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Torrod 2
Band History Page History Page
Band members
| Jeffrey Harris - vocals |
Tom Mody - guitar/bass |
| Andy James- Drums |
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Recordings
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Torrod
Torrod
1988
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Tom Mody:
After the break-up Torrod 1 in February of 1986 I basically did nothing of a band capacity for almost 2 years. I spent the summer of '86 hanging out with my friends and in September I moved to Los Angeles with my girlfriend and enrolled for a year courses at Sound Master Recording & Engineering School in North Hollywood. Shortly there after my long time guitar partner Bryan Guter moved in with me. He had somewhat given up on musical pursuits and Torrod 1 was our last band together. I however wanted to finish my course at recording school and see where that took me. At some point during the summer of '87 Andy James my Torrod 1 drummer came out to stay for a week. After the break up of Torrod 1 he spent some time in Los Angeles and was making some minor contacts playing for a short time with the band Predator who had an album on a small label. He returned back to New York in '87 and formed the band Lynx who happened to feature Jeffrey Harris on vocals. You can learn more of Lynx through the LYNX ERA PAGE.
Jeffrey Harris:
Torrod 2 was where I would finally give in to Tom begging me to be the vocalist for his next project. Well, not really. Actually, after the passing of my first wife, I needed something to fill the void. Since music had been a major part of my life, it was only fitting that I would immerse myself in a new project. Tom afforded me that "escape" that I so desperately needed. He helped me through a difficult period whether it was intentional or not and I thank him for doing so...I think. Now Tom has always kept some kind of journal notes and his stories may have a better grip on timelines than mine as my stories are pulled from memory to the best of my recollection. After the break-up of LYNX, Andy James and I didn't talk much for some time until one day we made contact and sort of patched things up. I'm not sure if Tom ever has known this or not but I vaguely recall Andy & myself plotting to persuade Tom to join forces with us and form a band. As I jot these words down, I now recall the phone conversations with Andy and thinking that we would never get Tom to move back to NY from CA especially thinking Tom had no interest in working with me since he had declined to audition me for Torrod 1. I thought the only thing we might have going for us was the fact that Tom and Andy had a pretty good previous musical relationship and he knew how talented Andy was. That and the fact that Andy James can be very persuasive when he sets his mind to something. I mean this in a good way when I say that Andy could sell snow to an Eskimo. He is a man of many talents. Probably more than any of us will ever know.
Tom Mody:
Andy had come again to Los Angeles to try out for the band Hawk who's founder and guitarist, Doug Marks, was famous for his guitar playing method ads in rock magazines. Andy had played me the Lynx studio demo and Jeff was a better vocalist than I realized though still a bit rough for my tastes. Andy did not get chosen to be in Hawk due to his age and returned to New York. Shortly there after Jeff and I contacted each other. He wanted me to record some guitar parts to a piano piece he had written and sang over. Now Jeff doesn't play piano but he sat down and taught himself well enough to really impress me with this piece. It was quite long and involved and it said something about his musical drive and potential. I had been writing my own material in my apartment and recorded an 8 song music demo on my portable 4 track. In the fall of '87 Jeff and Andy were trying to convince me to return home to form a band. I agreed to send Jeff my songs and see what he comes up with while I was home for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Jeffrey Harris:
Enter Tom Mody corresponding with me almost like dangling a carrot in front of me as he can do so well and keep you in suspense. He's always been good at that as well as patience. On his Thanksgiving vacation back in NY spending time with me in my cold cabin basement, he guided me through his arrangements almost as if I was auditioning for him. At first I was taken aback by this and I almost scrapped the whole idea because I sensed that he thought he still was all that and that I needed to "audition". Now I knew Tom from high school but never really hung out with him or his friends so I guess I never really knew him well enough before then to know that this is just his way. Tom is a hard person to read and I think he likes it like that. So anyhow, I think I passed the first audition well enough to where Tom moved back from CA to NY. Either that or AJ convinced him. Perhaps it was a little of both.
Tom Mody:
Jeff and I met in his cabin and we worked out a few songs. Some were his vocal arrangements like Never Fade. Others were me seeing if he could complete my vision for songs like Fighting For Life and Sweet Revenge. After our session I decided to return home and form a band with them. My father was once again up for getting us money when necessary- I don't know why!
