Donnie Iris

[devildog]

Is anyone familiar with Donnie Iris? Do you consider him new wave? He put out a handful of albums but is probably best known for the hit, "Ah Leah", which is not really new wave sounding. "Back On The Streets" and "King Cool" are great. In my opionion, he integrated power pop, rock, pub rock, and new wave. Ian Hunter comes to mind as another artist who did the same.

I wonder if Donnie Iris will ever have his later works appear on cd? (Wounded Bird? Superfecta? [:D]) Anyone know what became of Donnie?

[rewind]

Always liked "Love Is Like A Rock."

[bpdp3]

I didn't consider him new wave, but always liked his stuff. "Do You Compute" was another really good minor hit by him - 3rd lp I think - -lot more synths on that one.

The first lp, with the Costello-esque glasses and the bright yellow suit on the cover, probably is an indicator of the times, when record execs were trying to pass artists off as "new wave".... hell, I remember hearing Pat Benetar and Tom Petty described as new wave in some mags...

[fritzb]

"Ah Leah" was a great song, but I never considered Donnie Iris to be New Wave. I've never heard anything else by him.

[ExRat]

I am far too familiar with Donnie Iris - I'm from Pittsburgh! Although I am not a huge fan of Donnie's music, and he certainly is not New Wave, I do have a lot of respect for him. He's done a lot for the music scene in Western Pennsylvania and we're quite proud of him. He is a good example of the no-nonsense Pittsburgh rock ethic.

[Grunch]

Interesting note about Donnie Iris. His last name was originally spelled Ierace(close I think) when he was with the group The Jaggerz, who had the big hit "The Rapper" in late 60s.

I guess I think of his 80s stuff as more guitar-synth power pop, not of the jangly variety.

[pilon]

[:)][:)][:)]

I have also the two Lp's of Donnie iris and its great albums

im' alright with this definition it's great pub rock power pop artists

bye

pilon

[Surly]

There is one decent compilation out there, the "20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection" released by MCA a couple of years ago (too bad it wasn't compiled by an actual fan...it could have been better). Anway, I bought a copy of his 1984 CD "No Muss...No Fuss" directly from his website. It may still be available. Anything beyond that album is pretty low quality, in my opinion. Razor & Tie released his first two albums a long time ago. One Way Records was planning on reissuing his 3rd and 4th MCA albums ("The High And The Mighty" and "Fortune 410") but couldn't meet Universal's guarantees (and One Way has since folded). I grew up in Cleveland, which is Donnie's "second home." He still plays there every year and his music was all over Cleveland radio back in the '80s. Definitely not new wave, but it is decent, melodic rock. Before forming The Cruisers, he was a touring bassist with Wild Cherry (from Steubenville, OH). Mark Avsec of The Cruisers released 2 albums in the late '80s under the name Cellarful Of Noise, and slightly dented the charts with the song "Samantha" from the second album, which Donnie performs on.

[WoodlandParkPunk]

Love Donnie Iris. He had that crisp, "poppy" sound.

[randy]

Back on the Streets is a classic. Nuff said.

[patchyfogg]

2 Friday nights ago, I was in the Gaf Bar on West 48th in NYC which has an awesome CD jukebox filled with New Wave stuff. I put in about 26 (but who's counting, right?) selections including "Ah! Leah!" Later on that night, some guy comes over to me and says "Are you from Pittsburgh?" I said "No." He explained that he figured out that it was me who put in the Donnie Iris song, and that Donnie is still a legend down there. I told him that there had been a thread on that very topic at this website. We then talked about all of Donnie's other "hits" and how he's 60-years-old now.

[schwenko]

[quote][i]Originally posted by patchyfogg[/i]
<br>2 Friday nights ago, I was in the Gaf Bar on West 48th in NYC which has an awesome CD jukebox filled with New Wave stuff. I put in about 26 (but who's counting, right?) selections including "Ah! Leah!" Later on that night, some guy comes over to me and says "Are you from Pittsburgh?" I said "No." He explained that he figured out that it was me who put in the Donnie Iris song, and that Donnie is still a legend down there. I told him that there had been a thread on that very topic at this website. We then talked about all of Donnie's other "hits" and how he's 60-years-old now.


[/quote]

Ya mean this place?

The Gaf

401 W 48th St., 212/472-8176

Yes, The Gaf is a different joint than Gaf Bar--but barely. The only real difference is about 35 streets, six avenues and a little lower decibel level. The Hell's Kitchen crowd seems amazingly similar to the UES folks, but seems to avoid the kiddies that all UES bars sometimes attract. The bar is your typical small Irish pub, wood-style deal with a long bar opposite the door, TVs in the corners, a mini-bowling game, darts, a lot of smoke and mix of classic rock and U2 to put you in that drinking mood. The only break from the norm is the space downstairs that attempts the lounge thing, complete with couches and the like. (We never would have noticed it was there hadn't the bathroom been downstairs.) The atmosphere here is low-key and tends to cater to a less rambunctious clientele, but we may have been there on a slow weekend. We're sure that once the underage, bridge-and-tunnel crowd comes to the realization that Hell's Kitchen isn't quite as scary as it sounds, places like The Gaf will be packed with the same spandex and glitter lovin' teens that tend to invade all the UES bars during the warmer months and school vacations. [MF]

[patchyfogg]

Yup, that's the place. Meow to that catty little reviewer. I love how he/she thinks that New Wave is "Classic Rock."

[SomebodySomewhere]

A buddy of mine worked at The Gaf a few years ago. (I used to tend bar right around the corner from there.) I remember the smoke. Not sure if there's still good business now with the smoking ban.

Oh, topic.

Donnie was one of several MCA labelmates who totally got screwed when Irv Azoff took over in 1983. "Fortune 410" was NOT promoted well at all, and "Do You Compute?" was the only single -- even though there were plenty of worthy followups. Then after that album unsurprisingly sold poorly, Azoff and his team apparently told Donnie to can Avsec as producer, or they'd be dropped. I don't know if Donnie told him to stuff it or what, but that was the end of their association with MCA. I remember an interview with Avsec where he seemed pretty ticked off at the label for not releasing "That's the Way Love Ought to Be" as a single. I agreed with that, and I thought "Parallel Time" should have been one, too.

Guitarist Marty Lee had a heart attack a year or two ago. Hope he's doing better.

[randy]

Yes, its old thread day again!![:D]