The PUSH Band (198?-1986?)
    PUSH played so many places and opened for so many major recording artists, I'll never be able to list - nor remember- all of them.  Besides the 'live" shows, we did several local cable TV shows and "The Stars of Tomarrow" show two times.

     One major difference between PUSH and other Detroit-based club bands of the era: We didn't rotate in a 3-club-circuit. Plus, we tried to play OUT of town as much as we could.  In this way, we 'reached' more people, and realized a proportionally larger fan base
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GIGS
The PUSH Band did a mix of original material from the album and covers and performed in 100+ clubs
in dozens of cities, several states and Ontario.
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Editor's Note: I'll try to add dates and organize these in chronological order, if and when I can sort it out. Truth is, I don't even remember some of the names of the bars.  If anybody has any memories and/or photos to contribute, please e-mail me or use the feedback forum (link at bottom of page) ~ I could really use some help on this one!
MICHIGAN:
Harpo's (Detriot)
Sidestreet (Southgate)
Mugshot's (Westland)
The Struttin' Club (East Detroit)
The Pines (Cadillac)
???  (Traverse City)
Sawmill  (Bay City)
Music Box (Westland)
Studio Lounge (Westland)
Cap'n Ahab's (Wyandotte)
Schooner's Pub (Wyandotte)
Silver Bird (Detroit)
Main Act / Ritz (Roseville)
September's (Warren)
Conto's (Flint)
Sheridan Community Center (Taylor)
Suds Factory (Ypsilanti)
Royal Oak Music Theater
Mt. Clements Theater
Center Stage (Westland)
Nitros (Pontiac)
Top Sail (Lincoln Park)
OHIO:
Never On Sunday (Cincinnati)
Annie's (Cincinnati)
Bogart's (Cincinnati)
Wayside (Lima)
Cuckoo's Nest (Fostoria)
The Roxy (Toledo)
Kip's (Toledo)
TEXAS:
Cardi's (Houston)
Cardi's (Austin)
??? (Dallas)
??? (Waco)
??? (Kiline)

Cardi's (Lake Charles, Louisina)
The Joker (Counsil Bluffs, Iowa)
Ontario, Canada:
Danny's (Windsor)
Village Inn (Leamington)
??? (London)
Oxford Hotel (Woodstock)
??? (Sarnia)
??? (Bradford)
The Barn (London)
PUSH's front line one of 16 times playing  Harpo's (above)
and in Traverse City (below)
    Too many people - then and now - attributed much of the band's success to the drummer's father (Jim) "having money".  Jim was a relatively successful small business owner (he owned a sign company).  Contrary to populr belief, PUSH benefitted from his BUSINESS experience and leadership, NOT his bank account.  He directed our financial flow, and diceplined us to maintain a "band" account for emergencys and reinvenstment. Rather than merely paying weekly expenses (crew, transportation, motel) then splitting the remainder of income, we put a minimum of $400 per week into an account.  In fact, when we got into trouble in Houston Texas and needed money to get back to Michigan, we called him for help.  His reply was, "What are you guys gonna do?" - and left it up to us.
    I don't remember ANY hand-outs at ALL.  Jim provided the office structure and management persona to muscle us into oppertunities other bands only dreamt of.
Furthermore, he never took a 'cut' ~ but made us pay phone usage, etc.
TELEVISION SHOWS:
The Beat
The Stars of Tomorrow
Sound Trax

