, most folks are now buying the album and "Fly High Michelle" peaks at no.18. In September the album is certified double-platinum. 1991: After much anticipation (during the Winger/Warrant/Slaughter/Steelheart boom), "Mother's Eyes" hits radio and video outlets. While EZ'N aren't at Bon Jovi status, the song makes an impressive debut at no.37 in April. MTV does a nice story on the frenzy at record stores as people snatch up the 'Strength' album. Thanks to the use of Soundscan on the Billboard album charts, and the band's first national headlining tour, 'Strength' debuts at no.1 after selling 312,00 copies its first week (but after only one week, Skid Row takes over the top with 'Slave To The Grind'). "Mother's Eyes" loses sales points to the album and drops from no.26. In August, following a cover story in Rolling Stone magazine, "Goodbye" spends two weeks at no.2, unable to dislodge Bryan Adams' "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)." "Baby Loves You," the third single, reaches no.39 in late October as 'Strength' goes double platinum. In December, Nirvana releases "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and everything changes... 1992: The final single from 'Strength,' "Blue Island," stalls at no.55 on the charts thanks to the domination of grunge. Things look rough for the band after Vikki Foxx jumps ship to hook up with the Vince Neil Band (on the Bad Decision Scale of 1-10? It's a 35). Derek Frigo has a growing chemical dependency that the band keeps out of the headlines but which affects the recording of their third album. Late in the year, Clive Davis buys out EZN’s Atco contract and signs them to Arista; confident the boys can survive the flannel onslaught of Pearl Jam. 1993: Enuff Z'Nuff, with new drummer Ricky Parent, launch 'Animals With Human Intelligence' in March with the single "Right By Your Side." Going for the big ballad first, Arista expects a no.1 hit. But grunge and R&B have taken over pop radio and "Right By Your Side" is the dying gasp of the 'power ballad,' peaking at no.7 on the charts. 'Animals...' is released the day before the band's world tour with Mr. Big begins, and enters the Billboard 200 at no.9. It sinks quickly, going gold before falling off the charts. "Innocence" climbs to no.21 in August, and "Bring It On Home" (Arista's attempt to put a grunge/metal spin on the band's promotion) falters at no.63 in November. The band doesn't like being marketed as a 'hair-metal' holdover and buys out their contract. Derek Frigo leaves the band before year's end. '94 may be rough... 1994: Unhappy with Arista's 'hair-band' promotion and coping with Derek's leaving, Enuff Z'Nuff amicably end their contract with Arista. While they adjust to their personal situation, the band issues '1985' for the fans on independent Big Deal/Caroline Records. While some pop stations play "Day By Day" and rock leans towards "Catholic Girls," no singles are officially released from the album. Other than some guest stints on MTV's 'Lip Service,' Chip, Donnie, and Ricky do no promotion. Still, '1985' enters the Billboard album chart at no.32---an excellent showing for an independent album. While 'hair-metal' has long since been over, bands like Collective Soul and the Gin Blossoms have kept Enuff Z’nuff’s pop sound on the air. FORTUNATELY, listeners are smart enough to appreciate the difference between cornball metal and Enuff Z’nuff’s Beatle-esque pop/rock sound [If only that were REALLY true! 1995: Despite the turmoil of the last year, Enuff Z'Nuff survives. And like true artists, they're able to channel their problems into their music. In the fall, the band releases 'Tweaked.' The album has a harder sound and is much darker than previous releases. It also features the return of original guitarist Gino Martino and begins the band's association with Mayhem Records. Like Ani DiFranco and The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, Enuff Z'Nuff proves that success can be maintained outside of the mainstream music biz. “Bullet From A Gun” previews the eagerly awaited album. Rock radio and MTV put it into active rotation, and pop programmers begin adding "Has Jesus Closed His Eyes?” As Joan Osborne is riding the charts with "One Of Us," "...Jesus Closed..." is part of the religious-themed boom on pop radio. It also helps cement pop/rock's return to radio. Following the success of Hootie & the Blowfish and the Rembrandt's "I'll Be There For You," radio has finally returned to the melodic rock EZ'N long ago mastered. With both pop and rock fans interested, 'Tweaked' enters the albums charts at no.16, going gold before the end of the year. As personal and professional problems continue to plague the band, they are unable to launch a full-scale tour. Several intimate dates and appearances on Howard Stern's Show are as close as fans can get during this period. In late November, Mayhem issues a commercial single of "Has Jesus Closed His Eyes? /Mister Jones." The song debuts at no.28, but airplay has already peaked and the song only makes it to no.22. Still, it marks EZN’s first major hit in two years. 