These guys should have been big; they were managed by Leber & Krebs, who also handled some band called Aerosmith (the Mix's album -- American Glue -- came out on L&K's custom label), and they were a genuinely exciting live act. Frontman Stu Daye, in particular, was as annoyingly talented and natural a rocker as anybody I've ever seen -- think Steve Marriott with Pete Townshend's guitar moves. Still, although they were quite a big deal in the New York area for a while, they never broke through; if I had to guess why, I'd say it's because the record didn't really do them justice. For which I blame rather lackluster production by the late Felix Pappalardi.
Incidentally, the band's drummer was the great Corky Laing, of Mountain fame. The bass player was David Grahame, an old bandmate of mine who I haven't heard from in a while but who's apparently become something of a powerpop cult figure over the years. It thus pains me to mention that to (perhaps) his eternal shame, his major credit remains co-writing the soul-destroying Mr. Big hit "To Be With You."
8 comments:
Thanks for the clip and background. I always liked Stu. Do a/r people even scout bar bands anymore, or is it all Myspace?
Since going to clubs would involve work, I'm guessing the latter.
...and Mr.Daye was on LP's by Nils Lofgren,Alice Cooper, & Aerosmith.His tunes were recorded by Genya Ravan & Tim Curry,AND Stu was the first to have the 360 degree spinning guitar,long before those bearded miscreants form Tejas ! Hopefully,w/ a new CD retrospective,"All Roads Lead Here",and w/ some new collaborations w/ David Grahame coming soon,Stu will get his due.
Thanks Mom!
You have not lived until you cover To be with you, It melts the girls every time. So does American Glue
Gotta Love Stu, and those days (dayes, daze)...Had so much fun doing the sessions, as photographer...and seein' my cover again...sTuDIo.
Keyboard player for the Mix here..was just cruising the net and ran across this blog. The real reason the band never broke is that there were way too many issues internally in the band and we had some major problems with bad contracts. Was a shame! Always loved what we did and really thought the chemistry of the players was right to do something special.
I used to see The Mix at Great Gildersleeves in NYC. This was early 1980s. The American Glue album is a favorite - like it LOUD.
Post a Comment