Feature: Enuff Z’Nuff – Still Flyin’ High
Chicago power-pop rockers Enuff ZâNuffâs fan base has always been incredibly loyal since its 1984 formation. Fast forward to 2020, and the bandâs legacy is well intact on its new studio album Brainwashed Generation (released July 10 via Frontiers Music s.r.l.).
However, while half of Enuff ZâNuffâs fan base has gleefully accepted the current Chip ZâNuff-led version of the band with open arms, the other half understandably still laments the 2013 departure of original vocalist Donnie Vie.
âI don’t think it’s fragmented at all,â Chip ZâNuff said of the bandâs fan base during a recent phone conversation. âObviously, the diehard fans love him and will probably stay on his side. And that’s fine, I love those fans for being involved with our band all those years. I have no animosity toward any of them whatsoever.â
Enuff ZâNuff achieved overwhelming success with its 1989 critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, which reached No. 67 on the Billboard Albums chart and spawned two gigantic hits and live staples to this day with âNew Thingâ and âFly High Michelle.â
Chip took over lead vocal duties (with Donnieâs blessing) and recorded 2018âs well-received Diamond Boy, which broke the Billboard Top 200 chart. âWhen Donnie left the band, the first thing he said was, âIf youâre going to carry on and call it Enuff ZâNuff you better sing the songs, because at least when you’re in the middle of the stage everybody’s just going to know it’s Enuff ZâNuff.â And that’s exactly what I did.â
Joining ZâNuff on this album is guitarist Alex Kane, guitarist Tory Stoffregen, and drummer Daniel Benjamin Hill. Brainwashed Generation also features a number of guest musicians, including Winery Dogs/ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, and Cheap Trick drummer Daxx Nielsen, as well as a stellar guest vocal performance by Vie himself.
âHe wrote a song with me on the record called âStrangers in My Head,â ZâNuff said of Vie. âIt shows that there’s some chemistry still there. His pipes sound beautiful. I think it was a nice gesture on both parts; him wanting to do a song on the record and me pulling the record and putting that song on it before we released it.â
On Brainwashed Generation, the prescient album title seems to fit perfectly within the worldâs current landscape. âIt was prophetic, that title,â ZâNuff agreed. âI didn’t know what was going to be happening at that time. I had no idea. I thought it was a cool title for a record. Everybody’s on their telephones, computers, watching TV. No one’s really paying attention to anything right now in the world. Times have changed. There’s plenty of subject matter out there to write about. I looked at what was happening in the landscape in our world, and I wrote about that. âThe recordâs warm and lush production â co-produced by ZâNuff and punk rock producer Rob Pozen and mixed and mastered by Chris Steinmetz â was achieved the old-fashioned way by using analog recording methods.
âI’ll put (Brainwashed Generation) up against all of them as far as production goes, it’s a really rock-solid record,â ZâNuff stated. âAnd it just seems to be an album that is moving forward in our career. I’m really grateful that we have a chance to make records in this day and age because people want stuff and they want to get it cheap. And they just download those songs, for instance. But I’m from the old school, I want to do whole records. I want all the songs together. I believe in the celebration of music through albums.â
Although the worldwide pandemic has hampered bands from touring, Enuff ZâNuff was recently featured on the Monsters of Rock Cruise live stream concert on July 11 and will embark on the Straight Outta Quarantine 2020 Tour with Faster Pussycat starting on Sept. 11 in California.
âWe’re moving forward like nothing is going on right now with a new record, a new video, and then setting up the tour for the end of the summer,â ZâNuff said. âWe’re not letting any virus stop anything. And while we’re talking about the virus, let’s give a shout out to all the nurses and doctors and the first responders and our military and the people out there in the world that are keeping our places safe. Weâre in the 21st century, it should be about peace and love and looking out for each other because this is a resilient world, especially our country. We need to do things and stick together as one. That makes us strong.â
-Kelley Simms
See Enuff ZâNuff with Faster Pussycat on Sept. 23 at Arcada Theatre in St. Charles. (Due to COVID-19 this show may be rescheduled. See Oshows.com for updates)
