{"id":5468,"date":"2018-11-01T00:06:25","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T04:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/?p=5468"},"modified":"2018-11-07T17:16:14","modified_gmt":"2018-11-07T21:16:14","slug":"chip-znuff-talks-enough-for-all-enuff-znuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/chip-znuff-talks-enough-for-all-enuff-znuff\/","title":{"rendered":"Chip Z\u2019Nuff talks enough for all Enuff Z\u2019Nuff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Owen McCall
\nIn Motion Staff Writer<\/span><\/p>\n

Rock music producer Howard Benson, who\u2019s worked with Bang Tango and Three Days Grace, estimates over 400 bands in the \u201chard rock\u201d category of music were on the rosters of major record labels in 1989.<\/p>\n

Many disappeared off the rock \u2019n\u2019 roll radar for a variety of reasons. Seattle grunge was the major genre that replaced glam metal bands of the 1980s. Then there was the classic mismanagement, in-fighting among band members, drug abuse and just bad luck that ended the runs of many bands.<\/p>\n

Enuff Z\u2019Nuff was one of the bands able to stay relevant and signed to a label throughout the years.<\/p>\n

\"Simmons\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Formed in Chicago in 1984, the band has released a total of 14 studio albums, with the most recent being 2018\u2019s \u201cDiamond Boy\u201d for Frontiers Records. Frontman bassist-vocalist Chip Z\u2019Nuff describes the album as \u201cPicking up the bones of my favorite bands\u201d and \u201cDavid Bowie and The Beatles are fighting in an alley and Cheap Trick comes in to break it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a backstage interview at the House of\u00a0 Blues in Orlando, he recalled, \u201cI grew up on the South Side of Chicago. I worked with my father at a place called U.S. Steel. It was a very dangerous job, but my father taught me a lot about discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Z\u2019Nuff originally wanted to be a baseball player and received tryouts from several major league teams, such as the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox.<\/p>\n

The band had early success with its self-titled debut album in 1989, especially the singles \u201cNew Thing\u201d and \u201cFly High Michelle,\u201d becoming hits and concert staples. Both music videos received MTV airplay, a goal for every musical artist at that time.<\/p>\n

Z\u2019Nuff credits his longevity in the music industry to his hard work, dedication, and avoidance of hard drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to stay healthy. That\u2019s it. And on the tour, in the old days, I\u2019d be on the tour bus and there would be an ounce of cocaine, tons of booze and Jack Daniels, drinking like you wouldn\u2019t believe, a pharmacy full of pilly-poos. I wasn\u2019t taking them, but my band was. They were out of control!\u201d<\/p>\n

The group appeared on David Letterman and began a relationship with shock jock Howard Stern around this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1989, we signed with ATCO Records. Dee Snider from Twisted Sister has a brother named Mark. He was a radio rep and he comes up and says \u2018Chip, there\u2019s a guy in New York, I think you\u2019ll be really good friends, his name is Howard Stern.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Simmons<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m from Chicago, I didn\u2019t know who Howard was. We flew to New York and met him. From that first hello, it was instant camaraderie,\u201d says the musician, whose friendship with Stern continues to this day. \u201cThat was the catalyst for Enuff Z\u2019Nuff. After that, we got on Letterman, started doing the big shows, got more radio stations to play us. I really owe a lot of my career to Howard Stern.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band, however, was not destined to become arena rock superstars. Its second album, \u201cStrength,\u201d was released in 1991 on ATCO, but with grunge and alternative rock gaining popularity, it didn\u2019t sell well. With the departure of longtime singer Donnie Vie in 2013, Chip Z\u2019Nuff is the sole original member and has moved into the frontman role full time.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuilty as charged,\u201d he says, when asked how challenging it was to step into the frontman role. \u201cIt was very difficult. Nobody here gears up a band for failure. I thought we\u2019d be together forever. But we lost our guitarist Derek Frigo in 2004 and in 2007, my drummer (Ricky Parent), two great players who were a very big part of our sound. And then my brother, Donnie Vie, left for the third time in 2013, and then there was nobody left.\u201d<\/p>\n

To support \u201cDiamond Boy,\u201d the band is embarking on the Sirius XM Hair Nation Tour alongside their Frontiers labelmates BulletBoys and headliner Jack Russell\u2019s Great White.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 5, the tour arrived in Orlando at the House of Blues at Disney Springs. The lineup was received warmly\u00a0 by the near-capacity crowd, which sang along, clapped and shouted out requests.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur record is real, it\u2019s organic, and it\u2019s honest,\u201d says Z\u2019Nuff \u00a0of \u00a0\u201cDiamond Boy\u201d album, which followed 2016\u2019s \u201cClowns Lounge,\u201d a collection of previously unreleased material for Frontier.<\/p>\n

