Fallen Angels "The Kid Gets Hot"

Fallen Angels
The Kid Gets Hot
7" promo single
(Arista Records, 1975)

I know what you're all saying, now that LGBT History Month is over; "Hey, Lightning, so Looking Glass eventually evolved into Starz, right? What was the missing link? What transitional fossil can you provide to prove your claim? How do we know Starz didn't just spring, fully-formed from the fingertips of God?"

Well . . . here it is! The second (of two) promo-only singles released by the Fallen Angels way back in 1975 on Arista Records. The first was a cover of "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet", by the way, except they slyly dropped the parentheses.

First, note the songwriting credits: P. Sweval and M.L. Smith. Those are Pieter Sweval and Michael Lee Smith, respectively. Pieter had been been the bassist (and writer of several songs) of Looking Glass, and Michael was the future vocalist for Starz. Now, you can't tell from this single, but the other members of Fallen Angels were drummer Joe Dube and keyboardist Larry Gonsky, both ex-Looking Glass, and guitarist Brenden Harkin, future Starzer. For historicity's sake, I must divulge that Smith and Harkin were both members of the final line-up of Looking Glass, after vocalist/guitarist Elliot Lurie (the one who wrote and sang their mega-smash hit "Brandy") left to go solo. Gonsky was replaced with a smokin' guitarist named Richie Ranno, Joe added the mysterious middle initial X, and the Fallen Angels became Starz.

I know of at least one Looking Glass single recorded with the final, post-Lurie line-up, but I can't tell you much about it 'cause I only just bought it off eBay a few minutes ago. The A-side is "Highway to Hollywood," written by Gonsky, and the b-side is "Rock This Town," which was later recorded by Starz for a demo in 1975. Maybe I'll post the single after it comes in the mail.

According to an interview that I skimmed an hour or so ago with Starz guitarist Richie Ranno, there were two post-Lurie Looking Glass singles; no info yet on what the other was, sadly.

Starz "Boys in Action"

Starz
Starz
LP
(Capitol, 1976)

October is LGBT History Month, so I've decided to make it an entire theme month! All the songs I post this month will either be by LGBT artists or about LGBT issues. As per usual for Lightning Jukebox, the music will be eclectic; it will not be a month of show tunes, dance music, and lesbians with acoustic guitars. I say that not to denigrate those genres, but because those are the stereotypical ones associated with us, yet we are a varied bunch.

When I was a kid, I was a metalhead. If it wasn't loud 'n' heavy, I wasn't all that interested, usually. Starz was one of my favorite bands then (and still are), and their 1976, eponymous debut album had a very gay sounding song title: Boys in Action. Now, I pretty much knew I was gay by the time I was 11, but I was in deep denial. I also knew the song was really about boys in action with girls (ew!), not other boys. Still, it was a turn-on to 14-year-old me; plus, it was the hardest rocking, fastest song on the album.

It wasn't 'til decades later that I discovered that bassist and song co-writer Peter Sweval was gay. Sadly, he passed away from cancer (i.e., complications due to AIDS) in 1990. There's scant information on the web about this, so my conclusion that he was gay may be wrong. I've read articles that make vague references to his sexuality, however, so it seems unlikely that I'm off the mark.

After he left Starz, Peter was a member of the Canadian band The Skatt Brothers, who were supposed to be the straight answer to the Village People, but who had a gay dance club hit with Walk the Night. I don't know; it sounds pretty gay to me. :-P

Before all this, he was a member of the band Looking Glass, who had a massive hit with Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) back in 1972. I've always loved that song. That's Pete on bass, backing vocals, and beard in the video.

TV Toy "Monofunk"

TV Toy
Building with Assurance
7" EP
(Permanent Records, 1981)

I first heard of TV Toy when it was announced in 1979 (?) that their drummer, Steve Peer, would be joining Bill Nelson's Red Noise for touring. The name stuck with me, but I didn't ever see anything in print about them again, and Red Noise didn't last long as a band, live or otherwise.

On a record shopping trip to Manhattan in the mid-1980s, however, I came across a 7" record by TV Toy, so I bought it, took it home, put it on the record player, listened to it, and found it was good. It was hard-edged new wave with a bit of a prog rock edge, and quite catchy. Sadly, I don't recall which one it was, though it seems most likely it was their second EP, (Don't Blame It on the) Weekend. Future shopping trips yielded three more little records.

2005 saw the release of Shards 1977-1983, a nifty collection of both released and unreleased material. Monofunk appears on Shards, but in a live version, rather than studio. On this here jukebox, it's the studio version, from their third EP, Building with Assurance.

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I had to get fancy on this one! I have two copies, but neither is in perfect condition. I recorded both to wav files and edited the best bits together. Unfortunately, some parts of the record were a bit noisy on both copies, so there's still a bit of surface noise. Please, no lawsuits.

Yo La Tengo "Private Doberman"

Yo La Tengo
Luxury Condos Coming to Your Neighborhood Soon
compilation LP
(Coyote Records, 1985)

Yo La Tengo's first vinyl appearance (or was The River of Water 45 first?) finds them sounding more like The Feelies than the Yo La Tengo of today. No matter, it's still pretty sweet, and hasn't appeared elsewhere (I don't think).