Recurring cable TV broadcast (live and recorded): PUSH LIVE from the Sheridan Community Center
    I was called to join the band at around 6:00AM on a Sunday morning.  Earl, the previous guitarist, finally got fed up and bailed (Push liked making their guitarists the scapegoat). I was to meet the other 3 members at a restraunt down river for an emergency meeting and audition.  Besides me, Rick was the only one to get there by 7:30.  We sat there and watched an old barn across the street burn to the ground.  Interesting.  By the time the other guys got there, it had been extinguished and all but one fire truck had left.
     We spent the next 18 hours trying to find a place to set up equipement so I could audition.  Fact was, they had 4 days off and wanted a replacement worked in by the next weekend's gig.
I ended up sitting down and jamming my Vee without it plugged in, doing a bunch of fancy hammer-on/snap off/whammy stuff which was the rage in the day.  They decided I was good enough, even though they couldn't hear a thing I was playing.  I guess I made it look good.
Ad for The Wayside from The Entertainer, a weekly entertainment paper which was published in  Lima, Ohio dated July 1985.
    The band kept up the momentum, which was really snowballing.  We kept all the pre-scheduled bookings, which included a down river taping for a local cable broadcast TV show.  Management pulled a picture from my days with Bolts at sent it to the printers to be substituted for Earl's on the "PUSH ~ Playing With Fire" poster to promo the 45 RPM single which they had just released before my sign-up. I don't know if anybody ever noticed ~ it's the same photo on the poster as used on the "Bolts Calls It Quits" article.
    It was in the plans to begin recording a full length LP. Chance had it, the owner of a huge club in a little town called fostoria Ohio, also owned a music store with a recording studio in the back.  He cut us a super good deal, and we started laying tracks.  It was done on 16 track analog, master to digital format printed on - of all things - a VHS video cassette (which unspooled and jammed miserably several times during mix-down).

     The photo at the left was part of a series for the LP insert.  The "Jack (Danials) Car" was in a parade.  We caught up and scheduled a shoot.
 Note: Chains and metal studs mess up paint jobs.
    We took a break from the studio to run into Toledo for some "rock Star" embelishments and selfless promotion.

AT LEFT: Rick, Ron "The Bear"  (Producer / Engineer / Owner of Muzeka Studios & Cuckoo's Nest) and the drummer, "Shotgun"  in front of "Hollywood Dream Factory".

     During the same excursion, we stopped by WIOT ~Toledo's top ROCK radio station at the time ~ for a live-on-the-air interview, and invited Joe Thomas (the DJ and program director) to do a guest voice-over for TKO on the album (which he did).  It was a great idea - he aired the track more than any other radio station.
The album:
PUSH TIL-IT-HURTZ
was released initially on 12" vinyl and shortly after on cassette.
    About four weeks after I joined the band, on our opening night at The Village Inn hotel in Leamington, Ontario, some of us were standing upstairs at an open window.  It was a hot, muggy night.  Suddenly, the bands lighting director ~ Chuck Escew ~ took a deep, gasping breath.  His eyes roles up, and he fell over backward.  It took almost one hour for the EMS to arrive from less than 3 blocks away, then another 30 minutes for them to get him downstairs.
     Within a few hours, Chuck was pronounced dead.
    Though I hadn't known Chuck long, I had a lot of respect for him.  He was entirely dedicated to putting on the best light show and ran the crew like slaves.  He was the BOSS.  Even the band listened ~ and followed ~ his instruction.  He knew what it meant to appear and act professional, and tolerated no slack.
     I can't even imagine how deeply it effected the rest of the band, especially Chris (the bassist) who was closer to Chuck than anyone else in the band.  This I will say -- WE PLAYED THE NEXT NIGHT and only took time off for the funeral.
TRACKS:

T.K.O.
Crazy Luv
Can't Stop
Hungry Eyes
Loosin' Night
Midnite Lady
Ready to Rock
Playin' with Fire
We're Rockin' Rollers
    Reportedly, the album has been remastered and re-released (according to the drummer's site - where they can be purchased) within the last few years, and copies have sold for up to $100.

    If you want one of the original releases, try Google or eBay. There's a good chance you can even find one autographed (we signed literally hundreds at shows in Ohio).

Personally, I have several copies of the album more than I need (I used to buy them at flea markets when I'd see them - total vanity, I suppose), so if you want one, e-mail me.
Name Droping~
PUSH opened for a lot of Nationally known recording artists, and headlined in the same circuit as bands like Cheap Trick and Ratt.   Once again, I'll try to add more as I remember them.  E-mail me a reminder, please!
Aldo Nova (jerk) ~   Autograph  ~   Black Oak Arkansas  ~   Blue Oyster Cult  ~ Bochman-Turner Overdrive
Icon    ~    Joe Perry Project  ~   Kim Mitchell   ~  Triumph   ~  Zebra
??? = Don't remember the club name
What Happened?
For the most part, I think we got tired ~ of working so hard, being 'gone' so much, the partying, and of each other.  I've said for years we once worked 147 nights straight - which included gigs, travel between (sometimes hundreds of miles), recording, interviews, photo shoots, TV shows, rehearsals, or at least meetings.  I remember leaving Christmas Day for Iowa.  We set a miniture (real) tree on the dashboard. Weee...
             
