Doug Khazzam TODAY! Rockin' Power POP from Long Island

<body bgcolor="#111111" text="#FFFFFF" link="#C0C0C0"> <body bgcolor="#111111" text="#FFFFFF" link="#C0C0C0" vlink="#C0C0C0" alink="#C0C0C0"> <p align="center"> <a href="DKhazzam.html"><img src="_derived/DKhazzam.html_cmp_boldstri000_hbtn.gif" width="140" height="45" border="0" alt="Doug Khazzam" align="middle"></a> <a href="discography.html"><img src="_derived/discography.html_cmp_boldstri000_hbtn.gif" width="140" height="45" border="0" alt="Discography" align="middle"></a> <a href="../home.html"><img src="../_derived/home.html_cmp_boldstri000_hbtn.gif" width="140" height="45" border="0" alt="Buddy Love" align="middle"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="7"> <strong style="font-weight: 400">Doug Khazzam</strong></font></p> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="41%" align="center"> <p align="right"><font face="Arial" size="4"><a href="#start"> <img src="../images/DSC_3273.jpg" border="2" width="277" height="415" align="right"></a></font></td> <td width="59%"><p align="center"> <b> <font face="Arial" size="7">Today</font></b></p> <p align="center">  </p> <p align="center">  </p> <p align="center">  </p> <p align="center"> <font face="Arial" size="4">Doug Khazzam is the songwriter and leader of the 1980's Power Pop group Buddy Love.  The group reformed in 2006 with all of it's original members and have been recording and appearing in the New York City area ever since.  But who is Doug Khazzam?</font></p> <p> </td> </tr> </table> <p> </p> <div align="center"><center> <table border="0" width="90%"> <tr> <td width="95%" valign="middle" align="center"> <p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="6">Yesterday</font></p> <p align="center"><font size="4" face="Arial">Doug grew up in the 1960's in the Long Island town of Baldwin, NY.   As a kid he was always a huge fan of music and at a young age was blessed with a singing voice which impressed his first grade teacher.  So much in fact, that she took him to every class in the school to sing!  His father Joe was not so impressed and made a point of not allowing any musical instruments in the house saying, "musicians have a terrible life and no son of mine will have that kind of career!" </font></p> <p align="center"><font size="4" face="Arial">By the time he turned sixteen Joe could not stop him from picking up a guitar and learning how to play it and by the age of twenty (1977) he was co-founder of two of Americas earliest Punk Rock bands, <a target="_blank" href="http://shotgunsolution.blogspot.com/2010/03/alan-milman-sect-mini-album.html">The Alan Milman Sect</a> (one of whos songs was later covered by Urge Overkill)</font></p> <p align="center"> <a target="_blank" href="http://shotgunsolution.blogspot.com/2010/03/alan-milman-sect-mini-album.html"> <img border="0" src="../images/alanmilman_front.jpg" width="194" height="189"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="4">and later (1978) <a target="_blank" href="http://shotgunsolution.blogspot.com/2010/10/man-ka-zam-spankathon-single.html">Man-Ka-zaM</a>.</font></p> <p align="center"> <a target="_blank" href="http://shotgunsolution.blogspot.com/2010/10/man-ka-zam-spankathon-single.html"> <img border="0" src="../images/mankazam%20w.jpg" width="200" height="192"></a></p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="4">During that two year period Doug and Alan appeared at many of the New York City punk rock Clubs (CBGB's, Max's Kansas City, The 80's, Great Gildersleeves) as The Alan Milman Sect or Man-Ka-zaM, where he innocently played his guitar all the while getting a Pop music education of all eras and genres from Alan (who was and still is a walking encyclopedia of music).  During that time Doug became heavily influenced by 60's music and especially <strong style="font-weight: 400">British Invasion</strong> and late 70's "New Wave" like Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="4">By 1979 Doug and Alan began to tire of their "punk rock parodies" and began writing the songs that would eventually be used for their Power POP! Project "Buddy Love".