Teaze

IN THE BEGINNING…

Any trivia buff will confirm that Windsor, Ontario is directly SOUTH of Detroit; the point being that there are parts of Canada closer to the American heartland than one might suspect.

TEAZE came from Windsor. They breathed Detroit’s airwaves and rocked to its beat. Local influences mattered most. Bob Seger System, MC5, The Stooges, Grand Funk and Brownsville Station. This mixed bag of power rock, r&b and pizzazz made TEAZE stand out in Canada like the smell of a Marlboro in an Ontario beer parlour.

There was something almost un-Canadian about the evangelical fervor that TEAZE displayed. Brian Danter sang ‘til it hurt. Mark Bradac and Chuck Price invented slam dancing (and that was while playing their guitars). Mike Kozak, who never let his drum kit get in the way of self-expression, regularly went screaming off the stage to be closer to his audience. It was three or four shows in one and nobody had a label for it.

The first TEAZE album was recorded in 1976 at a facility near Toronto called The Grange. The band thought they were taping demos. Nevertheless an LP called “TEAZE” was released. It ultimately went on to sell more copies in Sweden than Canada.

After that, TEAZE was signed by Aquarius Records and the band moved to Montreal. In late 1977 they made an album called “ON THE LOOSE” with producer George Lagios. The big hit turned out to be a country styled song called “SWEET MISERY.”

Actually, to say that “SWEET MISERY” wreaked havoc on the band’s image is an understatement. People who liked the song tended to dislike everything else about the band. Meanwhile those who might have been interested in the real TEAZE often never got past the Floyd Cramer intro.

The next album marked a night of firsts. It was the first show outside of Canada. It was their first outing as a concert headliner. It was their first (and only) live album, “TOUR OF JAPAN.”

In spite of everything, the band was growing in popularity. A deal was signed with Capitol in the U.S. At last TEAZE would be on sale “up North” in Detroit. “ONE NIGHT STANDS” needed to be a great album. It was. Certainly it was TEAZE’s finest work. The performance was passionate. The music was powerful. The lyrics were lucid and clever. Producer Myles Goodwyn helped the band weave together all of their disparate elements. “ONE NIGHT STANDS” included the band’s most memorable songs, ”HEARTLESS WORLD” and “YOUNG AND RECKLESS,” but it didn’t include a hit. It was glorious and it was a commercial failure.

TEAZE’s fifth and final album, “BODY SHOTS” was a strong effort but at some point between their first and last recording the members of TEAZE had lost their brashness. The fourth LP indicated that their best might not be good enough. Getting released from their U.S. deal proved to be a decisive blow and the band fragmented within six months of the re- lease of “BODY SHOTS.”

The oddest thing about this decidedly unusual rock band is that, although TEAZE peaked among Rock’s lower altitudes, interest in them has not abated. If anything, the group seems to have gained status since their last show in 1980.

Perhaps TEAZE was ahead of its time. It could be they were misunderstood. Or maybe there’s a limit to the number of times an act can shoot itself in the foot. In any case, those who remember TEAZE, do so with fondness. The five albums constitute a legacy. Maybe to really enjoy the best of TEAZE you had to be there, but these recordings are the next best thing.

Keith Brown
Aquarius Records

THE RESURRECTION

Life Goes On…

The band would eventually find their way back to Windsor, home, where they would continue performing music individually, pursuing new livelihoods and raising families.

Brian Danter’s faith would lead him to a career in the church as a musical director and eventually a pastor (a very Rock & Roll pastor).

Mark Bradac would continue to perform rock, country and blues while operating the family pawn business (recently closed after 50 years in operation). He was also chosen to appear in the History Television series ‘Pawnathon Canada’ which ran for two seasons.

Mike Kozak would continue playing music in the Windsor-Detroit area, finally stepping aside in 1995 to raise a family and ‘become normal,’ as he would put it.

Chuck Price would retire from performing music several years after the breakup of TEAZE and return to his pre-music occupation as an industrial electrician.

Years passed and while TEAZE fell off the radar for its members, the internet would provide a constant reminder that the fans hadn’t forgotten. Messages would arrive periodically from around the world to the band indicating that an interest in TEAZE still existed. A re-release of ‘One Night Stands’ in Britain would garner praise from music critics in Europe and TEAZE music would appear in the award-winning 2013 film ‘Metalhead.’

A reunion, one that Bradac had pitched several times over the years, seemed unlikely given the busy lives and musical inactivity of the members.

A TEAZE Facebook Page created by the band to post photos and memorabilia caught the interest of a long time fan who reached out to Bradac with an idea to return the group to Japan, where he had business dealings. Without high hopes, Bradac approached Danter, who was winding down his career, with the idea. Danter, surprisingly, was intrigued and wanted to see how the rest of the group felt. A get together at a local restaurant would end with everyone on board to attempt the most unlikely 39 year reunion.

The band would add local guitar, keyboard player and long time friend Charlie Lambrick to the group to provide the extra instrumentation needed for some of the more intricate material. Saturday practices throughout the fall and winter of 2018 would lead to a sold out TEAZE RESURRECTION show at Windsor’s Walkerville Theatre in April, 2019. The theatre, filled with family, friends and fans from across Canada, would see the first TEAZE show since 1980.

The audience loved it. The band loved it and they wanted more.

The previously mentioned long time fan, Kalvin Houde, said it best: “TEAZE is like a light switch that was taped down in the off position. I removed the tape, threw the switch and was praying “Let there be light!” And there was light!”

‣ Reunited
‣ Resurrected
‣ Ready to go