1996: Gino leaves the band (again), and is replaced by John Monaco. Chip oversees the release of 'Peachfuzz.' "You're Not Me" climbs to no.29 on the rock charts and "Happy Holiday" becomes a Christmas staple on pop/AC stations, but no singles are released. 'Peachfuzz,' mostly a trinket for fans, debuts and peaks at no.65 on the album charts. Not being an official new studio album, its chart position is still seen as a success for an independent album. Before the end of the year, the band scores a top ten-rock track with "Bring It On Home" after it's included in the smash film "Jerry Maguire." Since it was not specifically written for the film, the guys aren't eligible for an Oscar nomination. 1997: Enuff Z'Nuff ushers in the New Year with "Wheels," the first single from their upcoming album 'Seven' (maybe Garth Brooks is influenced when he releases 'Sevens' in November?). 'Seven' is actually an album Chip and Donnie released oversees in '94 while working out their American contract with Big Deal. "Wheels" is released as a single in late January and zooms to no.3 (unable to get past Puff Daddy & the Spice Girls---aaaggghhh!!!). Radio chooses "It's No Good" as the next single by mid-February and Mayhem releases it. "It's No Good" is climbing up the charts in early March when 'Seven' enters the Billboard 200 at no.4 (appropriately, the following week, it slips to no.7). "It's No Good" peaks at no. 10 in late April. During the summer, the band hits the road in support of 'Seven' and rock stations latch onto "So Sad To See You." The next pop single, "Jealous Guy," debuts at no.9 on the pop charts and peaks at no.4 a few weeks later. By the end of '97, 'Seven' is hovering near double-platinum; fourth single "Downhill" has peaked at no.14; and every magazine in the world is trumpeting Enuff Z'Nuff as the comeback of the year (Comeback? I didn't know they ever left 8^). 1998: Hard at work on new material, the band releases 'Live' to coincide with a VH-1 "Behind The Music" special on Enuff Z'Nuff. 'Live' enters the Billboard charts at no.26. The live versions of "New Thing" and "Fly High Michelle" get some airplay but aren't commercially released. 1999: The band wraps up the decade with 'Paraphernalia,' collaboration with fellow Chicago-ite (?) Billy Corgan, and possibly a boxed set and another studio album. We'll just have to wait and see!
An
overview of the release of ten and it’s meaning. This is NOT fiction… Spreading
poptastic melody
Wild
card. Enuff Znuff are the chrome-glinted definition of it. Each record they
craft (and there are ten of them now) is stuffed, brimming; bountiful and joyous
with potential smash hits. Chip and Donnie are the living, breathing example of
a pop teen that should be, and one day will be, revered in hushed tones for
their elegant, life-affirmed grasp of gold and platinum pop perfection. And
Ten delivers the distilled direct hit, the Cupid's arrow through the broken
heart, the rock radio love-in that a fortunate few have come to expect from this
legendary Chicago institution. Indeed, Ten is quite simply pop heaven, few power
chords in sight, hooks overflowing the band's party tumblers, jangly, lush
acoustic guitars driving twelve songwriting theses that to a man, woman and teen
beat heart, any of which could skyrocket to number one with a lipstick kiss. Why
the title Ten? "We had more descriptive titles but Donnie hated every one
of them," laughs Chip Znuff. "Ricky came up with the title One After
Nine and Donnie's rap was, 'Chip, look, you and I have written ten albums
together,' and he said to Ricky, 'this is our tenth album; you have to
understand that. It means a lot to us, it's quite an accomplishment - especially
in this day and age - to put ten albums out. Let's just call it Ten. And then we
thought, let's just go with the cover that started it all off when we had Doc
McGee managing the band. So
the album cover is a "1" with a green peace sign right next to it.