</font></p> <dl> <div align="center"><center> <dt><font size="4" face="Arial"><a href="http://buddylove.us"> <img src="../Old/BuddyBannerGold.gif" width="135" height="65" align="absbottom" alt="Buddy Love!" border="0"></a></font></dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt><font size="4" face="Arial">They moved their base of operation from Long Island to New York City, placed an ad in The Village Voice Musician's Classified section and eventually found charismatic lead vocalist Joey Kelly, drummer extraordinaire Rich "Starr" Stirrat and bassist Scott Nevin "Killer" Schiller, and in 1980 recorded and released the <a href="../Sheila1.html">single "Sheila b/w Party Girl"</a> which enjoyed much airplay on the New York radio station WNEW-FM by DJ Vince Scelsa.</font></dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt> </dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt><a href="../Sheila1.html"> <img border="0" src="../images/Buddy_Love_front.jpg" width="266" height="256"></a></dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dd> <p align="center"> </dd> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt> </dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt> </dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt><font face="Arial" size="4">Tensions rose within the group during 1980 and soon vocalist Joey Kelly left the group due to these internal pressures.  Doug took over lead vocals but by 1981 both Scott and Rich followed suit.  Undaunted, Doug and Alan reformed with their Man-Ka-zaM rhythm section; Brett Rizzo on bass and Rob Wise on drums, and in 1982 recorded the self titled album  <strong style="font-weight: 400"><a href="../Old/Trouser.html">"Buddy Love"</a>.</strong></font></dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt> </dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt><font face="Arial" size="4">This lp received <a href="http://buddylove.us/Old/Trouser.html">rave reviews</a> in Power Pop circles in and around New York and Los Angeles. It helped set the tone for "DIY" musicians of the era and was mentioned in John Borack's book "Shake Some Action, The Ultimate Power Pop Guide".</font></dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dd> <p align="center"> </dd> </center></div> </dl> <div align="center"><center> <p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.notlame.com/PBPOWERPOPBOOK.html"> <img border="0" src="../images/nlshake1.jpg" width="200" height="300"></a></p> </center></div> <dl> <div align="center"><center> <dt><font face="Arial" size="4"><a href="http://buddylove.us/Old/Trouser.html"> <img border="0" src="../images/buddy%20love%201982.jpg" width="369" height="367" alt="Reviewed by Ira Robbins of Trouser Press"></a></font></dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt> </dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt> </dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt><font face="Arial" size="4">After the artistic success but financial failure of that album, Buddy Love (again!) broke up and this time so did the songwriting partnership of Doug and Alan.  Doug (again!) reformed the band, this time with bassist and vocalist extraordinaire Hugh Carroll and original! drummer Rich "Starr" Stirrat from the Sheila era version of Buddy Love, who together brought the band closer to Doug's vision of a "Post Modern Beatles".</font></dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dd> <p align="center"> </dd> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt><font face="Arial"> <img border="0" src="../images/MFP.JPG" width="425" height="306"></font></dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt><font face="Arial" size="4"> </font></dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt> </dt> </center></div> <dt> </dt> <dt><font size="4" face="Arial">By the mid 80's the lure of suburbia called and Doug joined the married, mortgaged and settled life of a working guy on Long Island.  Music however was never far from his thoughts and eventually he began writing and recording songs in his basement studio for his own amusement.  A collection of these songs recorded between 1989 and 1995 was eventually assembled on the home produced CD called</font></dt> <dt> </dt> <dt><strong style="font-weight: 400"><font face="Arial" size="6">Doug Khazzam TODAY!</font></strong></dt> <dd> </dd> <dt><font face="Arial" size="4"> <a target="_blank" href="http://98.116.201.110/mp3/Today/index.htm"> <img src="Doug.gif" alt="Hear ! Doug Khazzam TODAY!" width="362" height="287" border="0"></a></font></dt> <dt> </dt> <li><font face="Arial" size="4"> </li> </font> <div align="center"><center> <dt> </dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <div align="center"><center> <dt> </dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dt><font face="Arial" size="4">Building on his time alone in his home studio, Doug and long time friend Gary Feldman began writing and recording songs and in 1977 formed "Radio Flyer" with Doug's Buddy Love band mate Rich "Starr" Stirrat contributing drum tracks.  