Icon (band)
| Icon | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Genres | Heavy metal, glam metal, hard rock |
| Years active | 1979–1990, 2008–present |
| Labels | Capitol, Atlantic |
| Website | http://www.myspace.com/officialiconpage |
| Members | Dan Wexler Stephen Clifford Dave Henzerling John Aquilino Gary Bruzzese |
| Past members | Tracy Wallach John Covington Pat Dixon Steven Young Jerry Harrison Kevin Stoller Drew Bollmann David Lauser Scott Hammons Sheldon Tarsha |
Icon is an American heavy metal/glam metal band that formed in 1979, disbanding in 1990. Icon has fully reformed as of 2008, currently consisting of three-fifths of the classic lineup: Dan Wexler (guitar), Stephen Clifford (lead vocals), and John Aquilino (guitar), along with Dave Henzerling (bass) and Gary Bruzzese (drums).
Originally known as The Schoolboys in 1979 (maybe earlier), Icon was formed in 1981, in Phoenix, Arizona by high school friends Dan Wexler (guitar), Stephen Clifford (lead vocals) and Tracy Wallach (bass). They were joined by Dave Henzerling (guitar) and John Covington (drums). Schoolboys released an EP Singin' Shoutin' and had a few songs on compilation albums. In 1984, Icon was signed to Capitol Records. By this point, Henzerling and Covington had left the band and were replaced by John Aquilino (guitar) and Pat Dixon (drums).
In 1984, Icon released their self-titled debut, Icon and toured heavily to support it. The tour set list featured quite a few new songs intended for the next album as well as a few Deep Purple ("Highway Star") and Judas Priest covers. In 1985, Night of the Crime was released, produced by Eddie Kramer, mixed by Ron Nevison and featuring the songwriting talent of Bob Halligan Jr.. During the mixing of the album, vocalist Stephen Clifford decided to leave the band for personal reasons. Regrouping, the band tried out a few different vocalists, lost their record deal and released a local-only cassette called A More Perfect Union, featuring a polished pop-rock sound, a new singer (Jerry Harrison) and a keyboardist (Kevin Stoller). Although it was only released locally, it garnered enough attention to renew major-label interest in the group.
In 1989, Right Between the Eyes was released on Atlantic/Megaforce, with Jerry Harrison on vocals and Drew Bollmann on second guitar. A video for "Taking My Breath Away" was played on MTV's Headbangers' Ball. Following the release of Right Between the Eyes and a supporting tour in the US opening for Ace Frehley and in the UK for King´s X, the later included David Lauser on drums (currently Sammy Hagar's drummer) replacing Dixon, Icon disbanded. Singer Harrison recorded with a new project called Harlequin. The other band members continued to be involved in music projects; guitarist Dan Wexler in particular wrote and recorded with Alice Cooper (who had performed backing vocals on "Holy Man's War" from Right Between the Eyes). In 1994, (An Even) More Perfect Union—an expanded version of A More Perfect Union, including tracks recorded for potential release on Right Between the Eyes—was released on CD. Icon also did a project together with lead singer Randy Baker, founder of the original Strange Daze a Tribute to the Doors band which included a 4 song demo and performing live. According to Baker, the project was "suggested by mutual management which in retrospect was a bad idea and lost me a record deal. As they were crashing and burning they took me with them."
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