For the current version of Enuff Z\u2019Nuff, Chip has surrounded himself with great musicians. Rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tony Fenelle was a member of British pop group Ultravox from 1992 to 1994, and joined the band in 2016, alongside drummer Daniel B. Hill. Lead guitarist Tory Stoffregen is currently in his second stint in the band, his first being from 2008 to 2014. In Orlando, was a great experience to see Tory Stoffregen, shred on his Fender Telecaster.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI got a great band around me. I found Tony Fenelle, the ex-singer for Ultravox, pulled him out of retirement. I got Tory Stoffregen. Tory\u2019s been with me for, I don\u2019t know, 10 years. And I found Daniel Benjamin Hill giving drum lessons, and I said this is the band.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys believe in the legacy of Enuff Z\u2019Nuff, they love what we do, and they play the songs every night and they\u2019re serious about their craft.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chip gave a shout out to the band\u2019s agency, Artists Worldwide, for getting them on a Live Nation tour, and their record label Frontiers for believing in them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need a team,\u201d says Z\u2019Nuff. \u201cYou can\u2019t do it all by yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also provides advice for young and aspiring musicians: \u201cPut a band together and listen to all the records you like. Try to find your influence, try to find your own timbre, and put a record out and tour and play shows and forget about the money right now. It\u2019s all about getting out there and reaching people and maybe you\u2019ll get lucky that someone at your show is a movie director or a producer or somebody who can help you out. And last, but not least, be nice, because kindness costs nothing. But with it you could get so much\u201d<\/p>\n

In an effort to remain relevant, many older bands attempt to appeal to younger audiences. A lot of times, these bands latch on to current musical trends, such as the glam metal bands of the \u201880s releasing more grunge-inspired material in the \u201990s. \u00a0Enuff Z\u2019Nuff is a band that sticks to its principles.<\/p>\n

\u201cNope, nope. We\u2019re not doing that. We made Diamond Boy as an influence to the \u201970s, a real rock record, analog on two-inch tape, playing, showing all the warts, scars and tattoos to show what our band is about. That\u2019s what we did on this record.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in the day, glam metal \u2014 known colloquially as hair metal \u2014 was a popular style of rock music. Enuff Z\u2019Nuff is one of the many bands who are classified as \u201chair metal\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t then!\u201d Chip said of the hair metal label. \u201cListen, in the old days, it was new wave and punk rock and hard rock and heavy metal and only a couple other genres. Now it\u2019s so many names it\u2019s a joke. So, I think we came out, people didn\u2019t know what to call Enuff Z\u2019Nuff. It was rock, it was pop, it was alternative. We were alternative before alternative!\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent years, veteran musicians have begun to take younger bands on tour with them. These newer bands bring a younger audience, and help established acts appeal to a new generation of fans. Chip Z\u2019Nuff is open to the idea of touring with newer bands.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, why not? We\u2019re still going to play our songs, just to a new audience who might not know who we are, but we might get a chance to conquer them,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s not a band out there we can\u2019t play with. And the newer model of bands like Greta Van Fleet, Rival Sons, The Struts, they\u2019re carrying traditions. They\u2019re good bands. We\u2019ll play with anyone\u201d<\/p>\n

On the future of the band, he adds that, \u201cI can\u2019t predict the future, but if I could, I\u2019d be rich driving a Mercedes-Benz. I\u2019d be taking care of a lot of people. If I could predict stuff like that, I\u2019d be a genius. But what I can predict is I\u2019m going to try and move this band forward as best we can. Our record is charting, 157 on the Billboard charts, 37 in the U.K. We haven\u2019t charted in 25 years. I\u2019m going to move the band forward, and I\u2019m going to promise the fans that are out there, who come see the shows, that I\u2019ll give everything I got every single night. I appreciate every single one who\u2019s come out and watched us play these shows and supported us throughout the years. And for the haters out there, I wish them well and I hope they all live to be 100 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyone who can catch them live while they\u2019re on this tour, should. With three classic bands, the three-hour show gives audiences their money\u2019s worth, along with a feel for what the classic rock bands of the \u201880s were like.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Owen McCall In Motion Staff Writer Rock music producer Howard Benson, who\u2019s worked with Bang Tango and Three Days Grace, estimates over 400 bands in the \u201chard rock\u201d category of music were on the rosters of major record labels in 1989. Many disappeared off the rock \u2019n\u2019 roll radar for Continue reading Chip Z\u2019Nuff talks enough for all Enuff Z\u2019Nuff<\/span>→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5468"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5518,"href":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5468\/revisions\/5518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daytonastateinmotion.com\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}