Witch formed in LA in 1982. Eventually they released the ep "The hex is on" in 1984 on O.T.T. Records. The line-up at that point was Peter Wabbit on vocals, Ronny Too on guitar, Jim Warmon on bass and drummer Punky Peru. After that they drifted a bit and made several line-up changes before recording a twelve inch called "Nobody sleeps" in 1987. The band kept going until 1989 before calling it a day. They did reform for a reunion show in 1991. They have a few links to other bands in some ways. Drummer Punky Peru was once married to Tommy Lee's sister Athena and later he lived with Lita Ford and co-wrote the song Fatal Portrait that she would use. The band had keyboard player David Ezrin in their ranks from 1987-1988 and he was the son of famed producer Bob Ezrin. The band also had Salty Dog bassist Michael Hannon fill in on bass at their 1991 reunion in place of Jim Warmon.
Witch had a fairly typical glam look, but their sound was surprisingly more metal. I have never heard the twelve inch, but "The hex is on" is raw and definitely leans more towards metal than hard rock. Maybe at times almost like early Grim Reaper as far as the music goes, but fairly basic. I enjoyed the album but it's easy to see why bands like Motley Crue and WASP sold albums and these guys just faded away. They didn't quite do enough to set themselves apart. Still they are another slightly interesting entry in the cluttered world of LA metal bands.
***Next month's Who were they? will be Blind Illusion.
Blind Illusion?! I had that album!
ReplyDeleteSo did I! I wish I'd never gotten rid of it. You'd never know Les Claypool was in there.
ReplyDeleteOn this topic, I barely remember Witch, and I know that Athena has been in Kottak recently. Interesting to see the chain of people.
It's amazing how many bands you know.
ReplyDeletePeter Wabbit...are you kiding me? And they wanted to be rock stars??? WOW! LOL!
ReplyDeletedschalek-I still have that album.
ReplyDeleteray-Your vinyl copy probably ended up with Bob because I already had it.
Captain Corky-I don't know that many. Oftentimes I just hear a name and look them up. I have a list of sites on the bottom left of my page and I use some of them fairly often.
Rockdog-Yes, Peter Wabbit and Ronny Too just don't quite have the same ring as Nikki Sixx or Blackie Lawless.
What Corky said =)
ReplyDeleteSometimes, I wonder where you dig up these metal bands. They are TOO funny. LOL.
ReplyDeletePixie-Thanks.
ReplyDeleteLone Beader-I read a lot of metal magazines back in the day and remember a lot fo names plus I have heard a lot of albums. I don't think I heard of these guys until just a few years ago. I think I read a brief mention of them on a site and then eventually found out more about them over the last few years.
I do have Ray's copy of Blind Illusion. I recorded it to CD.
ReplyDeleteAnother delightfully brief look into the world of hard rock metal. I love these entries!
ReplyDeleteCool somebody remember this band. I have their mini lp THE HEX IS ON, on the two diferent editions you are showing on your blog and also NOBODYS SLEEP maxi, also on vinyl of course. They were great, in the vain of SEDUCE(specialy their debut), LONDON or ODIN for exemple, all of them on the DECLINE OF....movie lol. Anyway, i think that WITCH was underated. Thanks for remember this band brother.
ReplyDeleteWow! This truly brought back memories. Witch was a great band, no doubt! They had the hugest following in Orange County. Punky was & should have been famous! So sad! Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteyeah, all those memories...i don't know if i still have the Witch 12" but i liked a lot back then. cinderella in black leather!!!
ReplyDelete