Where Are They Now? [Archive] - Front Office Football Central

Ksyrup

10-14-2005, 01:36 PM

Remember the early 80's hard rock band Giuffria? They had that one hit song Call to the Heart? Gregg Giuffria was the keyboardist, and was in the glam band Angel prior to Giuffria (and then House of Lords, the late 80's reincarnation of Giuffria).

Anyway, he's out of the music business now, but still in entertainment. Check out this site:

http://www.voyager-ent.com/flash_index.asp

Click on Company and his tab on the left side.

Ksyrup

10-14-2005, 01:39 PM

Faith No More guitarist squashes competition
Ex-rocker wins contests for gigantic pumpkins
By Michelle Beaver, STAFF WRITER

Jim Martin had thousands of adoring fans. He traveled the world and lived nearly every musician's dream, but he's over that now.

The former Faith No More guitarist would rather grow pumpkins.

But not just any pumpkins. Huge, mammoth, gargantuan pumpkins that seem to be straight out of science fiction. They're actually from Martin's Castro Valley back yard, nestled between hillsides and a winding country road.

Martin's 1,087-pound pumpkin won first prize last week in a major Santa Rosa contest that drew competitors from around the state.

The Hayward native is thrilled about the win. He's already gearing up for bigger competitions though, including next weekend's Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival — the biggest pumpkin festival in the world (for the scoop on the festival, please see Inside Out).

"It's an incredible contest," Martin said. "It's important enough for CNN to come and report on. I like getting ready for it. Sometimes when I have to go to work, I get mad because it takes time away from getting my hands dirty out here."

The former rocker works in a property management company with his family. For six months straight though, he spends every spare moment tending the gourds.

The only other crop he grows is peas. Why?

"I love peas. I stand out here and eat them," he said. "They never make it up to the house."

Martin lives with his wife of four years, Rain, and their 2-year-old son, Napali. Martin could never grow such huge pumpkins without her, he said.

"I bring him beer and cigarettes," she said, laughing. "From the time he's home until he goes to bed he's out in the patch. Whatever he's doing in life, he focuses on it. He's happier growing pumpkins than being in the office. He likes to see them grow and likes going out on his tractor."

When it's time to remove the pumpkins from the patch, it takes the help of more than a dozen people. Rain Martin cooks stew and pumpkin pies for them, and keeps the beer flowing, all while chasing Napali.

Most of Martin's friends and relatives don't understand his passion, but fellow competitors do. There is a community of about 20 serious growers in the Northwest who Martin sees at contests and conferences.

The Martins are quiet about Jim's 1980s and early'90s rock days, but the secret got out anyway.

"People are mentioning it to me," Martin said. "I didn't want it to get out, but it did, so what can you do?"

Martin likes to live in the present.

"It took a lot of time to recover from those years," he said. "It was an awful lot of work. No weekends, no settling, no family. You hear about how glamorous being in a successful band is, but it's not everything you might think it would be."

Martin looked toward his patch again and said, "Music is what fit then, this is what fits now."

He comes from a long line of farmers and was interested in big pumpkins since childhood.

"I'd see them on TV and think, 'I wonder if I could do that,'" he said.

He's been growing pumpkins for five years and was successful almost immediately. It takes an incredible amount of work from May through October.

The pumpkins can grow up to 30 pounds a day, and the tangled mass of vines around them can each grow 2 feet a day. The pumpkins are fenced off from predators and are protected by a tent at night.

The pumpkins Martin grows taste great, but the big ones can't be eaten; the poisonous pesticide he uses is systemic.

"I look at them and sure, I feel satisfaction," Martin said. "Growing these isn't all that different than what I used to do in music. If you want to be good you have to give it what it needs."

And you also need good soil. Martin said he has the best in California.

"Isn't it obvious," the generally serious man asked with a grin as he looked at his award winning pumpkin. "I mean, there's the proof."

1,087 pounds of it.

http://www.harvestfair.org/pk_resources/2005_Compeitiors.JPG

He's the one holding the trophy. Yep, that's ole' Buttcrack Hairdo himself.

EDIT: Because of pic size.

Subby

10-14-2005, 01:41 PM

Faith No More was so kickass.

Ksyrup

10-14-2005, 01:42 PM

Martin and Patton hated each other, though.

Fonzie

10-14-2005, 01:44 PM

Faith No More was so kickass.
Yep.

