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| Cryer, 1984 (from left): Paul Colt (vocals), Todd Kelly (drums), Kenny Monroe (bass) and Freddi Sparxx (guitar; ‘82-’84). Photo: Cryer Facebook. |
Long before there was a Marilyn Manson or Saigon Kick ruling South Florida’s rising alternative and established metal scenes, there was Cryer: a band that, as did Ronnie Garvin’s Stranger, could SRO-pack the house of any club they played across the Sunshine State.
The Mk. I version of Cryer came together when a singer and bassist by the name of Kenny Monroe met a guitarist named Dave Scott and a drummer named Todd Klein. The trio recruited a frontman proper in Paul Colt. By 1985, the metal quartet entered the studio for their debut single, “Back Against the Wall” b/w “Get Back,” for Teardrop Records, a short-lived New York independent metal imprint.
However, Kenny Monroe, while an accomplished guitarist and bassist, had always been, first and foremost: a singer. The next thing you know: Paul Colt stands alone as Monroe, Dave “Dirty Dave” Scott and Todd Klein — with James Marino as their bassist — form the like-minded Tuff Luck.
While upstart Tuff Luck was in the warehouse perfecting their act, Cryer Mk. II — featuring Stevie “Seve” Rose (bass), Ricky Hart, aka Sanders (drums), and Peter Sykes (guitar) backing Paul Colt — cut a seven-song demo that featured re-recordings of their initial single for Teardrop.
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| Bought a copy at Musician's Exchange for five bucks! |
That demo reached the ears of acclaimed actor Micheal Douglas who recently incorporated Third Stone Records: an Atlantic subsidiary imprint, with acclaimed record producer Richard Rudolph. Two songs from the demo, “Ooh Baby” and “Johnny Was a User,” were placed — alongside “Coming Home,” from another recent Third Stone/Atlantic signing, Saigon Kick — on the soundtrack to Stone Cold (1991), the acting debut of former American NFL football star, Brian Bosworth. “Ooh Baby” also appeared on the soundtrack to the Steven Seagal action-adventure, Under Siege (1992) — but the under a new moniker: Screams and Dreams.
So, what happened? All the leading metal magazines of the time, such as Metal Edge, gave Cryer ample page space. Why the name change?
Well, maybe if Stone Cold became a box office hit (the band appeared in a bar/strip club scene). Maybe if an album out of Seattle called Nevermind wasn’t released in 1991. Maybe if either of Cryer’s songs rose up the charts as did “Love Is on the Way” by Saigon Kick in 1992. Maybe if Cryer cut a video for MTV airplay wrapped around their film appearance?
Whatever the reasons lost to the test of time: Cryer, well, Screams and Dreams by that point, were dropped by Third Stone without recording an album proper.
The once-lost demo by Cryer — encompassing their Teardrop single and both songs from the Stone Cold soundtrack, along with “Nights on Fire,” “Giddy Up,” and “You Gotta Use Love” — appeared in the digitized, online marketplace as a non-official, bootleg album.
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Listen to a playlist of the music of Cryer on Over the Edge Radio You Tube.
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