XYZ (US Band)
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XYZ is a
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
band. It was originally formed in
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
in Lyon, France, where Pat Fontaine and Terry Ilous were born and grew up. The first members were Paul Villet on drums, Uncle RV on guitars and Pat Fontaine on vocals and bass. After a few shows as a trio through western Europe and even New York's
CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...
, Terry Ilous joined as the lead vocalist, cementing XYZ as a four-piece, and in 1984 the band moved to Los Angeles. Both Villet and RV bowed out a few months later and were replaced by Robert Pieper from New Haven, Connecticut on guitars and Joe Pafumi from Boston, Massachusetts on drums. XYZ started off as the unofficial house band of the
Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed The Whisky) is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulev ...
nightclub in Los Angeles. A tour of the US with
Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...
followed the success of their 1989 Enigma-released debut album, which includes one of their best-known songs "Inside Out", and they were signed by major label Capitol for their 1991 follow-up ''
Hungry Hunger is a sensation that motivates the consumption of food. The sensation of hunger typically manifests after only a few hours without eating and is generally considered to be unpleasant. Satiety occurs between 5 and 20 minutes after eating. T ...
''. XYZ disbanded in 1992 but has reunited occasionally since the early 2000s.


History

XYZ originally formed in Lyon, France in 1978, but relocated to Los Angeles, California in 1984 where they experienced much of their success. XYZ sold more than two million records worldwide and was a staple on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
during the early 90s. The band played Hollywood clubs throughout the mid-1980s and first got a record deal in 1989 with
Don Dokken Donald Maynard Dokken (born June 29, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and founder of glam metal band Dokken. He is known for his vibrato-laden, melodic vocal style which has made him an influential figure in American ...
(frontman of
Dokken Dokken is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band has had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as " Alone Again", " In My Dreams", and ...
) as a producer. Terry Ilous and Pat Fontaine then recruited Marc Diglio (guitars) and Paul Monroe (drums) to replace the departing Pieper and Pafumi, to record the debut album, simply titled '' XYZ'', released in 1989 and containing the hits "Inside Out" and "What Keeps Me Loving You". Videos for both songs received reasonable airplay managing to reach No. 99 on the
Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...
. A third single from the album, "Maggy", was used in the 1990
Dolph Lundgren Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957) is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. Lundgren made his acting debut in 1985 with a cameo in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film ''A View to a Kill''. Also that year, he h ...
movie ''
I Come in Peace ''I Come in Peace'' (released under the alternative title ''Dark Angel'') is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Craig R. Baxley, and starring Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley and Matthias Hues. The film was re ...
''. The next album, ''
Hungry Hunger is a sensation that motivates the consumption of food. The sensation of hunger typically manifests after only a few hours without eating and is generally considered to be unpleasant. Satiety occurs between 5 and 20 minutes after eating. T ...
'', released in 1991, had less commercial success, not charting at all. Just one video was released, "Face Down in the Gutter", directed by
Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...
. A few months later, both Diglio and Monroe left the band and were replaced by Tony Marcus and Joey Shapiro, respectively. After the next tour (Foreigner) was finished, band members went separate ways once again.They reunited in 2008 with the 1992 lineup of Ilous, Fontaine, Marcus and Shapiro. In 1995 Pat Fontaine (bass) and Joe Shapiro (drums) teamed up with Lance Bulen (guitars and vocals) to form the trio Puzzle Gut which was signed to Interscope Records two years later. Only one album was released while on the road with the Roar Tour, Iggy Pop headlining.


Recent events

XYZ actively continues to play festivals and shows across the US and Europe and is a regular addition to Monster of Rock Cruises out of Miami, Florida. In addition to fronting XYZ, Terry Ilous leads The Vagabonds, an acoustic outfit mixing
flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...
with classic rock. Terry Ilous was interviewed by Argentinean rock journalist Lucas H. Gordon, where the singer talked about a charity event called ''80's Rockers for Japan'', organized by Ilous to raise money for the
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
from Japan, to help victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The event featured many hard rock musicians, including ex- Toto singer
Bobby Kimball Robert Troy Kimball (born March 29, 1947) is an American retired singer best known as longtime frontman of the rock band Toto from 1977 to 1984 and again from 1998 to 2008. He has also performed as a solo artist and session singer. History ...
,
Paul Shortino Paul Shortino (born May 14, 1953) is an American rock singer and musician who has sung for Rough Cutt/The Cutt, Quiet Riot, Bad Boyz, and Shortino. He briefly recorded with J.K. Northrup as the duo, Shortino/Northrup. He has also recorded as a ...
,
Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban-American musician. He remains best known as the bassist for Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played with several well k ...
, Michael T. Ross, John Payne,
Carmine Appice Carmine Appice ( ; born December 15, 1946) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is the older brother ...
,
Vinny Appice Vincent Samson Appice (born September 13, 1957) is an American rock and metal drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio (band), Dio, Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell (band), Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother ...
, Lorraine Lewis, and others. XYZ performed at
Rocklahoma Rocklahoma is an annual 3-day hard rock and metal festival held in Pryor Creek, Oklahoma, Pryor, Oklahoma. The festival features 3 official stages, as well as many unofficial campground parties and performing acts and onsite vendors. There were ...
Festival in 2008, the M3 Rock Festival, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD, and Firefest, Rock City, Nottingham, England, in 2012. In 2012, drummer Joey Shapiro purchased drumstick and guitar pick grip company Gorilla Snot, and since 2019 owns Avalanche Studios, a recording facility in Denver CO. Pat Fontaine was featured in the opening scene of ''
The Dirt ''The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band'' () is a collaborative autobiography of Mötley Crüe by the band – Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx – and ''New York Times'' writer Neil Strauss. First publishe ...
'', a
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
movie about
Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...
. Paul Monroe, drummer from the classic lineup, was a contestant with his daughter on a 2016 episode of ''That Awkward Game Show'' on
Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...
. On April 2025, Terry Ilous (lead singer) was featured in a Starbucks commercial along his Legends-of-Classic-Rock bandmates. Members ;Current members * Pat Fontaine – bass (1980–1992, 2003–present), vocals (1980–1982) * Terry Ilous – vocals (1982–1992, 2002–present) * Tony Marcus – guitars (1991–1992, 2002–present) * Joey Shapiro – drums (1991–1992, 2003–present) ;Former members * Uncle RV – guitars (1980–1983) * JP Villet – drums (1980–1983) * Jamie Lewis – keys (1984–1986) * Bill Lordan – drums (1984–1986) * Bobby Pieper – guitars (1984–1988) * Joey Pafumi – drums (1986–1988) * Marc Diglio – guitars (1988–1991) * Paul Monroe – drums (1988–1991, 2003) * Sean McNabb – bass (2003)


Timeline


Discography


Studio albums


Extended plays


Compilation albums


Live albums


References


External links


Official website
*



{{Authority control 1980 establishments in France American musical quartets French glam metal musical groups French hard rock musical groups French heavy metal musical groups French musical quartets Glam metal musical groups from California Hard rock musical groups from California Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Musical groups reestablished in 2002 Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups from Lyon