The Lost Boys

Today we’d like to introduce you to Renee Edd.

Renee, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Personally, I sang before I spoke. I was belting Annie at a very young age making the glass in the China cabinet shake in the living room. Unfortunately, my parents were not very knowledgeable about the business so they didn’t really know what to do for me and my dad’s instinct was to keep me from it as long as he could. However, I went to the Houston high school for performing and visual arts for theatre and I studied classical music and Broadway – so that is my background. I have done a few things at TUTS and I think I will be turning my attention back to musical theater sooner than later, but for now I find 80s music to be more “user-friendly” toward Sopranos.

I got involved with the Lost Boys because I was at my agent to pick up a check when the receptionist said her boyfriend was in an 80s band and they needed a singer. So I went to the audition and I sang Photograph by Def Leppard. Joe Elliot hits an E5 in full on chest so when I did it, I was hired immediately. It was really funny. The band has been performing since 2005.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Oh, absolutely not. I’m not going to sit here and say if you work hard enough, great things will happen. Ultimately, there’s no form or fashion. It really is hard work meets opportunity and without the opportunity, or sometimes even with, you can come up short.

Unfortunately, Houston is not really a live music-friendly city, in my opinion. If you go somewhere like Nashville or New Orleans or Orlando or even Dallas, there are lots of opportunities either in the tourist trade or just great venues for cover bands. Here, most live cover bands play outside the loop because there are not very many live music venues inside the loop. You also have a lot of bookers that have monopolies with certain bars and most of the bands just play the same exact set list or at least the same kind of songs. Right now it’s like everyone is doing Bruno Mars. We don’t. A lot of times the managers go through the bands’ set list and approve the songs – and the band doesn’t even get a say. Even 80s bands play very similar set lists.

Tribute bands are hurting cover bands, as well. For me, personally, I don’t want to spend an hour and a half singing the same artist trying to look exactly like them and imitate their moves. It’s just not very interesting or creative to me. We are toying with an idea for a tribute side project, but it would not be our bread-and-butter. It’s a lot more fun and a lot more impressive, in my opinion, to have a diverse array of things that you can do.

The Lost Boys have been doing things on our own for years now and have managed to always get great gigs. We make it a point to play things that we enjoy, some of it a bit more obscure, and therefore the audience enjoys it too. Our audiences also spans generations from Boomer to Millennial – which is great for us.

The Lost Boys Band – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
What sets us apart is like I said – we like to play more variety of 80s; More obscure stuff. And we are psychotic about sounding exactly like the original recording. We don’t sequence anything; we play everything. Although we are going to experiment with an occasional track here and there just to add fullness to what we are already doing.

For me, I’m just very blessed to have a high range and I imitate. It’s what I do. So I sound like Cindy Lauper when I am singing Cyndi Lauper but I sound like Pat Benatar when I am covering her and I can imitate my idol Steve Perry. My range would not have set us apart maybe 15 years ago. But these days everyone is an alto, everyone is trying to growl and be bluesy and dark and gruff and dirty or just super soulful. If Pat Benatar and Joe Elliot had a child it would be me. I guess, for me, you can walk into any karaoke bar and hear four or five people doing decent renditions of something like Adele or Katy Perry or bluesy dark stuff. But you don’t hear anyone do Ariana Grande or Whitney Houston. I don’t know what the deal is but I feel very blessed. I am currently learning a Mozart aria, getting my operatic coloratura range back in shape, as well as singing with the Bayou City Women’s Chorus as a Soprano 1, and learning new songs for the Lost Boys – including SIA (we like to throw in an occasional modern hit) – that girl can go up in the rafters so I think covering her will set us apart as well.

