National recording artist JEFF VITOLO (a nominee for the TAMPA BAY MUSIC HALL OF FAME) is known for being in some of the best bands from the Tampa Bay area, of which some have reached national & international status.
From 1986 to now JEFF VITOLO has been a staple on the Florida music circuit and has also traveled the country from coast to coast performing at many famous music venues including CBGB in New York City, THE VIPER ROOM in Los Angeles, THE CONTINENTAL CLUB in Austin,TX. and many many more great venues in between playing in bands including THE DIVE BAR STALKERS, THE MOJO GURUS, ROXX GANG, TYGER TYGER, HEADSHOCK, INTICE, and continuing since Nov. 2012 with his band JEFF VITOLO & THE QUARTER MILE REBELS.
JEFF VITOLO has released 17 great albums and various singles with independent and major label distribution that are also sold worldwide on Apple Music, Amazon & other digital media outlets and also streaming on sites including Spotify, Pandora, YouTube and most others. JEFF VITOLO has also worked with top notch producers including Jack Douglas (John Lennon, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, New York Dolls, Alice Cooper) and Tom Morris (Beyonce, Seven Mary Three, Steve Morse, Iced Earth).
With alot of great musical accomplishments and a wide range of music over the years from rockabilly, blues, rock and metal, JEFF VITOLO has a special crossover appeal that attracts a wide range of fans which led him to sharing the stage as direct support for countless legendary artists including CHEAP TRICK, BLUE OYSTER CULT, MOUNTAIN, FOGHAT, MOLLY HATCHET, BLACKFOOT, STEPPENWOLF, DICK DALE & HIS DEL-TONES, NAZARETH, SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY AND THE ASBURY JUKES, PAT TRAVERS, ROBIN TROWER, THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS, HEAD EAST, VAN ZANT, JOHNNY LANG, TRAVIS TRITT, MARTINA McBRIDE, BLUES TRAVELER, RATT, CINDERELLA, BUCK CHERRY, TYPE-O-NEGATIVE, SAVATAGE, SAIGON KICK, CRIMSON GLORY, SPREAD EAGLE, LILLIAN AXE, BABYLON A.D., BROTHER CANE, BATON ROUGE, TYKETTO, XYZ, DANGEROUS TOYS, TORA TORA, HURRICANE, THE SCREAM, THE THROBS, GILBY CLARKE, ZAKK WYLDE, UNCLE KRACKER, THE RED ELVISES, THE ROCKETZ, THE BASTARD SONS OF JOHNNY CASH, THE CHOP TOPS, RAYBURN ANTHONY, BIG SANDY AND HIS FLY-RIGHT BOYS, THE STRAY CATS SLIM JIM PHANTOM, HOT ROD WALT & THE PSYCHO DEVILLES, WHEY JENNINGS and many other great artists over the years.
For his current band THE QUARTER MILE REBELS, Jeff went out and found more great musician's to back him up and to bring their own special ingredients so he added Kenny Donahue on Upright Bass/Vocals & MIKE MURPHY on Drums/Vocals.
JEFF VITOLO & THE QUARTER MILE REBELS mix rockabilly, blues and the roots of rock with plenty of swagger, attitude and alot of fun to make for a great & exciting stage show and also put their own high octane spin on songs by classic rockabilly, blues, and classic rock icons like ELVIS PRESLEY, JOHNNY CASH, JERRY LEE LEWIS, CARL PERKINS, GENE VINCENT, CHUCK BERRY, MUDDY WATERS, THE ROLLING STONES, THE DOORS, THE STRAY CATS and more giving the feel of their live shows as more of a "Rock N Roll Revival".
JEFF VITOLO & THE QUARTER MILE REBELS continue to record new music and perform at the biggest motorcycle events, classic car shows, city events, corporate events and nightclubs as well as headlining concerts or opening up for other national acts and are out to entertain and have fun with the crowds they perform to! Bringing their special brand of high octane rockabilly/roots rock with a mix of great original and classic cover songs, and don't be surprised if you see a few special guests joining them on stage from time to time!
Jeff Vitolo
Kenny Donahue
Mike Murphy
JEFF VITOLO - Singer/Guitarist/Songwriter/Producer
Bands Past & Present: Intice (1985-1990), Tyger Tyger (1991-1994), Headshock (1994-1996), Roxx Gang,
The Mojo Gurus (1997-2005),The Dive Bar Stalkers (2006-2012), Jeff Vitolo & The Quarter Mile Rebels (2012-present)
DISCOGRAPHY
Jeff Vitolo & The Quarter Mile Rebels (2012-Present)
Previous Bands...
