Off Broadway (band)
Encyclopedia
Off Broadway is an American
rock
band formed in 1977 in Oak Park
, Illinois
. The band is currently made up of Cliff Johnson (lead vocals
), Rob Harding (guitar
and backing vocals), Ken Harck (drums
and backing vocals), Mike Gorman (bass
and backing vocals), and Mike Redmond (guitar
and backing vocals).
Off Broadway released its debut album, On, on Atlantic Records
in 1979. The album reached #101 on the Billboard 200
and spawned the single "Stay in Time", which reached #51 on the Billboard Hot 100
. Off Broadway released a follow-up album, Quick Turns, on Atlantic in 1980, but it was significantly less successful. Off Broadway continued touring for three years before breaking up in 1983. In 1996, four of the bandmembers reunited under the name Black on Blond. They soon took up the name Off Broadway again. In 1997, the band released a new album, Fallin' In, in 1997; they followed it with the live album Live at Fitzgeralds in 1998.
Singer Cliff Johnson currently has a new band called Cliff Johnson and the Happy Jacks with former members of No Empathy, Screeching Weasel, the Riverdales, and the Methadones. They have been performing cuts from the latest Cliff Johnson/Jim Timbers release Little Crimes, and play songs from Johnson's old band d'Thumbs and rare Off Broadway songs.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band formed in 1977 in Oak Park
Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The band is currently made up of Cliff Johnson (lead vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
), Rob Harding (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and backing vocals), Ken Harck (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and backing vocals), Mike Gorman (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and backing vocals), and Mike Redmond (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and backing vocals).
Off Broadway released its debut album, On, on Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
in 1979. The album reached #101 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and spawned the single "Stay in Time", which reached #51 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Off Broadway released a follow-up album, Quick Turns, on Atlantic in 1980, but it was significantly less successful. Off Broadway continued touring for three years before breaking up in 1983. In 1996, four of the bandmembers reunited under the name Black on Blond. They soon took up the name Off Broadway again. In 1997, the band released a new album, Fallin' In, in 1997; they followed it with the live album Live at Fitzgeralds in 1998.
Singer Cliff Johnson currently has a new band called Cliff Johnson and the Happy Jacks with former members of No Empathy, Screeching Weasel, the Riverdales, and the Methadones. They have been performing cuts from the latest Cliff Johnson/Jim Timbers release Little Crimes, and play songs from Johnson's old band d'Thumbs and rare Off Broadway songs.
Albums
- On (1979), U.S. #101
- Quick Turns (1979), U.S. #208
- Fallin' In (1997)
- Live at Fitzgeralds (1998)
External links
- founding member John Pazdan's website
- Off Broadway official website
- [ Off Broadway at Allmusic.com]
- Cliffjohnson.net