Talas

hard rock

Talas is a power trio with Billy Sheehan on bass, Dave Constantino on guitar and Paul Varga on drums. The band played a mixture of cover songs and original material, and all three instrumentalists alternated on lead vocals. Talas was one of Buffalo's most popular local bands for over a decade, arguably attaining cult status which spread into the northeast US and into Canada. In 1978, Talas released their eponymous debut album, which generated the regional hit single, See Saw. It was during this time that Sheehan wrote some of his most famous songs, namely Shy Boy (later re-recorded with David Lee Roth), and the complex and frenetic Addicted to that Rush (later re-recorded with Mr Big). Talas' first national exposure happened in 1980, when they opened thirty shows for Van Halen. However, success was elusive, and even as their brand of what came to be known as glam metal gained popularity over the next few years, Talas remained an unsigned act, due largely to poor management. They independently released their debut eponymous Talas LP on Evenfall Records (reissued by Metal Blade) and then Sink Your Teeth Into That on Relativity Records. Seeking to take Talas further than just regional success, Sheehan reformed Talas with another drummer (Mark Miller), guitarist (Mitch Perry, also later of Heaven), and a dedicated vocalist, Phil Naro, with whom in the late 1970s Sheehan had previously worked in his side project (the Billy Sheehan Band). Talas would release only one more album...