THE DIVE BAR STALKERS (2006-2012)
Some of the best musicians from the Tampa Bay area form this "Supergroup" Put together by Singer/Guitarist-JEFF VITOLO in July/2006. After playing Lead Guitar in a couple of National Bands (MOJO GURUS & ROXX GANG)and also having his 10th record in 2005 (MOJO GURUS "Shakin' In The Barn") distributed worldwide through EMPIREMUSICWERKS/ UNIVERSAL RECORDS with Grammy Adward winning producer JACK DOUGLAS (AEROSMITH,JOHN LENNON,CHEAP TRICK,NEW YORK DOLLS,ect.) JEFF was ready to step up to the mic and put together another great band. Guitarist-BOB ADDINGTON, Bassist-MICHAEL ALLEN, Drummer-MIKE LUCIANO, and Keyboard Player-ANTHONY LANDI,(later replaced by "B3" DEAN GERMAIN) were all hand picked for their love of music,as well as their obvious abilities with their instruments. Later completing the line up with Harmonica madman LINDSEY MERCER, Saxophone great RONNIE DEE and Pin-up model back-up vocalists JANA VITOLO & JESSICA COLON. Right away you can tell that it's their "Twangin' and Bangin" approach that makes their chemistry together so special. Definitly a one of a kind. THE DIVE BAR STALKERS won "SONG OF THE YEAR 2007" on the syndicated radio program "ROCK SOLID PRESSURE" with their first single "READY FOR ANOTHER ROUND" before their first album was even released. After the self release of their first album "ROCK THE HOUSE"(Jan.'08)THE DIVE BAR STALKERS debuted at 17 on The Euro Americana Radio Charts May/2008,with over 100 radio stations worldwide adding them to their rotation. Oct./2008 THE DIVE BAR STALKERS won "BEST BAND" at The 2008 Nightmoves Magazine Adult Entertainment Awards Show. THE DIVE BAR STALKERS also won "FAVORITE ORIGIONAL ACT OF THE YEAR 2009" for The Tampa Bay Music Network. Great accomplishments for an unsigned band. Nov./2011 THE DIVE BAR STALKERS released their second album "FULL SPEED...NO BRAKES!". With big vocals,great hooks,and catchy rhythms,as well as very exciting live performances, (With already a bunch "National Act" opening slots under their belts including such diverse bands like...MOUNTAIN, BLUES TRAVELER, TRAVIS TRITT, JONNY LANG, MARTINA McBRIDE, LONESTAR, THE CHOP TOPS, THE RED ELVISES & THE ROCKETZ). THE DIVE BAR STALKERS are set as the next recording artists to take on the world in a very big way, with a bright and fresh approach to some great classic stylings.
ROXX GANG & THE MOJO GURUS (1997-2005)
"It's the same band with a new name and a new sound," Kevin Steele told an interviewer in describing Mojo Gurus, and what the singer, songwriter, and bandleader meant was that Mojo Gurus was really his old group, the glam rock outfit Roxx Gang, but without the hair metal trappings that had made that unit difficult to market by the late '90s. Steele, a Florida native, had formed Roxx Gang in the 1980s and by 1988 had gotten it signed to the major-label imprint Virgin Records, which that year released the debut album Things You've Never Done Before. Voodoo You Love followed on the independent Perris label in 1996, then Love 'Em and Leave 'Em in 1997. At the end of the 1990s, the band, by now including guitarist Jeff Vitolo and bassist Vinnie Granese, played a birthday party for one of the bandmembers' girlfriends in a club called the Voodoo Lounge, and instead of doing their usual glam rock show, they came on as a rockabilly group dubbed Mojo Gurus. They enjoyed it so much that they began to book themselves occasionally in this new persona and, as the trend for hair metal bands had long since passed into nostalgia, they found themselves gaining greater acceptance with their new name and sound.
In January 1999, Perris released an album of Roxx Gang rarities, Old, New, Borrowed & Blue, simultaneously with the first, self-titled Mojo Gurus album, though press copies went out listing Roxx Gang as the recording artist. Just as confusingly, Drinkin' T.N.T. and Smokin' Dynamite, released in June 2000, was issued originally as a Roxx Gang album and then as by Mojo Gurus. Following the 2001 release of a Roxx Gang best-of compilation, Bodacious Ta Tas, Hot Damn (June 2003), which marked the debut of drummer Tommy Weder, also went out to reviewers as a Roxx Gang album, though it was commercially marketed as by Mojo Gurus. Meanwhile, the band played showcase performances for major labels in New York as Mojo Gurus, attracting the interest of veteran producer Jack Douglas (whose past clients include Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, and Alice Cooper), which helped them to secure a contract with Empire Musicwerks, distributed by the major label Universal. This led to wide distribution for the next Mojo Gurus album, Shakin' in the Barn, released in September 2005.
