Balance (band)

{{Short description|American hard rock band}} {{More citations needed|date=November 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Balance | image = | caption = | image_size = | alias = | origin = [[New York City]], United States | genre = [[Hard rock]] | years_active = 1980–1983 | label = [[Portrait Records|Portrait]] | website = | current_members = [[Bob Kulick]] Peppy Castro [[Doug Katsaros]] [[Andy Newmark]] [[Gregg Gerson]] Dennis Feldman [[Chuck Burgi]] | past_members = }}

'''Balance''' was an early 1980s American [[hard rock]] band. based out of [[New York City]], United States, and fronted by Peppy Castro, formerly of [[Blues Magoos]].<ref name="LarkinHM">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who’s Who of Heavy Metal]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1995|edition=Second|isbn=0-85112-656-1|pages=41/2}}</ref> They are best known for their top 40 1981 hit, "Breaking Away".

==Biography== In addition to Castro, original members included [[guitarist]] [[Bob Kulick]] and [[arrangement|arranger]]/[[keyboardist]] [[Doug Katsaros]].<ref name="LarkinHM"/> The trio recorded their self-titled debut album with session musicians, one of whom, drummer [[Andy Newmark]], also co-wrote one of the songs on the album and was apparently an official member of the band at one point. Newmark was later replaced by Gregg Gerson, who departed soon thereafter to play with [[Billy Idol]]. Prior to recording their follow-up album, Balance added the rhythm section of [[drummer]] [[Chuck Burgi]] (ex-[[Brand X]]) and [[bassist]] Dennis Feldman (ex-Speedway Blvd.) to the lineup.<ref name="LarkinHM"/>

The group's most noteworthy release was 1981's "Breaking Away" from their eponymous debut album which reached No. 133 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]. The song peaked at No. 22 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] singles chart in the US, and also hit the top 40 in Canada, peaking at No. 35 in ''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]''. The album's follow-up single, "Falling in Love", peaked at No. 58 in the US. The band failed to reach the Hot 100 chart again.

In early 1982, Balance entered [[Power Station (recording studio)|The Power Station]] in New York to produce their sophomore album, ''In For The Count'',<ref name="LarkinHM"/> with Tony Bongiovi, a cousin of [[Jon Bon Jovi]], engineering and co-producing. After a massive house cleaning on so-called 'Black Friday', when 200 staffers at CBS, Epic and Portrait were let go, Balance would lose their supporters at the label and ''In For The Count'' became a direct casualty of the turnover.

Although things looked bleak at home, the band experienced one last hurrah when they were asked to write a song for a major Japanese commercial to launch the new [[Daihatsu Charade]]. The resulting song was "Ride the Wave" which was also commercially released through Polydor, with album leftover "She's Alone Tonight" on the B-side. Balance played a short tour of Japan before calling it quits due to lack of interest from their label and management company.<ref name="LarkinHM"/>

Castro, Katsaros, Burgi, and Feldman (along with Bob Kulick's younger brother, [[Bruce Kulick|Bruce]]) reunited briefly when they appeared on [[Michael Bolton]]'s 1985 album, ''[[Everybody's Crazy (album)|Everybody's Crazy]]''. Kulick and Feldman, the latter adopting the name Dennis St. James and handling lead vocals, would re-team again in the band Skull whose sole album, ''No Bones About It'', was released in 1991; Bruce Kulick and Chuck Burgi guested on various tracks.

In the wake of the 2006 re-issue of ''In For the Count'', Italian label [[Frontiers Records]] inquired about a possible new Balance album. ''Equilibrium'' was released in 2009 and features original core members Kulick, Castro and Katsaros, along with drummer Brett Chassen, who also co-produced with Kulick, as well as guest spots from Bruce Kulick on bass and Jesse Castro on drums.

In 2014, the band reunited for its first live shows in 31 years for a short three-date tour in Sweden. Peppy Castro, Bob Kulick and Doug Katsaros were joined by Dan Larsson on bass and Jonas Wikström on drums. Sweden Rock Magazine gave the band a rave review of their gig at the Rockland Club in Sala, Sweden, on August 26, 2014.

On October 6, 2015, Peppy Castro was interviewed by Swedish Radio about the continued and renewed interest in the band, such as fans of the band recently setting up a Facebook page wanting the band to play at Sweden Rock Festival in 2016.

Bob Kulick died on May 28, 2020, at age 70.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/veteran-session-guitarist-and-producer-bob-kulick-dead-at-70/|title=Veteran Session Guitarist And Producer Bob Kulick Dead At 70|date=May 29, 2020|website=blabbermouth.net|accessdate=July 26, 2020}}</ref>

==Discography== ===Studio albums=== {|Class = "wikitable" |- !rowspan = "2" | Title !rowspan = "2" | Album details !colspan = "1" | Chart |- Style = "font-size: smaller;" !| [[Billboard 200|US]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/balance/chart-history/tlp/ |title=Balance Chart History - Billboard 200 |accessdate=February 13, 2019|work=Billboard}}</ref> |- |rowspan="1" |''Balance'' | * Released: 1981 * Label: Portrait |align = "center" |133 |- |rowspan="1" |''In for the Count'' | * Released: 1982 * Label: Portrait |align = "center" |— |- |rowspan="1" |''Equilibrium'' | * Released: 2009 * Label: Frontiers Records |align = "center" |— |- |align = "center" colspan = "16" style = "font-size: 8pt" | "-" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |- |}

===Singles=== * 1981 "Breaking Away" b/w "It's So Strange" (Portrait, 24-02177) No. 22 US * 1981 "Falling in Love" b/w "Fly Through the Night" (Portrait, 02608) No. 58 US * 1981 "American Dream" b/w "I'm Through Loving You" (Portrait, 24-02826) * 1982 "Slow Motion" b/w "Undercover Man" (Portrait AE7 1501) * 1982 "Slow Motion" b/w "Is It Over" (Portrait, 24-03083) * 1982 "In for the Count" b/w "Slow Motion" (Portrait/Epic Holland, PRTA 3185) * 1983 "Ride the Wave" b/w "She's Alone Tonight" (Polydor Japan, 7DX 2027)

==Re-issues== * 1992 ''Balance'' (Portrait/Sony Music Austria, 4694422) * 1992 ''In for the Count'' (Portrait/Sony Music Austria, 85787) * 1996 ''Balance'' / ''In for the Count'' (Renaissance, RMED00104) * 2006 ''In for the Count'' (Rock Candy, CANDY024)* includes the Japan only ''Ride the Wave'' 7" as bonus tracks * 2010 ''Balance'' (Rock Candy, CANDY066)

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Hard rock musical groups from New York (state)]] [[Category:Musical groups from New York City]] [[Category:Frontiers Records artists]]