They soon had to change their name to RC Flyers when the Radio Flyer Corporation threatened to sue! but that didn't stop them from making some great jangly, Byrds-y, Beatle-y POP!</font></dt> </center></div> <div align="center"><center> <dd> <p align="center"> </dd> </center></div> </center></div> </dl> <div align="center"><center> <p><font face="Arial" size="4"><a href="../RCFlyers/RCFlyers.html"> <img border="0" src="RCFlogo.gif" alt="Radio Flyers" width="288" height="105"></a> </font></p> </center></div> <dl> <dd> </dd> <div align="center"><center> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="28%" height="143" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111"> <tr> <td width="100%" background="../RCFlyers/RCFlyers.gif" height="145"><p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="4"><a href="http://buddylove.us/RCFlyers/ListenCom.html"><img border="0" src="RCFlyersLogo.gif" alt="Reviewed on Listen.com" width="148" height="76"></a></font></td> </tr> </table> </center></div> </dl> </td> </tr> </table> </center></div> <p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="4">Doug spent the beginning of the new millennium working on his dream project, that of resurrecting Buddy Love.  He finally convinced Rich and Hugh to reform and play around the Long Island area during 2003 and 2004.  </font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="4">Eventually Doug decided to go back to the source, finding and convincing all of the ORIGINAL Buddy Love members from 1980 (Joey, Rich and Scott) to reform in 2006.  More recently the group added Keyboard player Dave Stoler to help round out their sound.  They are currently appearing in the New York Area.  </font></p> <p align="center"> <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jJqqvz9_1ho" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen name="I1"></iframe><p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="4">Since their reunion they have released two CD's, 2007's "Now... and Then"</font></p> <p align="center"> <img border="0" src="../images/Then%20and%20Now.jpg" width="264" height="262"></p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="4">and their latest, Buddy Love (2011).</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Arial"> <a target="_blank" href="http://buddylove.us/Webstore/html/BuddyLove(2011).html"> <img border="0" src="../images/BuddyLove(2011).JPG" width="316" height="320"></a></font></p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="4">Doug Khazzam NOW!</font></p> <p align="center"><font size="4" face="Arial"> <img border="2" src="../Images/BL%20at%20Otto's.JPG" width="467" height="318"></font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="4">and then...</font></p> <div align="center"><center> <table border="2" width="473" background="../Old/naked.jpg" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="241"> <tr> <td width="100%" height="241">  <dl> <div align="center"> <center> <dt> </dt> </center> </div> <div align="center"> <center> <dt> </dt> </center> </div> <div align="center"> <center> <dt> </dt> </center> </div> <div align="center"> <center> <dt> </dt> </center> </div> <div align="center"> <center> <dt> </dt> </center> </div> <div align="center"> <center> <dt><font face="Arial" color="#FF0000"> <a href="http://buddylove.us"> <font size="4"> <img src="../Old/BuddyBannerGold.gif" width="237" height="110" align="absbottom" alt="Buddy Love!" border="0"></font></a></font><font face="Arial" size="4"></a></font><font size="4" color="#FF0000" face="Arial"> </font> </dt> </center> </div> </dl> </td> </tr> </table> </center></div> <p align="center"><font face="Arial" size="4"><a href="discography.html">For a complete Doug Khazzam discography click here!</a></font></p>  <script type='text/javascript' src='https://count.carrierzone.com/app/count_server/count.js'></script> <script type='text/javascript'> </script>  </body> <p align="center"><font size="4" face="Tahoma">©2012 Doug Khazzam</font></p> <p align="center">  <a id="mws1904681" href="http://webstats.motigo.com/"> <img width="80" height="15" border="0" alt="Free counter and web stats" src="http://m1.webstats.motigo.com/n80x15.gif?id=AB0QKQFDqUdJfbyf9WBnzxzM2Pog" /></a> <script src="http://m1.webstats.motigo.com/c.js?id=1904681&lang=EN&i=27" type="text/javascript"></script>  </body>