The evolution of the second-echelon hair metal band Roxx Gang into the neo-rockabilly band Mojo Gurus has reached its conclusion on Shakin' in the Barn, which will be some comfort to confused reviewers who have received copies of previous releases Mojo Gurus, Drinkin' T.N.T. and Smokin' Dynamite, and Hot Damn that continued to bear the name of Roxx Gang, although they were marketed ultimately as Mojo Gurus albums. Put simply, bandleader Kevin Steele gradually found it easier to get gigs in this roots rock guise than on the '80s nostalgia circuit, and when a New York showcase drew the interest of veteran producer Jack Douglas, the die was cast. Shakin' in the Barn repeats some earlier material -- five songs were heard previously on Hot Damn, and one of those is the old Roxx Gang tune "Race with the Devil," while "Who's Been Drivin' My Cadillac?" was on Drinkin' T.N.T. and Smokin' Dynamite -- but, with a distribution deal through Universal and Douglas' studio savvy, the new versions are considerably spiffed up. The effect of the transition is what you might expect if Mötley Crüe suddenly decided it wanted to be the Blasters -- the music is faster, simpler, and has more of a country twang, but it isn't that much different, really. The act just saves a lot of money on hair spray. Steele clearly has an affinity for the old Sun Records sound, and he has a lot of fun mugging his way through these songs. Mojo Gurus still aren't as accomplished as, say, Jason & the Scorchers at this sort of roots rock revivalism, but they may have found a way out of the stylistic box they were trapped in when hair metal went into decline. ~ William Ruhlmann
HEADSHOCK (1994-1996)
A five piece band that formed in Tampa, Florida and consisted of former members of MORBID ANGEL, NOCTURNUS, TYGER TYGER, SILENT SCREAM and INTICE. They recorded at AUDIO LAB STUDIOS/Tampa,Fla. then released a five song EP titled "Recorded Distorted" mixing hardcore with rock and metal. The band was formed by BOB ADDINGTON-guitar/vocals, JEFF VITOLO-guitar/vocals, PATRICK RODRIGUEZ-lead vocals, MARK RODRIGUEZ-bass guitar/vocals, and RONNIE MILLER-drums. By the time recordings began, MIKE BROWNING had taken over for RONNIE MILLER on drums. HEADSHOCK opened for a handful of national acts including TYPE O NEGATIVE, SAVATAGE, & THE GENITORTURERS to name a few. Although the band was short lived they enjoyed alot of success in a short period of time. BOB ADDINGON and JEFF VITOLO eventually teamed up again in another band called FLOOR and more recently THE DIVE BAR STALKERS.
TYGER TYGER (1991-1994)
TONY WISE-lead vocals, JEFF VITOLO-guitars/vocals, CHAD ROBINSON-guitars/vocals, MARK SEVERNS-guitar/vocals, RENO ROJAS-bass/vocals, RONNIE MILLER-drums. TYGER TYGER released "LIVE CUTS EP" & "NO ICONS"
TYGER TYGER enjoyed much success in the 4 year they were together. They've opened for many national acts in every major market in Florida. TYGER TYGER was also headlining 3 to 4 nights a week around the state of Florida with big crowds following them all over. With support from 98ROCK in Tampa, FL, TYGER TYGER received lots of rotation on the station with their explosive live recordings of "Shotgun Love Affair" & "Bag Of Troubled Times" and then shot through the roof with the studio recording of their single "Dominance". A great acomplishment for an unsigned band. After 4 years of trying to get the right record the band called it quits in 1994. Years later in 2007 with still a demand for TYGER TYGER music Retrospect Records signed TYGER TYGER to a distribution deal to release all the TYGER TYGER recordings on one album titled "No Icons". (Retrospect Records)
DURING THE 80s FLORIDA WAS A HOT-BED OF GREAT MELODIC METAL & HARD ROCK BANDS - Savatage , Crimson Glory , Stranger , Heartless and Julliet TO NAME A FEW. DURING THE EARLY 90s FLORIDA PRODUCED ANOTHER A$$-KICKING BAND THAT RECORDED 12 TRACKS OF SLAMMIN' MELODIC METAL. TYGER TYGER!
TYGER TYGER FEATURED AN AMAZING ARRAY OF MUSICIANS. POWERFUL VOCALS FROM ONE OF THE BEST UNKNOWN METAL SINGERS I HAVE EVER HEARD - TONY LEE WISE (vocalist for Pierced Arrow / Beowulf - the band that would become Crimson Glory). RENO ROJAS (Bassist for Doctor Butcher and Walk the Chalk)
A SMOKIN DUAL AXE ATTACK FROM CHAD ROBINSON AND JEFF VITOLO (Intice, Roxx Gang, The Mojo Gurus & The Dive Bar Stalkers)AND MONSTER DRUMMING FROM THE INCOMPARABLE RONNIE MILLER (Belching Penguins)
THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES FROM THE EVER-GROWING RETROSPECT CATALOG AND EVERY 80s METAL FAN SHOULD OWN THIS METAL TREASURE.
In the beginning of the 90’s, just before the grunge-wave hit & left half the world senseless, there was an avalanche of bands with mostly truckloads of hair that aimed for stardom the quick way.
All genres were present, ranging from melodic metal over glamrock to AOR & back again. A couple of ‘em made it, most didn’t and are well and truly dead and buried.
And then you have the true cult bands, the ones that didn’t make it as well, but had a loyal following & more than enough qualities to become the stars they so desperately wanted to be but somehow fell short of the mark or victim to out of place egos.
And I bet you can see me coming from a mile away but this here Tyger Tyger is one of those over qualified bands. How almost nobody acknowledged this band for its true talent while still in existence is beyond me. The only recordings they made are these live ones from somewhere in 1991 in Florida, where they resided.
The band consisted of a couple of local legends, namely on vocals Tony Lee Wise (Pierced Arrow, Beowulf), on bass Reno Rojas (Doctor Butcher, Walk The Chalk) & Jeff Vitolo of Roxx Gang-fame. Add to that line-up axe master Chad Robinson & Ronnie Miller on drums and a recipe for success is made. Or so you would think…
As said before, the guys made only one recording and that’s the one re-released here on Retrospect Records. And the result, ladies & gents, is a first class example of how US melodic metal with a lot of hair metal influences should sound.
Think a little bit in the direction of Lizzy Borden & Skid Row in their prime and you should have a good idea what to expect. The sound recording is excellent and we’re dealing with people on top of their game in front of an enthusiastic audience. Except for the last 2 songs that is, cause these are not live. Maybe that was a single or something but as it is nowhere noted I can’t tell you.
With most re-releases or ‘previously unreleased’ material there are always a couple of reasons to be found why the material was unreleased at the time: below par recordings, just not talented enough, no vision, whatever. That’s not the case here though & this platter comes therefore highly recommended by yours truly. Check it out!
(Retrospect Records KVK) Five Stars!!! "HUGE !!! This album is in my 2007 favorite POOL ! GREAT MELODIC US METAL or LATE HAIR METAL with BIG BALLS ! IMO the best RETROSPECT release so far!".....(YNGWIEVIKING on 12/02/08)
INTICE (1985-1990) "FLORIDA'S PREMIER ROCK ACT!" "FAST, HARD, AND NO LOOKING BACK!" A self discription from one of Florida's freshest young bands. Within one year of coming together they started opening for bands including Steppenwolf, Foghat, Johnny Van Zant, Head East, Savatage and more. INTICE was formed in Tampa, Fla in 1985 with PATRICK ST. MICHAEL-lead vocals/rhythm guitar, JEFF VITOLO-lead guitar/vocals, ROB WILKERSON-bass/vocals, & BOBBY DEE-Drums. They were playing all over town and went right to work recording their new material at Tampa Bay's MORRISOUND STUDIOS and then started passing out underground mix tapes & demos. By 1986 MICHAEL ALLEN joined on bass/vocals and also JIMMY SLEVEN joined on drums. Bowling over the audiences with their hard hitting original rock 'n roll, INTICE developed a dedicated following and played some great shows all over the southeastern United States. By 1988 VINNIE GRANESE joined on bass/vocals and INTICE started enjoying their most success opening for countless national acts. Shortly after, INTICE released their debut album "TASTE THE NIGHT" on NITE TRAIN RECORDS in 1989. By the 90's INTICE split up but in 2013 they independently released their early recordings from '1985-'87" entitled "BACK IN THE DAY". The album also features two of the last song recorded by INTICE in 1990 . Fast foward to 2016...October 2016 INTICE gets two songs in the action/thriller movie "VICIOUS THUNDER" and also appears on the movie's official soundtrack. October 2016 INTICE signs a new record deal with California based label DEMON DOLL RECORDS to re-release their entire catalog on one big release entitled "THE LEGACY". 2017 will mark 32 years that the music INTICE made together still lives on.