Jeffrey Harris:
So on New Years Eve of 1988 I have this date (my first after the passing of my wife). The very next morning, I receive this phone call from AJ & Tom "Dude, we got the Mountain View and were going to set up and begin rehearsing today." Bam! Right out of left field. This is how AJ operates. Very quickly and aggressively. He is a man with a mission, passion and agenda. Tom was the sugar daddy with a sugar dad. That was that. It was time for rehearsal. Time to get down to business. Of course, they had to begin filming on the first day, right?! And of course, I was fashionably late as the guys and the documentary would depict. So we rehearsed in the coolest studio any musician would die for. And yes, we rehearsed our asses off as I have a tendency of stating. The kicker is we had the conveniences competitive to small arcades. We also had large stand up coolers to keep our beverages cool and a walk in cooler used for punishing anyone wishing to get out of line. There was always an abundance of food as we had a couple of local endorsement deals with Joe and Vinney's Pizzeria in Sherburne NY as well as Pizza Hut in Norwich NY. We ate like Italian kings. We ate for free.
Tom Mody:
We were able to rent the closed bar at Mountain View, the same place I played my first bar show as a 16 year old. It was an incredible place to rehearse. It had a pool table, video games, TV and an unstocked bar. Again we had some incredible times there and worked awfully hard.
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Andy & "friend" at rehearsal studio
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Tom & Jeff at rehearsal
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The three of us worked out a number of songs but we couldn't find anyone else to join. We didn't have alot of people to choose from so getting to the studio and recording our potential was paramount. We talked to both former Lynx musicians Billy Pierce and Andy's brother Todd Hensley but they did not want to do it so we continued to rehearse as a three piece without bass. |
Jeff at UCA Recording
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We entered UCA recording in Utica New York in February of 1988 to record our demo. We spent 3 days recording and mixing and 3 nights in the apartment above the studio. We may have gone back a fourth day to complete the mix. Recording went along without much issues other than my guitar sound which was atrocious. Two kids from the Norwich High School AV class followed us around a few different places including the studio and they eventually made a very amateur video for Never Fade. |
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Torrod: Recording & Rehearsal
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The final product of our Demo was not the sonic masterpiece I had hoped but we packaged it on cassette and tried to make it as impressive as you could in those days. The month after we recorded we went back to rehearsal and also built a circular revolving drum riser which Andy would probably tell you was one his most favorite engineering feats. Still we couldn't find any musicians to join us and we started to contemplate a relocation. Crazy as it sounds, we actually went so far as to talk with a travel agent about Japan. However, Los Angeles was the obvious choice and in April we drove out to LA and had our equipment trucked out.
Jeffrey Harris:
One morning, I received this phone call, "Dude, we're either moving to LA or Japan!" There was probably three minutes of dead silence. Then I laughed. Then three more minutes of dead silence on the other end. So then we planned our trip to LA. It was a bold move but I was excited. In April of 1988 we loaded up into our Chrysler Cordoba and ventured out to LA. I drove the morning shift at a speed of roughly 70 to 75 mph while Tom took the mid-day shift at a moderate 60-65 mph. AJ always had the graveyard shift and I was always sleeping since I had to drive after him. That is until I woke up one morning somewhere in Oklahoma around 2 a.m. As I sat up I noticed a blur on both sides of the road which closely resembled corn stalks but I thought my eyes were out of focus just waking up and all. Then I leaned forward and saw something which I will never forget as long as I live. AJ had this intensely focused look on his face with his eyes wide open looking like a mad man who just went on a killing spree. Without speaking a word to him I just happened to glance down at the speedometer briefly and look away. I then did a double take and was in shock! The speedometer was pegged at 120 mph. I went back to sleep immediately thinking, "If I die I want to be asleep!" It took us 59 driving hours to drive fro NY to LA. Along the way we stopped at the Grand Canyon and later wrote a song of our experience. When we arrived in LA it rained for two weeks. We stayed in this low rate motel for those two weeks near the Sherman Oaks Galleria on Sepulveda Boulevard and mowed through a good chunk of change in doing so.
Tom Mody:
As soon as Jeff's girlfriends car pulled into the hotel on Sepulveda Boulevard it died. That left me with the burden of calling my dad for money to buy a car. We also needed money to get a rehearsal place and apartment. For rehearsing we went to Andy's old Predator space, the infamous Francisco's Studio's. There were 2 large warehouses with about 40 rooms for band practices in an industrial part of LA called Vernon. We of course rented one of the largest rooms and decided to live there though it was against the buildings policy. The room we rented had previously been rented by the Bullet Boys who just got signed. At the end of the hall was Racer X, a Shrapnel Records signed act who's drummer Scott Travis would go on the be Judas Priest's drummer. Also in our building was the all girl band of some reputation, Phantom Blue. We also shared the studio with mice and rats. For showers we would drive 45 minutes to the Burbank YMCA. We made friends with a guy next door name Tony Phillips who was a drummer in the LA music scene. He wasn't in a band anymore, he was just using the studio for his rehearsal and we eventually moved into his room and slept on a couch that he supposedly had sex on with Lita Ford.