Hurst2112

10-14-2005, 01:48 PM

Effin weird!!!!

I posted on an 80s metal forum last Christmas about that song (Call to the Heart). I remember watching the video all the time on MTV. The singer was a dead ringer for Steve Perry (sound of voice).

Anyway, I didn't get a response from the thread. This is the answer to the question though.

Thanks K!

Oh, and it looks like the guy has made it good.

Subby

10-14-2005, 01:49 PM

I liked them even better pre-Patton. Angel Dust though...wow. What an album.

Ksyrup

10-14-2005, 01:50 PM

I loved Giuffria, seeing as though I played keyboards back then.

I know too much about obscure hard rock bands. You should have asked me. I've even got MP3s of that album somewhere on my computer, and a bootleg concert they did in 1984. :)

Fonzie

10-14-2005, 01:53 PM

Ksyrup

10-14-2005, 01:54 PM

I liked them even better pre-Patton. Angel Dust though...wow. What an album.Ugh. I loved the music, hated Chuck Mosely. Worst. Singer. Ever. He single-handedly ruined the Crab Song and pretty much everything else he touched. He turned that song into a freaking comedy clip.

And I liked Angel Dust least of all of their Patton albums. I liked the pop sensibilities of the pre-Patton stuff and Real Thing combined with Patton's wicked delivery. Angel Dust went too far in every direction, kinda like Patton's post- FNM stuff. Although, I will say that FNM peaked with the trifecta of Kindergarten, Be Aggressive, and Small Victory. It's just that the rest of the album left me cold.

I think Fool for a Day encompasses everything that was great about FNM as a whole album.

Draft Dodger

10-14-2005, 03:03 PM

really, really wierd that I was thinking of Guiffria just yesterday

CamEdwards

10-14-2005, 03:08 PM

really, really wierd that I was thinking of Guiffria just yesterday

you never get over your first crush, do you? :)

Pumpy Tudors

10-14-2005, 06:20 PM

Remember the early 80's hard rock band Giuffria?
No. Should I keep reading anyway?

Draft Dodger

10-14-2005, 06:53 PM

you never get over your first crush, do you? :)

*giggle*

JonInMiddleGA

10-14-2005, 06:55 PM

Cool link, nice to know what he's doing.

Ksyrup

10-14-2005, 07:05 PM

Feeling nostalgic...

http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0F5YXB2UQ9LL0S8F9WBWCQHEI

JonInMiddleGA

10-14-2005, 08:13 PM

Feeling nostalgic...

http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0F5YXB2UQ9LL0S8F9WBWCQHEI

http://www.nubar.com/realstock_images/m35873-25.jpg

Hurst2112

10-14-2005, 10:25 PM

Hurst2112

10-14-2005, 10:28 PM

DOLA:

Oh my god Ksyrup! I just reverted to the age of nine! Thanks!

The best part of the song for me is the 3rd verse into the last chorus. Cheese, but still tasty.

JonInMiddleGA

10-14-2005, 10:28 PM

Funny about that pic. Went I went to see Duran Duran, it was the first time I went to a concert that had people 'pullin out flames' in many years. In this day and age, the flames are now cell phones.

Quite a site with the blue light.

And funny back at ya, while looking for a picture like that, I read an article about how cell phones (and the funky glow) have replaced lighters (which I didn't know until reading the article).

CamEdwards

10-14-2005, 10:41 PM

And funny back at ya, while looking for a picture like that, I read an article about how cell phones (and the funky glow) have replaced lighters (which I didn't know until reading the article).

I find that incredibly lame. How are you supposed to light your illicit concert doobie with your cell phone? :)

Ksyrup

10-14-2005, 11:03 PM

I still listen to that Giuffria album (and the second one, Sillk + Steel) every few years. I don't have the House of Lords stuff, but I'm sure I could find it.

David Glen Eisley was the singer for Giuffria. He had a semi-solo album a few years later under the name Dirty White Boy (EDIT: apparently, DWB was Eisley and Slick, I didn't remember that). Yes, a late-80's hair metal release was named after a Foreigner song. He's apparently an actor now, based on his website.

Oh, and Giuffria also had two songs on the Gotcha! soundtrack, which I have. His website shows some sort of rarities collection with a bunch of unreleased Giuffria songs and some unreleased songs written with Rick Nielson and Earl Slick. I'd like to get my hands on those.

