Those that were around or grew up in the ‘80s remember the big hair, big clothes, bigger explosions and loud music. Aqua Net was sprayed like blowtorches with flamethrower force peaking hair at bonfire heights and lighters filled venues during ballads before cell phones existed.
Many big names in glam focused on sex, drugs and R&R in song and on the road with several still touring today. Though, one band took the glitter and flamboyance to a different, more creative level, and never stopped, even during the grunge movement.
Enuff Z’Nuff began in 1984, writing songs with a bohemian mix of gypsy style and hippie independence. They could’ve fit in the ‘60s Haight/Asbury district as much as The Sunset Strip. Their 1989 self-titled debut brought classic calling cards “New Thing,” “Fly High Michelle,” and “She Wants More” followed by sophomore release Strength hailed as a genre masterpiece.
While grunge and grunge-lite peaked and fizzled the band consistently released material every one-three years through 2003, picking back up with 2009’s Dissonance. Diamond Boy marked Chip Z’Nuff’s official move to the helm giving us Brainwashed Generation and last year’s Hardrock Nite, a collection of Beatles covers. Long time bassist and now chief vocalist Z’Nuff has been playing samples of Hardrock Nite, each night along with a slew of historical favorites. He also has a few surprises coming this year, the first being a new solo record.
Perfectly Imperfect will drop in March on Frontier Records, described as a 10-song love letter to the new generation, with performances by Whitesnake’s Joel Hoekstra, Enuff Z’Nuff’s Daniel Benjamin Hill, Cheap Trick’s Daxx Nielsen and Steven Adler from Guns N’ Roses. “I’m really happy with it,” Z’Nuff says.
Z’Nuff spent time with Adler in close quarters, “Adler used to live with me. Moved in for a month or so to clean up and get away from all the rigmarole of Tinsel Town. He came to my house in Blue Island. We flew out of Chicago and played a few shows.” He was an avid animation enthusiast watching Family Guy, American Dad and South Park all day. “I would ask him to play drums to check the kit before we did sessions for other bands. He’d get on and say, what do you want me to play? I said play whatever you want. I’ll have my engineer record it to make sure it sounds good. I bet you I got him playing a couple hours of drums, which is fantastic because I could take those beats with the iconic playing of his caliber and write songs around it. I probably got another couple records of material I want to put out with Adler on there.”
Currently Z’Nuff’s in good company musician-wise, “Daxx Nielsen from Cheap Trick, I can call him any time. My drummer Daniel Benjamin Hill’s solid as a rock, they all carry their weight very well. The record’s a really strong rock record. I wasn’t trying to write for radio, just for myself. Like most artists do now, if they pass the test of time the audience gets to hear them.”
He’s going strong with label support too, “I’m on Cleopatra Records on the Enuff Z’ Nuff catalog. The last five records, Clowns Lounge, Diamond Boy, Brainwashed Generation, solo record and the latest Hard Rock Nite are all on Frontier Records. We have a nice deal with them. We have another Enuff Z’ Nuff album coming in 2022. Don’t know what I’m gonna call it yet, haven’t discussed it. We’re a little past the half-way point right now. I think it’s a juggernaut. I really love this record. It’s a little bit of a departure from Enuff Z’ Nuff. It’s a great record for sure but it’s a little autobiographical. That’s what makes it interesting.”
For those unaware Z’Nuff’s library consists of 20-something releases, including studio, solo and live records. “It’s pretty substantial, I’m not bragging, I wanna sound modest but in this day and age you’re not gonna see a lot of bands putting out that many records. Especially in light of what’s happening in the country. Things shut down, lots of mandates and restrictions. Musicians gotta find their way around all this rigmarole happening in the world.”
They’ve cranked out a good surplus of content in the last year despite global restrictions. “The best and most therapeutic way to do it, the medicine, what we all strive for and thrive on would be music. Brainwashed Generation came out in July of last year. We just put out Hard Rock Nite, solo record comes out, and the new Enuff Z’ Nuff. That’s four records in the last year. It’s a lot of music, almost too much, but that’s what we signed up for.” Maybe the crazy train will slow down in the future. Z’Nuff smirks with a wink.
The next generation looks very promising through his rose-tinted glasses, “I look at bands like Greta Van Fleet, Rival Sons, Dirty Honey, Mammoth WVH, all really good bands. There are others I haven’t mentioned that are absolutely fabulous. It’s a change of the guard, hopefully those bands will carry the flag for other bands out there because they’re hot and inspired by older records.”
In 2022, the band’s still going solid, “I think we’re in a good place now and other bands out there follow suit, put out music, and hope fans gravitate toward that. Figure out a way where bands can sell records and start making a living doing this.”
With respect to social media and digital music sites he wants musicians to get fair compensation for their time, effort and art. He’s happy to have those platforms and whatever comes next but wants a fair split. “We’ll see what happens. In the meantime we’ll keep putting music out and fans that come to shows get a chance to see and hear those songs for the first time.”
Back in the day selling records at shows was a conflict of interest. Record stores would’ve lost revenue. “Now with mom and pop stores, there are still a couple big ones, for the most part bands have to take it to the streets like the old days. Make the record, play live shows, reach an audience that way. It sounds Sesame Street but that’s the way of the future in my eyes right now.”
The world was introduced to the psychedelic circus on MTV in the late ‘80s via the paint splattered stage of “New Thing” and acid trip-like voyage of “Fly High Michelle.” The televised showcases were original inventions by the band. “No input from the record label. It was all, the band, along with directors and producers who put those videos together.” They took the image and template the band wanted and ran with it.