Same artwork, you know, let's not confuse anybody, that album did very well for
us around the world. It had some smash hits on there with 'New Thing' and 'Fly
High Michelle' and here we are with our tenth album and I think some songs on
here are easily as strong as those on the first album. We've come up with some
great stuff. Donnie's singing is better than ever and the guitar playing on the
record is great. But what the band needs now is to hit the streets and support
the album." The
key, as always, is the quest for the perfect song. Chip, Donnie, Ricky and
Monaco never at a loss for material, but until now, perhaps at a loss for the
plush benefit of expensive studio surroundings in which to buff gleaming their
vision. This has been rectified for what might be the band's paramount, layered
and lovely statement, their push up the ladder, their AM/FM command performance.
Not that there was a budget. "We were still sneaking into studios after
curfew on janitor's hours to make this record in the same places as Pearl Jam,
Jesus Lizard and Smashing Pumpkins make their records, CRC, Chicago Recording
Company, as well as Johnny K's Groovemaster Studio (Disturbed, Loudmouth),
Velvet Shirt (Liz Phair), Startracks (Blondie, Ray Charles, INXS) and Gravity,
where Veruca Salt did their last record. Along
with this of course, came an army of good engineers, and we were lucky enough to
bag Chris Shepard who just did the Wilco record. He was kind enough to come down
and mix this record for us. He has a great sense of balance. It does sound like
a record that took a little while to make. It did take a little bit of thought,
there's no doubt about that. But we've been through the rodeo so much as a band
that we know what to expect when we go into the studio. We know what to play.
Believe it or not, we did everything on 24 tracks, the whole record. We didn't
synch up two machines like everybody else does. We just played and recorded live
with minimal overdubs. But
if at the same time we said let's not go too crazy with overdubs, we also
allowed ourselves to use what was needed. And Chris Shepard does lush mixes. The
guy mixes KMFDM one week and the next week he's doing Pumpkins and then he's
doing Wilco; he is very diversified. And he lets me sit in the room with him. I
don't put my name on the records as mixing the record, because I'm already on
them as a writer and as a producer. But I sit right there and I give him ideas
and I try to listen to the record as an outsider. Because I'm too close to these
songs. I have to take it the way I hear it and compare it to the great records I
listened to growing up, and I sort of use that as a barometer. That's what Enuff
Znuff does. We don't steal anything. We're influenced by musicians and music. And
you show me a band without influences, and I'll show you a band without a record
deal (laughs)." Enuff Znuff's influences are well documented. But they are
also hard to speak to or address lightly, bands like The Beatles and Cheap Trick
coming to mind immediately, each receiving more than a tipped hat through the
Enuff Znuff canon. But Chip and Donnie are two of the greatest songsmiths who
ever dared go there, and throughout the band's celebrated catalogue, Enuff Znuff
have had no problem creating lasting, rewarding rainbow impressions of their
own. Ten
is no different, the band creating a record perhaps destined to contain a
disproportionate amount of timeless moments, given its creamy pop surrender,
this particular collection of confections seeking the crux of a formula that has
been cooing sweet something’s in this band's ear for a long, long time. In a
world of justice, in a world of accurately calibrated risk/return ratios, all
twelve tracks here could be chart-toppers. 'Wake Up', Donnie jokes "is our
'Stairway To Heaven'." Chip is more grounded on the tune, but loves
Donnie's edgy vocal, offering that the lyric is more straight forward than the
arrangement: "If you've got love, hang on to it." 'The
Beast' combines Tom Petty, The Byrds and Blue Oyster Cult. Once more, the
arrangement is driven by moody acoustic extravagance, the lyric described by
Chip thusly: "That's pretty much Donnie's autobiography, with a strong
message and a musical track that is very '60s. Timeless though I would say, both
the message and the production. Donnie's lyric is about basically what not to
do. Be careful. Watch that thing inside of you that makes you tick. It has the
propensity to get you in trouble at any moment. I think that's what he's trying
to say. Nice words. Watch the demon within us all." The
next issue will be the last of the summer and all of us here at the Express hope
that you had a GREAT one and caught the band at a show somewhere! If you
didn’t then watch for them coming to a town or Country near you sometime in
the future!
The
EZNEXPRESS Staff: Chris
Capozza (owner/editor) Traci
Peters (co-editor) Michelle
Dimos (contributing (fact finding) editor
www.eznexpress.com “Reality is for people who don’t have an imagination”
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