But the really really cool thing is that every single member of the band can sing. Not just me. So we have all genres covered from The Cure to John Cougar Mellencamp to Simple Minds to… well, you name it. Either me or one of the boys can do it! I love being in a band because I love being a part of something and having people have your back. It’s a cool feeling to be all in it together and it makes us more versatile and that appeals to the audience because truthfully we are all a bit nerdy! We’re not the kind of, like, slick ladies’ man, hard-edged, rough-hewn types. And we don’t have any kind of gimmicks. We don’t wear costumes or any of that. That music speaks for itself. And we just kind of enjoy it. I like to think were more accessible for having less in-your-face personalities

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
That’s tricky. I don’t. Some same imitation. Every time you turn around there’s yet another 80s cover band, so you have to think yourself are they doing it because they think they are better than you or are they doing it because they want to be you? However, they tend to come and go and since we have been here since 2005, I think that is a hallmark of success. Also what kind of venues have you played. We have played Reliant, the Toyota Center and House of Blues… so can’t get much better than that. I would hope peace and having fun playing would be important factors in success too. - Voyage Houston

Click to read - MIX 96.5

The Lost Boys at Pub Fiction - Envy Magazine

Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Sun 09/17/2006
Section: Star
Page: 1
Edition: 2 STAR

POP CULTURE / Do the '80s have legs? / The "Me Decade"™ is back, in a totally righteous way

By KRISTIN FINAN
Staff

It starts out innocently enough.

You hear "Come on Eileen" at a bar and download it. You go as Madonna for Halloween.

Before you know it you're on eBay, fighting it out against ``bueller86'' and ``lauperlvr'' for a Members Only jacket and an Atari game, longing for a time when hair was huge and life was simple.

Well, my shoulder-pad-wearing, "St. Elmo's Fire"-watching friend, it's time for you to step out from behind those neon-sided shades and face the world. Because with fall trendsetters all over the '80s like the "Golden Girls" on cheesecake, now is your time to shine.

``I watch VH1's "I Love the '80s" every time it comes on,'' said Sonia Sommars, a 31-year-old massage therapist and lover of all things from the decade. ``I can't bring myself to throw away my old concert T-shirts. And my records, I can't part with those, even though I don't have a record player anymore.''

The '80s resurgence can be attributed to a general cycle that tends to make everything ``vintage'' and ``retro'' a few years after its expiration date.

All around the country people are busting out leggings, bubble skirts and tapered jeans, watching a movie remake of "Miami Vice" and turning out in droves to see '80s cover bands that feature a solid cache of Madonna, Journey and one-hit wonders.

``People get really into it,'' said Mike Hubberd, who plays lead guitar, background and vocals in the Lost Boys, a band that packs Midtown's Pub Fiction every Thursday. ``People show up wearing '80s-hair wigs, the old parachute pants, spandex.''

Whether you were an angsty, Cure-obsessed teen, a Jane Fonda-loving workout freak or a Pound-Puppy-clutching toddler, here's a look back at the fabulously shallow '80s and the ways in which they are being embraced in pop culture today.

Grace Lansangan, a 29-year-old Houston nurse, is not too proud to disclose her personal '80s style secrets: button-covered jean jackets, Hypercolor shirts, banana clips and bad, bad perms.

``This is bringing back some traumatic memories,'' Lansangan said. ``Now I wouldn't be caught dead wearing some of the things I've worn.''

The only girl in a household of three brothers, Lansangan remembers playing with Micro Machines, Garbage Pail Kids and Pogo Balls and watching lots of movies.

Even now she lists "Teen Witch," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Star Wars" among her all-time favorites.

``There's a line in Ferris Bueller's Day Off where he says, `Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,' '' Lansangan said. ``That's something from the '80s you can really live by.''

And don't get her started on "The Breakfast Club," "Sixteen Candles" or "Pretty in Pink."

``Any John Hughes movies with teen angst,'' she said. ``Those were all totally gnarly.''

Michael D. Craig, an '80s expert and author of four books, including "The Totally Awesome 80s," credits Molly Ringwald with speaking to a generation.

``Molly Ringwald was really the perfect, perfect 1980s girl,'' he said. ``Sweet, innocent, demure, on the geeky side but full of hope for the future.''

Don't forget the TV shows, with their big hair and catchphrases either. (``Who shot J.R.?'')

Think "The Cosby Show," "21 Jump Street," "Growing Pains," "Charles in Charge," "Family Ties," "Dallas" and "Dynasty."

``The fights between Krystle and Alexis on Dynasty,'' Sommars said. ``You can't beat that.''

Not to mention Luke and Laura's wedding in November 1981 on "General Hospital," which, with nearly 30 million viewers, is said to be the most-watched daytime event ever.

``It's funny how people are on an '80s wedding trend these days,'' said Hubberd, adding that the Lost Boys are frequently asked to play private, '80s-themed events. A teen in the '80s, Hubberd said he's not surprised that love for the genre remains.

