the nazz were a somewhat powerpop band slightly mod looking and featured a young *todd rundgren on guitar. *he also wrote the majority of the band's songs. the nazz hailed from the philly area, and formed in late 1967-early '68. originally called "woody's truck stop" they became nazz due to a song recorded by the yardbirds,;a u.k. band. the other member's were- carson van osten, thom mooney, and stewky antoni. although todd wasnt actually the lead singer, his voice can be heard on a few tracks. the nazz were an important band of the late 60's. they literally ushered in what would be termed "power pop" with some clever lyrics. some fans really believed that this band was from jolly ol' england , due to the way some of the songs 'sounded'.
by 1970, the nazz was no more...but a various configuration of it did continue on after todd left. the official reasons were unclear of the break-up, but most likely due to the arguments among the band members, especially between todd and van osten.
the most outstanding tracks to be heard ; "open my eyes", "under the ice", and the original "hello it's me"...plus many others from their three -only albums...the third wasnt suppose to happen. it was slated to be a double lp.,titled "fungo bat" but was scrapped. instead, a single album came from the remains. it was simply titled "nazz lll".
in all honesty, each of the three nazz albums are priceless. it seems the songs have become more and more interesting with every listen. and to think that this relatively unknown u.s. band were to replace "the monkees" on some equally amusing t.v. show, well, you have to be a fan to know about this and appreciate it. there is much much more about "the nazz" all over the net, just have to start cruising and find out more facts...hope this mini-bio helps, thanks