Jeffrey Harris:
Finally we found a rehearsal studio in Vernon which is kind of in East LA. AJ had previously rehearsed there with a minor label band named Predator and as he was describing these two guys named Ace and Zoom, who pretty much lived there when he was there, right down to the same clothes they wore everyday, as we were pulling into the parking lot, we looked at each other in disbelief as they were right there in the lot in the same clothes that AJ had described! It was as if we were in the twilight zone do-do-do-do. So we met Jerry who was building manager and Francisco who was building owner, both of whom AJ also had described. We rented the largest studio available which was huge. It was the Bullet Boys' studio right before they were signed and we took it. Eventually, I befriended the drummer next door to us Tony Phillips who seemed to be connected to anybody and everybody famous in LA. He was best friends with Frankie Banali of Quiet Riot and had bought his zebra skinned kit from him which was in his studio which we eventually moved into.
Before that though, we lived in our piss infested studio, complete with the furnishings we pulled from the dumpster (love seat sofa) and our aluminum staging. There were no windows, cracks in the walls due to quake damage and the only time we knew it was daytime was if our lights were off the sun would shine daylight through the cracks in the walls. At first, AJ and I bathed out of the cockroach infested bathroom sink with only cold water. Later Tom & I would open a Y membership up in Burbank so that we could take showers. AJ roughed it out.
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Jeff and Tom at Francisco Studios, Los Angeles
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Most of the time we lived on PB&J sandwiches which mostly consisted of the PB&J already mixed in a jar. At times we would treat ourselves to a 7-11 chicken patty and soft drink. I think that's where we met some dudes from Armored Saint who rehearsed across the way from us. Once in a while we would splurge and treat ourselves to a meal at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank where AJ had a couple of romances going with a couple of the waitresses.
Tom Mody:
Everyone got jobs of some sort as we tried to find musicians to join us but most musicians in LA were less than serious. Bass players would show up without learning the songs. Guys were late because they were at the beach. After a few months it was frustrating and the three of us were beginning to back bite each other. We did manage to write the song Grand Canyon which later would be a staple songs through a few of our bands. FYI- my job was selling toys to daycare centers, I guess they'd let anybody in those places back in the 80's. Though I did convert a road case into a closet to hang some dress shirts. The guys were totally appalled at this desecration of a road case. Seriously, it was a bone of contention.
Jeffrey Harris:
When I finally ran out of funds and had to get a job, we exhausted every music store. AJ and I landed a telemarketing job where after two hours we were both cross eyed, looked at each other and said "Dude, I'm outta here!" As we sat on the bench outside, our supervisor approached us and told us we had potential. So we got up and went to McDonalds to get a hamburguisa and papa fritas. While at Killeen Music in Burbank, I filled out an application and when the kid at the counter explained that we might be wasting our time at music stores, I struck up a conversation with him. He asked me what other work experience I might have and I told him I installed carpet and tile back east. He told me that his neighbors had a carpet store right in Burbank and that he would introduce me to them and put in a good word for me. I ended up landing a real good job with the brother of the owner to Beauty Kiss Carpets in Burbank named Paul Radd. He was cool and I made good money with him working half days in giant warehouses and all of the area studios such as Lorimar where I installed carpet in one of the control rooms to a sound effects studio and read the script to the remake of the movie "The Blob" months before its release. On this same day I met Billy Crystal outside while cutting the carpet which I eventually screwed up because I was star struck! If anybody is wondering, he is a really cool guy who took about 45 minutes out of his evening to have a conversation with me. He is just like he is on screen, funny witty and very sharp, yet down to earth. At least that is what I gathered in the whole 45 minutes that we conversed. Anyhow, the kid that landed me the carpet job's name is Mike Fasano. Mike and I became good friends and when I moved down below San Diego to Spring Valley, we kept in touch. One day he phoned me and said "Dude, you'll never guess who the new Guns-n-Roses drummer is." I said "Who?" He says "Remember my room mate?" I really didn't believe it quite honestly until I saw the ads for the new album featuring new drummer Matt Sorum whom I had been introduced to at Killeen music by Mike as his room mate. Go figure. Anyhow, if you don't know who Mike Fasano is, you owe it to yourself to visit the following link to know the rest of the story: Totalposer.com. Mike would send me post cards from all over the world after Matt landed him a job on a cruise line. Even when I moved back east he sent the post cards until I moved and we lost touch until years later when I was visiting AJ's web site and saw Mikes name on links to friends. This guy has done it all.
