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| Tuff Luck, 1987: Photo: New Renaissance Records, album rear cover. David Scott (guitar), Todd Kelly (drums), Kenny Monroe (vocals), and James Marino (bass). |
Tuff Luck, as did their previous incarnation as Cryer, wasted no time in becoming one of South Florida’s top local acts. What lead to their success — becoming the local equivalent of a Van Halen or Mötley Crüe just prior to their own signings in Los Angeles— was lead singer Kenny Monroe convincing club owners to do “all ages” shows (kids buy a lot of Cokes, after all). Those teen-driven shows skyrocketed their local fame.
During their unsung career, Tuff Luck appeared in all the metal magazines of the day, even posing alongside Ozzy Osbourne in a spread. In addition to sharing stages with the then top metal bands Dokken and Stryper, the members of Tuff Luck earned cash-infusing product endorsement deals coveted by musicians (Todd Kline’s spreads for Paiste cymbals, in particular). Metal authority extraordinaire Mike Varney of Scrapnel Records touted guitarist Dave Scott and bassist James Marino as “future stars on the rise” in his monthly Guitar Player magazine column.
More importantly: Atlantic Records loved what they heard on the band’s self-titled debut album (1988) issued by Ann Boleyn’s New Renaissance Records — the album’s infectious single, “Tonight Tonight,” in particular. They were going to buy out the contract. . . .
Then, they didn’t . . . according to the band’s web-based pontificates: Ann Boleyn’s tomfoolery.
As a new vocalist, Ian Blackwell, replaced Kenny Monroe—cutting a new song, “Down,” for an Unsigned: 11 of South Florida’s Unsigned Bands local compilation (by scene supporter Gary Stryder of Gled Studios)—Tuff Luck lost the glam element from their debut album for a more timely pastiche of Guns N’ Roses sleaze meets Soundgarden grunge. Then, with yet another new vocalist, Rick Maurer, Tuff Luck recorded a new set of demos in 1991 released in 1993 as a self-titled, full-length independent cassette that failed to attract label interest.
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| Tuff Luck, 1993. Image: Discogs. |
By this point, grunge arrived and alternative music was all the rage on MTV. So, with the addition of vocalist/guitarist Dave Plotkit, Todd Kelly and James Marino left Tuff Luck. Adopting an alternative-leaning, hard rock/power pop aesthetic as a trio called Dog for a Day, the Kline-guided project released the independent XI (1994). Sadly, their new “alternative” lease on life was cut short by the drive-by-shooting murder of Todd Klein that same year, shortly after the album’s release.
Meanwhile: Kenny Monroe relocated to Detroit to pursue a career as a filmmaker and video artist, but remained musically active—under yet another, new stage name (born: Greenbaum). As Kenny Mugwump (know your Grover Cleveland presidential history or your William S. Burroughs literature) he fronted the Virgin Records-signed Loudhouse. Their lone album, industrialized-metal release, For Crying Out Loud (1991), received a promotional boost from MTV Headbangers Ball airings of the lead single, “Faith Farm,” as well as their cover of the classic rock-ubiquitous “Smoke on the Water” appearing in the Keanu Reeves actioner, Point Break (1994).
As Loudhouse failed to catch the Seattle-inspired alt-rock wave, Kenny Monroe departed; with drummer Vinnie Dombroks —and the Cross brothers Tim and Mike on bass and guitar, respectively, from Loudhouse—took over the lead vocals for their next, more commercially accepted venture: Sponge. Signed to Columbia Records, their debut album, Rotting Piñata (1994), featured the active rock and alternative rock radio hits “Molly” and “Plowed.” Dropped after the failure of their sophomore effort, Wax Estatic (1996) (a lot of bands were dropped after their second album in the alt-rock ’90s), Sponge continues to release independent albums.
In 2015, Andrew Kline, the younger brother of the late Todd Kline, directed the feature-length documentary, Tuff Luck, about the band’s career (nope, still haven’t seen it).
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Enjoy the music of Tuff Luck and Loudhouse on Over the Edge Radio You Tube.
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