NOVO COMBO: 45 WEST 55TH
This episode of Big Blend Radio features Stephen Dees and Pete Hewlett of Novo Combo, the 1980s rock band known for their electrifying blend of rock and pop. Hear about their new album, 45 West 55th, and their reunion to make it happen. Watch here in the YouTube player or download the episode on Podbean.
Novo Combo founding members include Stephen Dees (lead vocals/bass), Jack Griffith (lead guitar), Pete Hewlett (vocals/guitar), and drummer Michael Shrieve, who is a Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee for his mesmerizing 70s era drum work with Santana. Shrieve’s explosive performance with Santana, as a then 20-year-old, on Soul Sacrifice at the original Woodstock, is widely regarded as one of the best live drum performances in rock history.
In the early 1980s, Novo Combo embodied a lively fusion of rock and pop; creating catchy, danceable tunes that captured the spirit of the era with their infectious melodies, punchy guitar riffs, and dynamic rhythms that captured the era’s essence. Their music was both radio-friendly and artistically spirited, blending catchy melodic hooks with a contemporary edge.
Their self-titled debut album produced several fun hits such as “Up Periscope,” and “Tattoo,” each of which charted on the Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart in 1981 and 1982 respectively, along with the album track “City Bound E Train.” The album peaked at #167 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart.
In 1981, The Detroit News honored them as Best New Band of the Year, with “Up Periscope” winning Best Single of the Year. The Boston Globe also named them Band of the Year, and The Record (a Rolling Stone publication) ranked their 1981 debut album as the third best release of that year.
With the release in 1982 of their sophomore album, “Animation Generation,” the video of the same name climbed to #5 on MTV’s Video Countdown. Tracks like “Too Long Gone”, “Welcome Innervision”, and “Slow Fade” continued to spotlight their musical prowess, underscoring their artistic depth and range.
Novo Combo shared stages with legends such as Cheap Trick and Greg Lake and had the prestigious opportunity to open for The Who. Their lively performance at the esteemed Montreux Jazz Festival further cemented their status as a dynamic force in the music scene during that period.
The band formed in the winter of 1979 in New York City. Bassist and vocalist, Stephen Dees, embarked on a taxi ride to 45 West 55th Street to meet legendary Santana drummer and future Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Michael Shrieve, to consider forming a band. After spending the afternoon listening to and discussing their musical ideas, they went to SIR Studios and jammed for several hours. By the end of day, they decided to form the group that would become Novo Combo.
An exhaustive quest to complete the band lineup ensued, spanning two cities and numerous auditions, in pursuit of the perfect lineup. Dees, residing in Miami, crossed paths with guitarist/vocalist Jack Griffith, adding a crucial piece to the puzzle. Returning to New York City, a myriad of guitarists paraded their talents, yet the missing element eluded them. Finally, a promising guitarist surfaced by the name of Pete Hewlett. Beyond his guitar talent, his vocal prowess rendered him an impeccable match for the ensemble. With the addition of Hewlett, the Novo Combo lineup was complete.
The new album project came about following the passing of Dees’ close friend and former bandmate, drummer Eddie Zyne, who performed with Dees in the Hall and Oates band in the 1970s. As Dees was sorting through his vast stash of old tapes looking for recordings that featured his friend, he came across numerous Novo Combo demos.
“I started listening and thought, wow, that sounds great. In fact, maybe this demo version of that song is even better than what made it onto the record”, Dees recalls.
The tapes also included “some really good songs” that didn’t appear on Novo Combo’s debut, Dees says, “It reminded me of what a great band we were. Then, I got the idea that in our own humble way we could do an anthology style release like the Beatles did.”
Dees went through all the tapes and made a huge list of “everything we had in the can.” Novo Combo was always a “very democratic band,” so all four members had input on the songs that made it on to 45 West 55th.
With all four band members now scattered across the U.S., they collaborated on 45 West 55th via “a lot of Dropbox,” Dees says, citing the digital file-sharing service. Work on the collection included both production duties and fresh musical performances to augment the tracks in some instances. Bryan Bassett, a co-founding member of Wild Cherry and current guitarist with Foghat, worked with Dees on mastering the production.
The 45 West 55th project also includes two videos. While foraging through the old tapes, Dees discovered “one of those big, huge videotapes from back in the day”. The label contained the titles of two Novo Combo songs: “City Bound E Train” and the reggae-flavored “Long Road.” Dees had vague recollections of an Italian TV crew filming the band performing those songs during a sound check before a club show.
When Dees was asked about his fondest memories with Novo Combo, he didn’t hesitate to cite the band’s earliest days, before their record deal and before MTV. “There were live gigs that were really good, where we were really nailing it”, he says, citing such clubs and venues as the Ritz, the Savoy, Trax, and the Palladium. “We were in New York playing around and auditioning for labels. There was a period for about a year when we were the hot band in New York City and on any given night we’d be playing, Mick Jagger, Pete Townsend, Steve Winwood, Kiss, Aerosmith would be there to see us. We had that time, you know. It was exciting.”
And now, with “45 West 55th”, Novo Combo is re-animated and regenerated for the 21st century. Out now on digital streaming platforms and CD through their label WildRoots Records, “45 West 55th” offers fans a nostalgic yet fresh musical journey. Visit https://www.wildrootsrecords.com/
