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UNDER THE INFLUENCE...AGAIN is the remastered and sonically enhanced new version of the original debut Capitol Records recording. Taken from digitized masters of the final mixes of UTI, BEFORE being mastered in 1991 by George Marino and Sterling Sound, UTI AGAIN is a superior quality product and better than the original release that Capitol Records had on the market 17 years ago. Add in unreleased B-sides, early YOUNG GUNNS tunes, and the two official videos for Hang On Lucy and How Many Lies, and you have the ultimate, definitive and end-all WildSide package.
In 1988, at the pinnacle of the "Hollywood Hair Metal" frenzy, WILDSIDE was formed by Seattle guitarist/songwriter Benny Rhynedance and singer Drew Hannah. Both were 1986 Hair Metal transplants from the pre-grunge Seattle music scene, which in '86, was barely in existence.
By 1988, after slugging it out for 2 years on the L.A. club scene as glam rockers ROGUE, and enduring the Hollywood "Pay To Play" club promoter rip-off, Benny and Drew disbanded their original Seattle band. The two then formed THE BOYZ which became YOUNG GUNNS, and recruited 2nd guitar player Brent Woods from competing Sunser Strip pop band ALRISHA, and super glam bassist Marc Simon from ST.VALENTINE. The guys searched for a permanent drummer while dominating the Sunset Strip and THE WHISKY A GO-GO on Monday Night "No Bozo Jam" nights. After a year and a half of "false starts and flakes," they found ex-NRG band and "no non-sense" drummer Jimmy D. from San Bernadino, CA. to complete the line up.
With a rock solid group, the band began an all out assault on Hollywood. Sold-out shows followed at The ROXY, WHISKY A GO-GO, THE TROUBADOUR, XPOSUER 54, and SPICE ON SUNSET. Front page covers on all the L.A. rock press arose, and record labels began to take notice.
Famed Sunset Strip entertainment attorney Dennis Rider (now a "super music manager" for Evanesence) sought out the band after a show at THE WHISKY and offered his brokering services to the record labels. WILDSIDE retained Rider's services, and he would ultimately pay off in spades and get the band their Capitol Records recording contract through his label connections.
The guys needed a decent band name. They were well known in Hollywood as YOUNG GUNNS from '88 to '91, but Lions Gate studios and Artisan Entertainment quickly sent out "cease and desist" letters because of the movies of the same name. After another late night Sunset Strip debaucle at the Rainbow Bar, "WILDSIDE" was thrown around by Benny Rhynedance, and it fit their lifestyle to a tee. They had their name. (But so did another local L.A. band - they received a check and went away quietly.)
Through Dennis Rider, Capitol Records came calling in August of 1990, and a bidding war between Capitol and Polygram ensued, with Capitol winning the bid for 2 million dollars and 7 albums. It was the biggest signing of a Hollywood rock band since WASP in the mid-80's. Eyebrows were definitely beginning to raise in the industry. Hollywood monster agency CAA (Creative Artist Agency) signed up the band immediately. WILDSIDE was destined for success and the buzz on the street was loud.
With legendary LED ZEPPELIN record producer ANDY JOHNS at the helm, WILDSIDE recorded their debut CD in secret at Eddie Van Halen's 5150 personal home studio in Coldwater Canyon, and also at the renowned A&M studios in Hollywood throughout 1991. Master metal mix-meisters STEVE THOMPSON and MICHAEL BARBIERIO (Dokken, Tesla) mixed the CD to near perfection. Capitol Records had a slick package to market to the hard rock masses. How could they lose?
By their release date of May 05, 1992, music had suddenly changed, seemingly overnight, to a new sound. One that was raw, less polished, less image, and very stripped down. NIRVANA led the charge of this new "SEATTLE GRUNGE" sound, and hair/hard rock bands were quickly deemed uncool. The excesses of the 80's had disappeared fast, and there were band casualties. Amazingly, Kurt Cobain destroyed 10 years of "Pop-Metal" in about six months. It was actually quite a feat for a guy who wrote "radio hit songs," shunned the spotlight, and hated mass-marketed corporate music.
Before their CD release, WILDSIDE hit the road with THE FOUR HORSEMEN in January of 1992. WILDSIDE's Under The Influence debut CD was released worldwide on May 05, 1992 to little fanfare. After the release of UTI they immediately hit the road with BABYLON A.D. and ROXY BLUE throughout the summer on a packaged summer rock tour. Sales bumped up at a brisk pace throughout the tour, and into the fall of 1992. WILDSIDE headlined their own tour December 1992 through March of 1993. This was the highest WILDSIDE would ever climb.
In late 1993, after an upper management shake up at Capitol Records, all the execs that signed WILDSIDE were no longer with the company, including then Capitol Records President Hale Milgrim, who signed the band. New management at Capitol immediately called it quits for WildSide in the fall of 1993. Regardless of an iron clad contract and a 7 album deal, the new execs ripped up the band's contract and said, "Good luck guys, it was nice knowin' ya." All in the name of GRUNGE.
WILDSIDE continued to tour into 1994 and write new songs for a new disc on an undetermined label. Following the dismissal from Capitol, and the recent shift in music tastes by late 1993, Brent Woods left the band to join Vince Neil's solo project, as a "hired gun." Benny Rhynedance was next to exit the sinking ship by summer 1994.
WILDSIDE, minus Benny and Brent, continued on and recorded a new CD for a privately owned small entertainment company. Releasing a "GRUNGE" CD in 1995 as a foursome, with Bruce Draper from ex-Geffen GRAVEYARD TRAIN handling the guitar chores. The album sold poorly, and fans were shocked to hear a "jump on the GRUNGE bandwagon." The remaining members disbanded shortly after.
WILDSIDE had the sound, the talent, the image, and the attitude to be a HUGE rock band. What they didn't have was the luck of timing, simple band camaraderie, and the proper management team making the band's critical business decisions.
Capitol Records had said many times, "WILDSIDE is going to be our GUNS-N-ROSES." Had UNDER THE INFLUENCE been a CD release in 1988, this would be an entirely different article indeed.
Today, UNDER THE INFLUENCE by WILDSIDE is no longer made, but can be found on eBay or Amazon, consistently selling for $20 to $50, and is considered a rare item and hard rock "must have," 18 years later. Not too shabby for a band that came so close to stardom.
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