``I've always felt the '80s are a timeless decade for music,'' he said. ``It was the most melodic era.''

Melodic, and fascinating. Think Boy George, George Michael, Duran Duran and Madonna - all of whom are still making headlines.

Dain Craig, program director and morning-show host at 106.9 the Point, a Houston FM radio station that primarily plays songs from the '80s, said there is continued interest in the decade's tunes because people have an emotional connection to them.

``The music always seems to paint the picture on an emotional level to take people back to a time in their lives that they remember and want to relive,'' Dain Craig said. ``There are a ton of remakes, too. It's retro, there's no question about it.''

Recent examples of artists who have kept the '80s alive in their tunes include Rihanna, who sampled Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" in her hit "SOS"; No - Houston Chronicle

The Lost Boys do their part for TX DOT...

Ck out the link for full review:
http://www.houstonpress.com/issues/2005-10-20/music/wack.html - Houston Press

Sometimes truth is exactly as strange as fiction. For instance: the sight of beautiful people congregating in what appears to be a standard Midtown watering hole. So, what is it that attracts all these postgrad Midtown denizens here? Well, PF has killer happy-hour prices, which might alleviate economic stress for working-class types. Homebodies will appreciate the TVs tuned to sporting events as well as all the comfortable chairs. For the ladies, there are seven delicious martini concoctions (including the chocolate-covered-strawberry) and the sight of some good-looking men in matching J. Crew shirts playing Golden Tee (great butt shots!). For people-watchers there’s a large umbrella-covered patio facing the Spec's across the street. The plot thickens every Thursday night when the Lost Boys cover ´80s hits, rehashing memories that can begin to seem like works of fiction themselves.
- Houston Press

The Lost Boys celebrated their 2-year anniversary of 80s Flashback Thursdays at Pub Fiction in grand style. "Let's hope for two more great years, or maybe even more!"

(media gallery link:
www.envymags.com/entourage.html?uid=b06bf015f5906a90c7c69452d7569ae5) - Envy Magazine (Houston, TX edition)

"Do not miss 80s night
with The Lost Boys on
Thursday nights - these
guys ROCK!"
- 002 Magazine

IN OUR COMMUNITY
The 1980s gave the world some of pop and rock music’s most unforgettable songs. On Thursday, The Lost Boys will take Concerts in the Park series down memory lane churning out hits from Hall and Oates to Def Leppard starting at 7 p.m.

The Lost Boys find their way to the Concerts in the Park stage Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Jimmy Burke Activity Center.

The formation of the band began when the members saw the 1980s music movement happening around them. The movement had not yet reached Houston and they knew they had to change that. From there, they formed a band and built their following.

The band consists of lead singer Renee Edd, lead guitarist Michael Lee, keyboardist Andrew Richardson, bassist Nathan Kyle and drummer Tony Rodriguez.

“We’re an 80s tribute band and we’ve been around since 2005. This will actually be our fifth time to play at Concerts in the Park,” said Lee.

The Lost Boys cover a range of well-known 80s artists including Hall and Oates, U2, Journey, ABBA, and more.

“We’re going to be playing a few new songs. There will still be the classics that everyone knows and can sing along to,” he said.

The band has been together for more than a decade. Lee talked about how they were able to stick together throughout the years.

“It comes down to our common love for the music we play. We take a lot of pride in working hard and making it sound as close to the original songs as we can,” he said.

Hard work and diligence helped the band become a major staple in Houston’s night life for four years.

“It was a lot of fun, when we got [to Houston] there really was no 80s movement and we brought it here. We’d play clubs and there would be lines all around the block. It was really a spectacular time. Celebrities came during that time, mostly sports stars, like Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns,” he said.

The band is dedicated to only doing covers of songs and for that reason, the band has never come out with original music. However, the individual members of the band have solo projects outside of the band according to Lee. - Inside DP

The Lost Boys band has been entertaining Houston with 80s hits for over 15 years. That’s a lifetime in Houston. Recently, the band has added different packages – expanding out from the 80s with their Soft Rock incarnation, Variety Band Extravaganza and (not leaving the 80s completely) Lucky Star- their Madonna Tribute Band. It’s a natural evolution for them as Houston grows, styles change, and new opportunities open up.