They were lucky to find people that understood them, coming up with ideas complimenting their music and look, though slight adjustments might have been made. “We had good makeup artists. Later we found our footing. We never really switched, we’ve always been a glitter rock glam band look-wise. When you put a record on a turntable, CD in the player or turn the radio on you don’t see chicks shaking their asses or smoke machines. It’s about the songs. That’s one way, at the end of the day we’ve nailed it and left an indelible mark.”
Discovered by Doc McGhee, their manager Don Bingham was smart enough to see the talent behind the look and songs. “New Thing” changed everything.
Their first record was recorded at Lake Geneva with neighboring astute company. “Sebastian Bach and Skid Row were in the studio as well with Michael Wagener. If I’m not mistaken I think Jane’s Addiction was mixing Nothing’s Shocking there. T’Pau was there doing “A Little Bit of Heart and Soul.” Cheap Trick just got doing Standing On the Edge. It was a formidable studio with great equipment and good people working there. We were recording at the same time as Adrian Belew from King Crimson. He had a band called The Bears. It was throbbing with life there. It was very inspiring to us, at the time we were a bunch of young guys full of piss and vinegar recording at one in the morning till six in the morning. We probably did the whole record for about $40,000 which was cheap in those days.”
Though, they had some internal issues with management. “We ended up firing some people and taking a different approach. We found out maybe it wasn’t in our best interest to give the songs up. That’s what they wanted, to own the songs. We were lucky to retain our publishing, put those records out, go on tour and make a name for ourselves. We’re a pretty lucky band at the end of the day.”
Back then, the life expectancy of a band was four or five years at the most. “For us to still be going, it’s crazy, very blessed. We don’t know how much longer this train’s gonna last. Don’t know how much coal’s in the train. We put out records every year and go see the fans. The last three or four years it’s been pretty profitable as far as audiences, we bring in the cats.”
He says looking back at their history there’s a book to be written and movie to make, for sure. “If anyone would be interested, that remains to be seen but I know I am. I believe there are some wonderful stories to show the pitfalls, peaks and valleys of what a band has to go through to have success and withstand this business.”
In the early days releasing records was the most important thing. “That’s all we cared about and we met a guy at MTV named Rick Krim and Rick loved The Beatles and the Raspberries. He’s a big Jellyfish fan he loved pop bands that were aggressive. He was the catalyst, the constituent. He went to MTV and said, I like this, let’s play this video, “New Thing.” Our whole lives changed after that. We immediately got a tour with Badlands, touring the country with Jake E. Lee. They gave us a tour bus enabling us to get around the country and navigate the world.”
Rick Krim and MTV saved the band. “It gave us the chance. There weren’t a lot of spots on MTV, they took a chance and thank God the fans spoke, they saw the videos and loved it. Steven from Guns N’ Roses said if you guys came out a little earlier Chip, you would be huge. The first record went gold and we were still three quarters of a million in debt. It was tough. Those are the pitfalls of any rock band out there, withstanding the punishment and the bills that come, leaving family and friends behind.”
There’s a lot of sacrifice taking on the music business. “As a lifestyle, here I am. We had a great manager. We had Herbie Herbert after Doc left. He didn’t have the time for Enuff Z’Nuff, because of Scorpions, Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi. He gave us Herbert Herbert who was managing Journey at the time. He also had Europe, MR. Big, Steve Miller Band and Roxette. He was the catalyst that kept the train moving forward, giving us a real opportunity and credibility.”
Z’Nuff and former vocalist Donnie Vie were writing machines. “Donnie was a formidable lead singer. Wonderful frontman and I think I was a good partner for him. We were the Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander of the band. We love Cheap Trick.”
They listened to everything from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Squeeze, along with The Beatles. “Because of that, you are what you eat. We listened to what our parents turned us on to, good music, great pop and rock songs, songs that through time are considered timeless.”
Living real life was more inspirational to them then road and lifestyle indulgences, “The first record wasn’t about getting laid, substance abuse and promiscuity, we were writing songs about everyday experiences we went through and the audience did as well. Donnie and I came up with “New Thing,” “She Wants More,” “In the Groove” and “Baby Loves You.” The earlier stuff, the first record, what was happening on the road through our eyes and perhaps, the audience would get that as well.”
“Mothers Eyes,” from Strength was a unique single for its time depicting social commentary on racism and violence. Originally Strength was meant to be double Strength. “We recorded a double record not telling our record company. Let’s be the first band to put out a sophomore release that’s a double album. At the end of the record, Doug Shultz from ATCO flew to Los Angeles, we were at Music Grinder. He heard the songs and goes we have a good problem guys. What’s that? We have too many good songs. We gotta cut it down, too much information. We cut it down to 14 or 15 songs. We’ve been chasing the carrot ever since.”
Strength was a life changing record for the band and many others, “All my rock star friends, have come up to me and said that’s one of the greatest records of that era. I’m proud of it. I know the whole band is. It changed the trajectory of things as a band. We got a tour with Nelson, playing sheds and arenas, following around Skid Row and Guns N’ Roses.
Though a dark cloud slowly followed them, dressed in flannel, “As soon as that change of the guard happened where MTV started playing Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Nirvana; the whole trip, that really hurt a lot of bands. People got out of the business because they couldn’t take it anymore or just took a break. We never stopped, went back on the road, kept touring, playing and got through it without any restrictions. At the end of the day when you’re in a rock band, you only have so much time out there and do the best you can.”
Z’Nuff says being able to talk to media today’s a modern miracle. “I know, somebody’s watching us from above and the good Lord works in mysterious ways, here I am still out there playing in 2022. 38th year in the business, perhaps there’s a movie director, producer or one of the bigger rock bands that says man these guys still have great music and wonderful songs. Let’s take them on tour with us, put their music in a motion picture, soundtrack or TV show. If you’re not out there doing it, you don’t get the chance. I believe at the end of the day, there’s still gas in the tank.”
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