The Van Halen 5150 backdrop
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Tom Mody:
One day we took a tour of the show lights facility while they were in production for the upcoming Monsters Of Rock festival. In their garbage heap was Tommy Lee's levitationg and spinning drum cage and the aircraft staging from an old Sammy Hagar tour. Show lights was a Mammoth place and we ended up buying some old Van Halen road cases. When we got them back to the studio, inside one was a three story high backdrop to the Van Halen 5150 stage set. I held on to that for years and Andy called me one day that there was a $10,000 offfer for it. It went to get it out of my parents garage but realized it had fallen out of the box and turned to a mold heap. Just like Torrod 1 every day was some crazy adventure. |
Jeffrey Harris:
One day I decided to look seriously for an apartment in Woodland Hills. Tom & AJ dropped me off and said they would come back later to pick me up then we would go to an AC/DC concert where Tony was getting us back stage as roadies. Long story short, they never showed, I tried to call from these two girls apartment, which for some reason, became so frightened of me that they left their own apartment with me there for over a half our until I just left, only having to return because when I went to pull my wallet out to get a cab, I realized I had left it at their apartment and had to go back and retrieve it. Upon nearing their apartment I caught movement through the window so I knocked. There was dead silence. I then explained that I was just there for my wallet and if they would kindly slide it under the door I would be on my way. They obliged. I remember being so frustrated by this point that I kicked this tall empty McDonalds cup on the corner near the fire hydrant. One problem, the cup was full of vanilla milk shake and I was dressed in total black (up until this point). So dressed in my newly donned zebra outfit I took it upon myself to walk back to the Sherman Oaks Galleria. I had no idea where the hell I was going but I was determined to reach my destination. LA, nighttime and traveling alone long distances unaware of where one is are ingredients for disaster as I would discover. After honing my skills in bottle and change dodging from passing pick-ups loaded with gang members in the back, I reached my destination. The foreign desk clerk at the same motel where we stayed the our first two weeks recognized me but would not rent me a room for all of the money I had in my wallet and the promise I would pay him the rest the next day no matter how much I begged. So I did what any vagrant would do... I slept sitting up in the stairwell of the Sherman Oaks Galleria parking garage. The next day, when I finally contacted the guys, they came and picked me up and a short while later I proceeded to take my frustration out on Tom’s car by punching the passenger side window and shattering it. Even though I had to replace and install it, it was satisfaction enough. By the way, I was supposed to be to work on this day and lost my job because of the ordeal.
So feeling sorry for us, Tony took us to the Rainbow for dinner where he introduced us to Mario the owner of this establishment and the Roxy right next door. Mario invited us to be his somewhat guests next door at the Roxy to attend the Thomas Dolby concert where we had a blast. Dolby was cool. Outside, AJ spotted Fred Coury who was the drummer for Cinderella at the time. AJ knew Fred from when he was in Binghamton so of course he was going to introduce us to him. When AJ said "Hey Fred", Fred snubbed him. Later on in life they spoke of the incident and Fred remembered the incident and apologized. Then we decided to go home.
But before we did Tony had to introduce us to this girl outside of the Rainbow. He asked her a few questions which I won't repeat and then asked if she needed a ride home. She accepted and on the way home Tony and her let the cat out of the bag of her name and AJ knew just who she was. She was some famous porn star which I have no idea who but it was a weird drive home with some interesting dialogue. I think she spent the night at Tony's. We didn't see him for a week after that.
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Andy & Tony at Francisco Studios, Los Angeles
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Tom Mody:
Andy was not only a talented drummer but a natural networker who over the years got endorsements for everything from drums (of course) to vacuum cleaners to a free semi truck full of Tyson Chicken and he started thinking alot for himself and it was becoming clear that given the opportunity he would be gone. At some point we ended up at Jeff's relatives in San Diego for a visit and Jeff ended up staying there for an extended time because he claimed to have hurt his back. Andy and I didn't really believe him. There wasn't much to come back to except peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches. He did return eventually and did receive a workers comp claim on his back but we started to really be back stabbing each other and at some point we decided to part. Jeff went back to San Diego. Andy and myself rented a Uhaul and drove back home cross country with all the gear. Again, an adventure for the ages.