We sat down with Lead Singer: Renee Edd, Guitarist: Michael Lee and Keyboardist: Andrew Richardson who make up the original trio who first got together in a plain suburban house in Sugar Land in 2004.

Houston News and Events: You guys were one of the first 80s bands in Houston. How did that come about?

ML: When I lived in Los Angeles, there were practically 80s bands playing on every corner. But only a handful of them were really spectacular- and that’s exactly what we patterned The Lost Boys after. I’m most proud of our band that we can roll into any top venue in LA today and blow away crowds just like the bands there do. Some groups can come up with a good set here and there, but we pride ourselves on dazzling an audience for four hours straight with nonstop hits. The greatest compliments we’ve gotten are how much our performances sound just like the original bands performing back in the day. In essence, we bring an LA club night experience every time we take the stage- no matter where we are.

Houston News and Events: I know you guys are branching out from the 80s. But before we talk about that why do you think that genre of music endures?

AR: Some of the songs we play are just easy, fun songs that people like to dance and sing along to, but many of them (like many songs from the 80’s) are actually quite complex in their structure and in the level of their production. We have always taken a lot of pride in the fact that we can pull off our repertoire very close to the originals in a live setting, with live instruments and no sequencing.

RE: Yeah, we curate our list very carefully. Most comparable bands in Houston have almost the exact same set list. We pride ourselves on a wider variety of hits – you still know what we’re playing – but we’re playing songs other bands aren’t. You hear a lot of other cover bands go on about putting “their own spin” on a song. I call that BS! I think that’s usually because they can’t pull off the intricacies instrumentally and, certainly, vocally that these songs require. We don’t shy away from songs by, like, Queen and ELO.

Houston News and Events: So you are branching out from the 80s with these other acts? That must be exciting for you.

AR: With the synthesizer being such a big part of the 80’s sound, it’s nice to see so many modern groups embracing those influences and bringing it back into style with current music. We are always keeping our ears open for killer modern songs that we can perform that embrace it as a standout instrument.

RE: I’m excited to try new things. In some ways I’m vocally out of style. All these chicks down 1960 way doing their best gritty alto, Janis Joplin versions of 80s and new pop… it’s just the wrong vocal style for the era, but it’s what everyone associates with rock and roll, I guess. My style is straight up 80s rock soprano. My range lets me segue into modern Ariana Grande/GaGa/Sia pretty easily too. But I think everyone is used to that kind of darker grit that I don’t have. So it is what it is. But it certainly lends itself to me having the ability to have a wider vocal catalog than any other local band, that’s for sure.

Houston News and Events: What makes you guys have such longevity?

ML: There’s so much talent in this band….every member can sing lead, and the harmonies when everyone comes together really are a beautiful thing. The musicians are all multi-instrumentalists, so we can play anything- and we do! Our love for the music we play really carries over to the crowds we entertain. On any given night, a Lost Boys show is always unique and filled with incredible energy! The special play lists we put together dial up loads of fun and great memories for all. It’s like a contagious feeling we conjure up for the crowd…you just can’t help but bust a move or belt out a chorus along with us. We’ve been doing it for so long, we know how to read a room and how to get everyone moving. It’s an art, really. The Lost Boys is more than just a band- it’s an encounter and an experience everyone should have!

RE: We’ve seen it all and, unfortunately, these days a lot of bars don’t seem to want to spend the money on live music – at least in the loop. They either rely on DJs or they hire a bunch of original bands for the price of one cover band. I think original bands are important but I also think that when people are out and about just to drink, they like to hear the hits. And there’s something about hearing those hits live – especially if you can pull it off to sound like the original artist,that really fills the room/space with energy in a way a DJ can’t. It’s a definite investment and a guaranteed good time for your patrons.

The Lost Boys also comprise of Nathan Kyle, bassist and Steve Bundrick on Drums. Both long-term local Musicians who have seen the growth and evolution of live music in Houston. Bundrick, who has his own sound studio, spear-headed the organization that fought back against new sound ordinances that were making live music a challenge some years back. Together this band of boys (and girl) are looking towards another 15 years in their favorite city!

For more information visit www.TheLostBoysBand.com find them on Facebook at facebook.com/LostBoysBand on Insta at LostBoysBandHTX. - Houston News and Events

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Lee and Renee Edd.

