Autograph began in late 1983 originally as a solo project for singer, songwriter & guitarist Steve Plunkett, who had recently left the band Silver Condor. Plunkett then began playing and recording his own material with a group of his musician friends, most of whom had previously played with him in other bands.
On lead guitar was Steve Lynch, who had played with Plunkett in the band Looker.
Bassist Randy Rand knew Plunkett from their days together in Wolfgang, a prominent club band in Los Angeles, California, and which has been described as a local legend.
Keyboardist Steve Isham, who had also earlier played with mutual acquaintance Holly Penfield, was brought in to give the fledgling band a more modern sound.
Drummer Keni Richards, an old bandmate with Plunkett from John Doe rounded out the band's makeup. Richards' friendship with Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth was instrumental in leading to Autograph's big break the following year.
Plunkett chose the name "Autograph" for the band, having been inspired by hearing Def Leppard's similarly titled song, "Photograph," on the radio.
They recorded their first rough demos in late 1983, but played them only for a few close friends. One of these friends, Andy Johns, a famous record producer who Steve Plunkett had met while helping singer Joe Cerisano produce Silver Condor's second album Trouble At Home. Johns invited the band to re-record and upgrade those demos at the world-famous Record Plant Studios for free under his guidance. Keni Richards then played the demo for Roth, who subsequently invited the band to open for them in their 1984 tour.
The band rose to prominence opening for Van Halen, ultimately playing 48 shows, an act of distinction for an unsigned band. Due to their rising popularity Autograph then signed a contract with RCA Records following a performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City in late 1984.
The band left RCA in early 1988 and not long after that, the label itself went bankrupt, then defunct.
In their short time they created three albums of music, toured with several famous bands, including Motley Crue, Heart, Aerosmith, Ronnie James Dio, Van Halen, Bryan Adams, and Whitesnake.
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Hair Nation A-Z is an easy series of caches along KY 3 between Prestonsburg and Inez, KY.
The highway is generally not heavily traveled, but can be very busy at times. There is plenty of parking room near each cache so be sure to get your vehicle completely off the road and use extreme caution when exiting and entering the highway.
If you have children with you, make sure you keep an extra eye on them.
Have fun and Rock on.
FTF - Ratliff_Family and dewayneandcarla !!!