WRIF - Detroit MI
WLLZ - Detroit MI
WIQB - Ann Arbor MI
WXFZ - Bay City MI
WCXT - Hart MI
FM Radio Play
WEBN - Cincinnati OH
WIOT - Toledo OH
WPNM - Lima OH
KMSA - Grand Junction, CO
CKSL - London, Ont.
     We had complications in Texas.  There was some vandalism (graphiti, etc.) at a couple of the clubs ~ which were like, brand new ~ that the band was blamed for. Then, there was a mix-up (in Austin?).  We had played one night, and were scheduled to open for Warren Zevon the next.  When the bar's management saw how heavy we were, he told us to take the next night off ~ he'd call a local band, and we'd still get paid.  Reportedly, Waren walked out from his sound check because they had provided an electric instead of full grand piano.  The club got stuck with their little local band who only had one set of material. NOT our fault.
    Anyway, we got blamed for a bunch of crap ~ guilty or not ~ and the booking agency pretty much cancelled the last few dates we were to play in Texas. 
    
     We sat in a motel in Houston for more than 2 weeks waiting for everything to get straightened out. 

     It was a time of reflection, frustrationn and uncertainty. Rooms weren't cheap, and we ended up broke. Ate some good Mexican food, though.

     We'd run across an old friend of Rick's in Austin ~ and he ended up GIVING US $1000 to get home.
    
Winding Down to The End ~
     We came back to Michigan with our tails between our legs, feeling defeated.  Management shoved us into a gig at Canto's in Flint, for some meager pay compared to what we were used to.  It was scary ~ the club was small, and tables were so close to the stage we had to be careful not to knock people in the heads.  It was a blow after the string of huge Harpo's sized clubs we'd been doing in Texas.
     We picked up a few more gigs over the course of the next couple months, thanks to the agressiveness of our management.  But things were different ~ somehow, there seemed to be more distance between the band members, and a lot less communication.  Maybe everybody was mad at themselves, and taking it out on each other.

     Anyway, a conspiracy had transpired.  Our soundman, Steve A., had buddied up real close to Rick, and Chris was involved in getting Steve in to replace me.  I guess it sounded like a good idea to the drummer, too.  Next thing you know, all our bookings are cancelled and nobody is telling me anything.

     What came as a big surprise to the drummer ~ the other guys were planning on replacing HIM, too!  And it was HIS BAND!

      Having a majorly shattered ego ~ and hazed by disbelief ~, I dealt with it all quite passively, and without a fight.  They cashed me out for 1/4 the worth I'd put into equipment, which was like winning the loto to me.  On the downside, I got stuck with the $15,000 balance due on the band truck loan~ which was in my name.   Jim offered to take over payments in trade for the title, but I didn't trust him (or anybody) at the time, and just let it go to repo. 
    
    I moved to the Flint area, goofed off awhile (like, 3 months), then went back to work as Operations Manager of Spectrum Sound Studios where I got my name on Ragina Belle's triple-platinum release: All By Myself, worked with Patty & Fred (Sonic) Smith, Junior Walker, Drew Abbot (Bob Seeger Band), and so on...and on...and on...
Karma ~ Within a week of the time I was "dismissed",  Chris (the bassist) and Rick (lead vocals) were presented a contract~ served by the manager ~ stating "This is Terry Bolton's band ~ he IS the leader and boss, and you shall hereforth do as he says".  Chris and Rick rejected it.  Hense, the resolve.

The drummer started a new version of PUSH and 'fronted' it.  He took the band to Fostoria, Ohio, where we had established a very dedicated following, and were nearly invincable.  A near riot broke out, demanding that he 'drum' for them

What happened beyond that point, I don't know ~ and frankly, well... I wasn't there ~ so...
UPDATE (2007.06.04)~ Rick DeNoyer ("the Lead Screamer") contacted me thru THIS website (first time in 22? years)! After PUSH,  He, Chris  and Steve started a band called "Circus" which is featured on www.motorcityrock.com.  Chris was on-board for about one year, and has moved to Texas.

RICK is now in Audio Crush a POWER-TRIO band and PLAYING REGULARLY in the DETROIT AREA!
CHECK OUT AUDIO CRUSH ON MySpace!