Columbus, 1975-present
Tom Weisend founded the Muff Bros. in late 1975 in Zanesville, Ohio. The original members were Tom Weisend - lead guitar & lead vocals, Dennis Boyd - drums, Jim Edwards – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, & keyboards, and Doug Edwards - bass & vocals. Lynn Murphy was the sound engineer and Steve Sines was the lighting designer. The Muff Bros. moved to Columbus in 1976 to be closer to big-city venues and higher-paying gigs. Steve Sines became the lead vocalist in October 1977. They played a mixture of British and American rock, but provided a concert atmosphere in a club setting. Aside from their fantastic shows, they were also known throughout the Midwest for their state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems. When they weren't performing, they would do sound and lights for acts such as Jean Luc-Ponti, the Tubes, Michael Stanley Band, J. Geils, Donnie Iris, Foghat and Bo Didley. In February 1978, John Durzo replaced Doug Edwards. Dennis Boyd left in April 1980 and was replaced by Rick Hall. Jim Edwards left in June 1980 and was replaced by Richard Bradburn.
In 1980, the Muff Bros. changed their name to the muffs, signed a recording contract with Earthtone Records, and recorded a self-titled album at C.C.S. in Cincinnati, produced by Sonny Flaharty. The record, released in 1981, was well received and got quite a bit of airplay. It dominated the Central Ohio radio market for months after its release, and even received airplay on jazz stations with the instrumental rendition of The Way We Were. This opened the door for extensive touring throughout the Midwest. The band featured mostly original power-pop material at this point. In November 1981, Richard Bradburn left the band. The muffs continued to play for a couple of months as a 3-piece with a front man. Neil Andrews joined in January 1982 as the new keyboard player. Shortly after Neil joined, the band began recording the second muffs album at Cleveland Recording, which was engineered by Dale Peters (James Gang). Steve Sines left the band during the recording in July 1982 and the album was not completed. These previously unreleased songs are now available on the muffs Rainbow Collection CD from the band website (www.moneymuffs.com).
In 1982, the muffs changed their name to Money, with the original line-up being Tom Weisend - guitar & lead vocals, John Durzo – bass guitar & vocals, Rick Hall - drums, and Neil Andrews - keyboards & vocals. That year, they started the first Money album project at J.D. Blackfoot's Bison Recording Studios in Columbus. The Money album (Trust Me) was engineered and produced by Gary Hedden. Trust Me received a good bit of airplay. The band opened for such acts as The Babies, Montrose, Cheap Trick, Billy Squier, Mitch Ryder, UFO, The Tubes, Head East, Michael Stanley Band, Donnie Iris, Utopia, Gamma, Humble Pie, Iron Maiden, Night Ranger, and Red Rider. In 1983, Money added Jeff Wilson on guitar and recorded their second album at Bison Studios. Joey Molland (Badfinger) was brought in to produce that album, with Gary Hedden engineering again. This album (also called Trust Me due to time constraints and record company changes) was a bit more rock-oriented than the first Money effort. It was initially distributed by Boardwalk Records in the US and distributed by EMI Heavy Metal America Records in Europe. Joey was also signed to Earthtone Records and recruited the band to play on his After The Pearl album, also in 1983. Neil Andrews left the band in December 1983 and John Durzo left the band in February 1984. In March 1984, Michael Fite was added as lead singer and Ricky LeGay was added on bass. Money went through some other personnel changes and recorded an EP in June 1985. The musicians listed on the EP were Tom Weisend – vocals & guitar, Mark Chatfield (Godz, Rosie) – guitar & vocals, Shane Hunter – guitar, Kevin Marcum – bass, Jeff Read – bass, Kenny Kaplan – keys & vocals, Jeff Gastineau – keys, and Rick Hall – drums. In September 1986, John Durzo and Neil Andrews rejoined Money with the line-up at that time being Tom Weisend – guitar & vocals, Kenny Kaplan – keys & vocals, Rick Hall – drums, Neil Andrews – keys & vocals, and John Durzo – bass guitar & vocals. They recorded at Joe Waters' Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Streeterville Studios in Chicago, Lowery Studios in Atlanta, and Mus-I-Col in Columbus and put together the In The Red CD, which was distributed by Budweiser and released in 1988. Neil Andrews left again in March 1987 when he moved to Chicago. In December 1989, Money officially stopped playing live. In 2007, the original line-up of Tom, John, Rick and Neil recorded and released a new CD (Money Kills), which was mastered by Gary Hedden. It is available exclusively from their web site (www.mymoneymusic.com). The entire catalog of the band's music and videos is also available on the web site. Money continues to do annual reunion shows in Columbus.
