THE HOLLYWOOD STARS return to The Whisky as anticipation builds for next month's 'Sound City'

THE HOLLYWOOD STARS RETURNED TO THE STAGE OF THE WHISKY A GO GO LAST THURSDAY FOR THEIR FIRST HEADLINING SHOW AT THE VENUE IN 42 YEARS The band was introduced by enduring rock ‘n’ roll disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer, host of Sirius XM Satellite Radio’s “Rodney on the Rock” The Whisky concert served as a warm up for next month’s release of the hotly-anticipated 1976 “lost album” Sound City from Burger Records The Hollywood Stars toured with THE KINKS and played support gigs to such legends as THE NEW YORK DOLLS, BO DIDDLEY, THE RAMONES and IGGY POP; In turn, a cavalcade of newcomers opened shows for the Stars, including VAN HALEN, JOURNEY, THE RUNAWAYS, THE KNACK, and QUIET RIOT, among others Sound City archival release arrives on CD and digital download via Burger Records on August 23, 2019; features the power pop classic “All the Kids on the Street”

L to R: Ruben De Fuentes, Scott Phares, Michael Rummans, Chezz Monroe & Rodney Bingenheimer / Photo: Harmony Gerber

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / July 23, 2019 — The Hollywood Stars, a group originally assembled by manager/songwriter Kim Fowley in 1973, returned to the stage of the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood last Thursday for their first show at the venue in 42 years. The concert was a precursor to the first-time release of Sound City, a “lost album” originally recorded in 1976. Sound City will be available on CD and digital download via Burger Records on August 23. Pre-order Sound City album: HERE The Whisky had been the venue at which The Hollywood Stars most frequently performed during their 1973-1977 heyday. The most influential deejay for glam rock and power pop in Hollywood during this period was Rodney Bingenheimer, who hosted his influential “Rodney on the ROQ” show on Pasadena’s KROQ-FM for over 40 years. Bingenheimer was also a co-owner of the popular Rodney’s English Disco (1972-1975) on the Sunset Strip. Bingenheimer introduced The Hollywood Stars back to the Whisky stage last Thursday: "I remember when this band headlined one of the Runaways' earliest shows at the Whisky. The Runaways were a three-piece band at that point… Micki Steele, Sandy West, Joan Jett. You remember that? The Hollywood Stars used to play up and down the Sunset Strip, and at the Starwood — everywhere that was happening. They had an album out. And they have a new 'missing' album coming out on Burger Records next month. All of that happened 40 years ago. Anyway, I wanna give a shout out — in heaven or maybe even hell — to Kim Fowley. The guy who put this band together and wrote songs for them with Mark Anthony. Yes, a shout out to Kim and Mark, definitely. So, ladies and gentlemen — and also those of you who are not sure — let's bring 'em out. Here they are, legends on the Sunset Strip... THE HOLLYWOOD STARS!" Bingenheimer can currently be heard on "Rodney on the Rock," his music show on Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. The current lineup of The Hollywood Stars features Scott Phares (vocals), Ruben De Fuentes (guitar), Terry Rae (drums), Michael Rummans (bass), and Chezz Monroe (guitar). All but Monroe were part of the group in the 1970s. Sound City was produced and engineered by Neil Merryweather in 1976 at the famed Sound City Recording Studios in Van Nuys, CA.

EARLY RESPONSE TO SOUND CITY “The Hollywood Stars were assembled by Kim Fowley, with a sound taking juicy bits from Bowie, Sweet and Cockney Rebel, with a bit of Mott the Hoople thrown in for good measure. They shared stages with the likes of The New York Dolls, and then they were gone.” (Whisky concert preview) — LA Weekly  “An exceptional, previously unreleased Hollywood Stars album is about to come out… “ — DangerousMinds.net “There are raunchy rockers and crowd-pleasing anthems aplenty with ‘All the Kids in the Street’ as fine an example of powerpop perfection as one is likely to encounter.” (4 STARS) — Shindig! Magazine “Sound City is everything you could want it to be, a bruising barrage of ten songs in little more than half an hour, punchy glam-inflected powerpop riffola… the Stars certainly had a better grasp of what made glam rock glitter than the majority of their peers.” — Goldmine Magazine “This unlikely story of rediscovery and redemption is one that offers salvation to any band who have been eaten up by the machine… We should at least be grateful that these exquisite lost moments from (rock’s) glory days are finally being dusted off and revitalized.” — ReprobatePress.com

Sound City tracklist: 1.  Sunrise on Sunset (Mark Anthony, Kim Fowley, Skip Battin) * 2.  I Can’t Help It * 3.  Escape (Mark Anthony, Kim Fowley, Alice Cooper) * 4.  So Blue * 5.  Too Hot to Handle 6.  All the Kids on the Street (Mark Anthony, Kim Fowley) * 7.  Habits 8.  Make It to the Party (Ruben de Fuentes, Mark Anthony) * 9.  Shotgun # 10.  Houdini of Rock ‘n’ Roll #  * Denotes previously unreleased version # Denotes first-ever appearance All songs by Mark Anthony unless otherwise noted Produced & engineered by Neil Merryweather Recorded at Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA, 1976 Burger Records / BRGR1437