At least two bands are known under the name XYZ.
1. XYZ was a hook-laden heavy metal band. They were considered the unofficial house band of the Los Angeles nightclub The Whiskey in the mid 80’s, but major success eluded them. | XYZ began in Los Angeles, California, with members Terry Ilous (vocals), Bobby Pieper (guitar), Patt Fontaine (bass) and Joey Pafumi (drums). An early development deal with Atlantic records led to the recording of their debut album, which quickly got radio play with the hits “Inside Out” and “What Keeps Me Loving You.” “Rainy Days” was then released in 2005. After that false start, Ilous and Fontaine regrouped with new members Marc Diglio (guitar) and Paul Monroe (drums). Don Dokken produced the debut that included the killer single “Inside Out,” but unfortunately few people seemed interested. The follow-up, “Hungry,” did even worse commercially, and by 1992, Diglio and Monroe had been replaced by Tony Marcus and Joey Shapiro respectively. The final tour dates were performed, and the group called it a day. | Ilous went on to form Cage with former King Kobra member Jeff Northrup before recording as Flynn. Fontaine and Shapiro worked together on a band called Puzzle Gut. | Ilous and Monroe re-teamed in early 2000 (with Diglio helping to write), and with the addition of Northrup and former Quiet Riot and Great White bassist Sean McNabb, released the exceptional comeback album Letter To God in early 2003.
2. XYZ also refers to a very short-lived band comprising former members of Yes and Led Zeppelin; hence, “Ex-Yes Zeppelin,” or XYZ. Alan White and Chris Squire of Yes briefly teamed with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin in 1981, and Robert Plant (also of Zeppelin) sat in on one rehearsal, but the group didn’t coalesce as they’d hoped. Only a few snippets of their demo recordings survived, and no songs were released under the XYZ name. |