Michael and Renee , can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I moved to Houston from Los Angeles, after Disney hired me to produce a local talk show in Houston. Since I had been a huge 80s fan in LA- and followed many notable 80s cover bands on the Strip and in Santa Monica, I had a strong passion to bring that wave of music to H-Town.

I teamed up with a drummer- Hash Patel- who was also a stand up comic- and his agent hooked us up with a great keyboard player, Andrew Richardson. As we looked to add more members, lead singer Renee Edd came to audition with us by performing “Photograph” by Def Leppard. It was a match made in 80s rock-n-roll heaven! However, Hash got an offer to move to LA, where I had just come from. We ended up trading places in a sense because today he is still in LA chasing parts, while I’m still in Houston rocking clubs! The Lost Boys found a new drummer and eventually a bass player…and we burst onto the scene with a blockbuster following in 2005. We helped open a popular club in Midtown called Pub Fiction, where we became the band in residence for the next four years. We played to jam-packed crowds….literally stretching blocks around the corner every Thursday night. Sports celebrities and touring stars all came out to celebrate the 80s with us every Thursday.

Even the Houston Astros, after losing their first World Series being swept by the Chicago White Sox, could not resist visiting our classic 80s night, with catcher Brad Ausmus coming out to party with us the very next night after the sweep. Since those early days, our band’s sound has evolved into covering just about every 80s song you can imagine- and much, much more, including tunes from the 90s and today. We’ve undergone different changes in personnel, but the core of Andrew, Renee, and myself remain a constant after 15 years and counting. These days we play large special events in all corners of the Houston community- and we are frequently found at the House of Blues -Houston as well as hip hangouts in H-Town’s The Heights district. We still love the 80s and show it every time we take the stage. I think that’s why Houston still loves us so much!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

We’ve had huge challenges just like any band….naturally, sometimes there are personalities that clash or creative differences. But our core group has lasted this long because we truly are like family and have been through so many things together. It seems like people go through relationships, breakups, and the works- but the band is the one thing that still stands today. We know what it’s like to play a packed arena and to open for national acts like A Flock of Seagulls, but we also know what it’s like to play in a creepy place in the middle of nowhere that some booking agent sent us to. We’ve always made the best of it no matter where we are- and it’s made for some fun, unforgettable wild experiences along the way. There was also the time our original bass player almost got in a fight with the bar manager at a joint, and that wasn’t too pretty. Being in a band is like becoming a creature of the night- and there’s a whole sordid underbelly of the nightlife scene some people never see. And believe me, they are lucky because you don’t want to see it all!

Can you give our readers some background on your music?

We are a five-piece cover band focusing on the hits of the 80s, but also we do a lot of hits from the 70s, 90s, and even today. We specialize in sounding as close to the original artists as we possibly can. Some of the great compliments we’ve gotten from audiences are that they believe we sound just like the hits on the radio. One time at the House of Blues, a stage manager commented Cyndi Lauper had just played there three weeks earlier, and they felt Renee sounded even better than her on ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” We all take turns singing lead within our respective vocal ranges, and when Renee and I team up to do ‘Love Shack,’ we’ve had people believe we used to be in The B-52s. It’s very special to receive those kinds of compliments, but we work very hard to put on an incredible show just as the original artists did!

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?

I think our success comes from each show we perform- and the amount of passion we put into it. In rock-n-roll, you’re only as good as your next gig. We never forget that, and we never stop working to make each show the best it can be – regardless of any obstacles we may have to overcome at any given time. Our drummer- Steve Bundrick – was just a victim of a heinous robbery at a convenience store a few weeks ago. He received a proclamation from his city council member for his heroics in chasing the robbers out of the store. But he also was struck by the getaway car and suffered 17 staples in the back of his head, after it split open and knocked him unconscious in the parking lot. Still, the show must go on….and just weeks later, Steve is back in the drummer’s chair and ready to rock the world! That’s the kind of musicians we are!

Contact Info:

Address: 10214 Georgibelle Dr
Houston, TX 77043
Website: www.TheLostBoysBand.com
Phone: 310-650-8775
Email: bookings@thelostboysband.com
Instagram: instagram.com/lostboysbandhtx
Facebook: facebook.com/lostboysband - Voyage Houston