MAY JUNE 2017

By Keith Wilkins
The Explosion, 1980’s – 1990’s
The 1980's would prove to be a
very important time in history
for the Tampa Bay music scene.
The Tampa Bay music scene
simply exploded wide open in
the early 1980's, ushering in the
second "golden age" for the local
music scene which would peak
around the mid-1980's through
the mid 1990's. During this time,
Tampa Bay become a huge hot
bed of talent, comparable to the
L.A. music scene around the
same time. Leading the way
throughout the 1980's were two
rock bands, Stranger (formerly
known as Lynxx, and later
Romeo), and Savatage (formerly
known as Avatar). Both bands
would eventually sign major label
deals during the 1980's, Stranger
signing with Epic/CBS Records in
1981, and Savatage signing with
Atlantic Records in 1985. This
would open the doors for other
bands, both locally and
nationally.
During this time, bands were
forming all over the Tampa Bay
area, to the point where it
started to seem like musicians
were a dime a dozen. In addition,
countless bands were relocating
to the Tampa Bay area from
other parts of the country, all in
the hopes of having a better
chance of getting discovered and
signing with a major record label.
Following the major label
signings of both Stranger &
Savatage earlier in the 1980's,
two more Tampa Bay bands
would also see major label deals
in the late 80's and early 90's as
Bleeding
Hearts
well... Roxx Gang, who signed
with Virgin Records, and The
Hazies (formerly known as
UROK) who signed with EMI.
Other prominent Tampa Bay
bands who made a name for
themselves during the 1980's and
early 1990's
included The McCarr Brothers
and Momentum, Four in Legion,
Blade, Multi Color House,
Bleeding
Hearts, Arazmo, The Damon
Fowler Group, Deloris
Telescope, Freaks Rule, Intice,
DeeForce,