Ksyrup

11-03-2005, 06:43 AM

An article on what some hair metal bands are doing these days...

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Metal's hair-raising return

</TD></TD><TR><TD>Headbanging rockers at the root
of '80s trend are back in spotlight

</TD></TR><TR><TD>By HEATHER FLETCHER, ASHLEY JOYNER and AMANDA KWAN

</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=10 cellPadding=0 width=50 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/569-metal_bach.JPG</TD></TR><TR><TD>Sebatian Bach of Skid Row </TD></TR><TR><TD width=10 height=10></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Get out your Aqua Net - it seems that we're in the middle of a hair-band renaissance.

For those living in a spider hole and not familiar with the term, hair bands were heavy-metal rock groups that roamed the Earth in the 1980s. They were often better known for their makeup, spandex tights and, of course, long, tall locks than for their music.

They were driven to extinction with the rise of grunge in the early 1990s ... or were they?

Bon Jovi just released its 11th album, "Have a Nice Day," and it is closing in on gold status.

When Tommy Lee isn't disrupting higher education in Nebraska on his show, "Tommy Lee Goes to College," he and his Motley Crue bandmates still tour - this year alone, they sold a whopping 750,000 tickets, good enough for sixth-best of 2005 so far.

And David Lee Roth, whose Van Halen arguably helped influence more hair bands than any other, is in the news as the man who will replace Howard Stern on morning radio once the self-proclaimed King of All Media departs for satellite.

Of course, not all hair bands have done quite as well. We checked in with some of our other favorites to see what they're up to now. One thing is for sure: The spandex doesn't fit quite the way it used to.

Skid Row

Then: Self-titled 1989 debut album sold 4 million copies; single "18 and Life" became major hit. Lead singer Sebastian Bach stirs controversy after wearing an "AIDS Kills Fags Dead" T-shirt. Subsequent 1991 album "Slave to the Grind" entered charts at No. 1.

Now: Third album flopped in 1995; Bach ousted the following year. Bach has released solo albums, starred on Broadway ("Jekyll & Hyde") and appears regularly on WB's "Gilmore Girls" as Gil, a guitarist.

Cinderella

Then: Peaked with triple-platinum album "Night Songs" in 1986. Best known for the ballad "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)." Stage attire included zebra-print spandex and high-heeled ankle boots.

Now: Dropped by label in 1994 when the popularity of grunge overpowered overly coiffed metal. Reunited in 2000 to tour with Poison. This summer, headlined the VH1 hair-band extravaganza "Rock Never Stops Tour" with Ratt, Quiet Riot and Firehouse.

Quiet Riot

Then: The 1983 smash album "Metal Health" was the highest debut ever by an American metal band. "Cum on Feel the Noize" sold more than 1 million copies.

Now: After angry rants got him fired from his own band, lead singer Kevin DuBrow reformed Quiet Riot in the '90s. Hopped on "Rock Never Stops Tour" this summer with Cinderella. DuBrow now sports a hat/wig to hide thinning hair.

Whitesnake

Then: Introduced sports-car writhing and Tawny Kitaen to the world with "Here I Go Again" video. Sold more than 6 million albums

Now: Lives on in a concert DVD, "The Rock & Roll, Rhythm & Blues Show Live," released this August. Another reincarnation of the band recently wrapped up a "VH1 Classics"-sponsored North and South American tour. Official Web site features a "Pans on Fire" recipe link.

Stryper

Then: Heavy metal Christian rockers wore black and yellow spandex and tossed Bibles at audiences. Went platinum in 1986 with "To Hell With the Devil." Biggest hits included "In God We Trust."

Now: After front man Michael Sweet left the band in 1991, they continued touring as a three piece but broke up in 1992. Reunited, they released "Reborn" this August and are touring to promote it.

Def Leppard Then: Pounded out tunes like "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with a one-armed drummer (Rick Allen after a car accident). Became one of the world's most popular bands after 1983's "Pyromania" sold more than 10 million copies and 1987's "Hysteria" sold 16 million worldwide. Now: Spent the summer touring U.S. minor-league baseball parks and arenas to promote compilation album, "Rock of Ages - The Definitive Collection." Currently on the "Double Shot of Rock Tour," a double-headliner with fellow '80s giant Bryan Adams.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>