Stabilizers were an American

pop/rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, e ...

duo from

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

, founded in the mid-1980s by musicians Dave Christenson (lead vocals) and England-born Rich Nevens (guitars and occasional keyboards).Richards, Dave (2016). "30 years ago, Erie band the Stabilizers hit the big time." ''GoErie.com''. September 20, 2016
Retrieved 4-28-2017. The duo experienced moderate national success upon the release of their lone full-length album. They are perhaps best remembered for their 1986/87 single, “One Simple Thing”.

History

In the early 1980s, Christenson was the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

/singer in the local Erie band Prophecy, which also included keyboardist John Schaaf, who later joined Stabilizers’ Erie-based live band. Prophecy toured across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York, scoring a local hit with “Another American Rock 'N Roll Story”. The band broke up by design when Schaaf left for law school and drummer Brad Vargo left for medical school, playing their final show in 1984; Christenson connected with Nevens later that year to form Stabilizers, writing and recording the group’s songs. George Hazuda was added on drums for live performances, with other members soon joining the group, including Schaaf on keyboards and saxophone. “The Stabilizers” had been the name of Nevens’ previous band, during his time in school at his alma mater,

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High ...

, and he reappropriated the moniker for the new group. After continuing to tour the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

area and recording original compositions on a 4-track recorder,Stabilizers - "Tyranny" Original Remastered by Dave Christenson @soundcloud.com
Retrieved 8-6-2016. they were signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 1985, releasing ''Tyranny'', their first and only album, the following year. The first single from ''Tyranny,'' “One Simple Thing”, peaked at #21 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched i ...

chart in 1986 and #93 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1987, helped by the band’s performance of the song on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pr ...

''. The song peaked at #100 in Australia. Two

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

s were released to promote the album: “One Simple Thing”, directed by

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fi ...

, who would go on to greater success directing the feature films ''

Alien 3 ''Alien 3'' (stylized as ''A''LIEN³) is a 1992 American science fiction horror film directed by David Fincher and written by David Giler, Walter Hill, and Larry Ferguson, from a story by Vincent Ward. It stars Sigourney Weaver, reprising h ...

'', '' Se7en'', and ''

Fight Club ''Fight Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the Fight Club (novel), 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays the unnamed T ...

''; and “Tyranny”, directed by David Hogan. The “Tyranny” single failed to chart, and for the next five years, Stabilizers disappeared from view. Following the acquisition of Columbia Records by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

, Stabilizers signed a new deal with

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wi ...

, but did not initially release any material. However, in 1991, an unreleased track from the

sessions, “Maybe This Time”, was included in the film '' If Looks Could Kill'' and its soundtrack album. Dave Christenson and Rich Nevens remained in fairly steady contact after the dissolution of the band. David D. Christenson (born on March 15, 1963 in Erie, Pennsylvania) died in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

on December 13, 2017 after a three-year battle with lung cancer. He was 54 and was survived by his wife and two sons.David D. Christenson 1963-2017
accessdate February 9, 2018

Band members

*Dave Christenson: lead vocals, occasional bass guitar *Rich Nevens: guitar, keyboards *John Schaaf: keyboards, saxophone *George Hazuda: drums *Jim Nordstrom: bass

Discography

*''

Tyranny A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

'' (Columbia Records, 1986)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Pennsylvania Rock music duos