Jeffrey Harris:
At some point during all of our fun, AJ and I had a major falling out and we somehow managed to bring Tom into it. It was ugly and we had our mind set that we could no longer work together. At this point AJ claimed he had an audition with WASP so I was determined to pursue my own auditions. Right down the hall from us was where Racer X rehearsed. They had been without their singer, Jeff Martin, since we moved there. I saw this as a possible opportunity so I decided to knock on their door. A 7' tall Scott Travis answered and we started talking. I asked if they were auditioning and he asked if I had a promo kit. I told him all I really had was the Torrod cassette and he accepted it and exchanged for one of their tapes for me to listen and rehearse to. When Tom and AJ would go somewhere without me, I would slip the tape into our system and rock out singing to it. I would leave the door ajar to see if I sparked any attention. As I would walk toward the door I would sometimes notice John Alderetti and Scott in the hall sandbagging as I had caught them sometimes doing near other studios while rehearsing. So I took it as a sign that they might be interested. One day John came by, introduced himself and invited me down to meet the other guys. First I was introduced to Bruce Boullet and then this kid named Chris Arvon who was recently the spotlight talent in Guitar Player Magazine. He would be the replacement to Paul Gilbert whom I never met. After some conversation, they invited me to attend their rehearsal. I did so and it was so loud in there that I knew I would surely be deaf by the end of their session. But talk about talent. These guys were the best of the technical best.
Tom Mody:
One time Andy and I got into a timing argument over a section of the song Grand Canyon. He was so insistent that he was right that he stormed out of the room and walked down to Racer X's room to get the 2 guitar players to come over and listen to the part and settle the argument. OMG- inside I was sweating bullets. Not that I was wrong but that I'd have to play in front of these guys. They were the cream of the technical metal crop- definitely not my style. Fortunately no one was in the studio so Andy came back with his big ole' grin just at the fact that he made the attempt to show me up.... Now back to Jeff's bail out story.
Jeffrey Harris:
As I was admiring their Ampeg stacks which went from floor to ceiling and the length of the studio (height 20' length 40' approximately), a follow up discussion consisted of their direction and what they were looking for. They wanted to be the technical version of the next Van Halen and were looking for a Sammy Hagar like vocalist. Bruce did most of the talking while John was doing what most typical bassists do...play while others are talking. Scott seemed passive and reserved while Chris seemed like the new comer who was afraid to speak. They auditioned me via tape on the spot to two of their more notable tunes on the album. The 'Moon Age Day Dream" cover and "Heart of a Lion" Then we ran through them in a live setting to see how I could perform under this condition. I could barely hear myself in this setting but did so without trouble. Although I didn't sing the songs with much enthusiasm, I performed them well enough to impress them. Jeff Martin's voice is very easy for me to duplicate. I sometimes warm up in Tom's studio with "Moon Age Day Dream" although I don't think he knows what I am doing. As much as I hate to admit this, I told the guys that I might not be the guy for them as I was interested in a different genre of music at the time and they agreed that although I could probably eventually make the transition, I should pursue what I was passionate about as did they. I found that rather admirable but in hindsight I have to think, what the hell was I thinking? A solid, signed act. Eventually, Scott Travis would become the drummer for Judas Priest and Fight. My bad. It didn't happen, obviously, and I moved down to Spring Valley for a while. Eventually, I wound up back in NY. Soon I would get together with Todd Hensley for numerous projects.
Tom Mody:
I was now entering my early twenties and realizing I was not ready for LA. I didn't grow up around that competitive an environment and I didn't have anyone pushing me or teaching me how to rapidly become better. I needed to play live but there were no opportunities beyond cover bands. While at the studios it was apparent that I wasn't even in the same league as that all girl band Phantom Blue. Andy's drive alone probably could have pushed Torrod along to better things but we just couldn't find musicians and I couldn't allow my father to be a sugar daddy anymore. Andy didn't want to work, he was talented enough to make it anypalce as a drummer so he was going to ride what ever train would get him to the next stop. This would be my last band with Andy. He went on to make a living drumming, first as a hired gun to bands like Savatage, and now he's a reputable studio drummer and writing contributor to Modern Drummer magazine. I certainly didn't expect to cross paths with Jeff again as well.
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