Nobody liked that name except me so we were advised to change it for legal reasons. I had my little cover group Tite Squeeze for a few months, but then I decided no more covers. Savage Grace, started as Marquis De Sade back in 1981, what was the line up of the band and how did you get together? Was it the really first band for all of you or have you had musical experiences yet? I mean, what were the previous acts, that you’ve played with before you being involved in Marquis De Sade? from bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead etc. That is what I wanted, two guitars, lot of harmonies, melodic powerful vocals, fast tempos and big drums.
Oh yes, when I heard Saxon's “Wheels Of Steel” and “Strong Arm Of The law” albums, I was hooked. Were you aware of the existence of the NWOBHM scene, that seemed to influence the majority of the L.A.’s bands? Although the hair/glam bands are not considered real metal, they were not new wave or punk, so they were actually on our side so to speak. There were also some hair/glam bands with heavy sounds at this time, London/Motley Crue. There were really just a few bands at this time. The guys from Metallica, Armored, Saint, Abattoir, and SG all started about the same time. The roots of the metal renaissance in L.A. I was a fan of hard rock since the mid-70's but I really got serious in 79 and 80. I remember we did “Armed and Ready” by MSG, “Rock Bottom” by UFO and maybe a Scorpions cover.Īt which point did you get involved in the underground scene? How and when did you discover Hard Rock/Heavy Metal exactly? We were called Tite Squeeze and we played a couple of gigs as a cover band. I found a drummer named Ron Albo and we started to look for other musicians. I had just left university at U.C.L.A in 1980. I liked Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick, Molly Hatchet and Euro Hard Rock like UFO. Saxon, Priest, Schenker, Scorpions, UFO, Maiden, Accept were all influences. I saw them a few times, I don't remember being that impressed.ĭuring this show at the Starwood, Don Dokken said hard rock was huge in Germany and England. At this same time, George Lynch had short hair and was playing in a female fronted new wave group called Exciter. They had long hair, they were wearing bullet belts and spikes and they looked “Metal”. I saw a gig Dokken played at the Starwood, a notorious club in Hollywood, when they came back from Germany. Greg was in the lineup with Dokken when they toured Germany the first time in 1981, I believe. I never could figure out why he did not become a superstar. This guy played great hard rock in a style similar to Dokken. He had been in DuBrow, Sweet 19, Dokken, Greg Leon Invasion. He was a great songwriter, lead guitarist and singer. I did see some people that I did think were very good. I don't think anybody thought they would ever make it. In 1981 I would see Ratt playing all the time. I could see all the bands I wanted, but there were not that many I wanted to see. I lived in Hollywood so I was very close to all the clubs. It was considered very unhip and uncool to be into hard rock and long hair at the time. A few bands like Mammoth (Van Halen) were playing at backyard party's and Hollywood clubs. The late 70's and early 80's were dominated by the New Wave and Punk Bands.
So Chris, being based in Los Angeles, what do you recall of the first footsteps of the L.A scene at the late ’70s/early ’80s? How did that great scene in L.A.
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