XYZ

A hard rock/glam-pop metal unit with roots in both France and the United States, XYZ was founded in 1986 by bassist Patt Fontaine and vocalist Terry Ilous, both of whom had grown up together in Lyon, France before relocating to Los Angeles. The original lineup of Fontaine, Ilous, Bobby Pieper (guitar), and Joey Pafumi (drums) honed their chops in and around the Sunset Strip, and in 1989 inked a deal with Enigma Records and released the band's eponymous debut album -- by that time Marc Richard Diglio had taken over guitar duties and Paul Monroe was behind the kit. The Don Dokken-produced album peaked at number 99 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the singles "Inside Out" and "What Keeps Me Loving You," and caught the attention of Capitol, which signed the band the following year. XYZ's major-label sophomore outing, Hungry, arrived in 1991, but was largely ignored outside of the hair metal community, due in large part to the arrival of first wave grunge bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The group disbanded shortly after completing their tour in support of the album, but reunited in 2002 with the lineup of Ilous, Fontaine, Tony Marcus, and Joey Shapiro. That iteration of XYZ continued to tour and release new material, including 2003's Letter to God, 2005's Rainy Days, and 2008's greatest-hits collection Best of XYZ. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi