Sheriff

Origin: Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

SHERIFF

Rob Elliott - Wolf D. Hassel - Steve DeMarchi - Arnold David Lanni - Freddy Curci

Discography:

st - 1982

Notes:

- Formed in 1979 by friends Arnold Lanni on keyboards and vocalist Freddy Curci, Sheriff was rounded out by longtime friend/bassist Wolf Hassel, Steve de Marchi on guitars, and Rob Elliott on drums. With a blend of light rock and pop sensibility, they became fixtures on the Toronto scene while writing their own material.

In 1982 they signed a deal with Capitol Records, and released their self-titled debut album later that year. Produced by John and Helen Victor, the record was soft rock delivered with a punch. The first single "You Remind Me" scored them a Canadian top 40 hit, and they set out on the road across Canada. Their biggest ticket was backing up The Beach Boys on the Canadian leg of their world tour. The band's follow-up single, "Mama's Baby" stalled before ever getting out of the gate. But the third single, "When I'm With You" became one of the most played ballads of the decade, on its way to #1 on the Canadian charts and peaking at #61 in the US, and pushing the album gold (50,000 units) in Canada.

But within a year, musical differences were coupled with the fact they were barely breaking even, and caused the band's demise. Lanni and Hassel later formed Frozen Ghost. Lanni would also go on to become a highly sought after producer, working with the likes of Finger Eleven, Wild T & The Spirit, Our Lady Peace, and King's X, among many others.

But in 1989, a Las Vegas DJ started playing "When I'm With You," prompting other stations around the market, then the country, to do the same. The song spent 30 weeks on the charts, eventually selling over half a million copies, six years after the band's breakup. The renewed interest led Capitol to re-release the album on compact disc that year, though there were no added bonuses. Additionally, label reps pressured the band to reform to cash in on the newfound exposure, but Lanni, who owned the band name, declined. As a result, Curci and DeMarchi took their two dozen demos they'd recorded, shopped them around, and formed Alias in 1990 with remnants of Heart.

In early 2005, an acoustic version of "More Than Words Can Say" was released on a VH1 compilation disc, CLASSIC METAL MANIA: STRIPPED. -

(http://www.canadianbands.com/Sheriff.html)

- Sheriff was a Canadian rock band in the early 1980s, best known for their hit song "When I'm with You".

The band was formed in 1979 in Toronto, Ontario and consisted of vocalist Freddy Curci, guitarist Steve DeMarchi, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Arnold Lanni, bassist Wolf Hassel and drummer Rob Elliott. The band's only full-length release was a self-titled 1982 album, that featured a Canadian Top 40 hit, "You Remind Me" as well as their most famous song, "When I'm with You", which reached #8 in Canada and #61 in the United States in 1983 and six years later was re-released and hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. in 1989. The band split up in 1985, citing internal tensions. Lanni and Hassel went on to form Frozen Ghost and racked up several hits in Canada, the biggest of which was "Should I See," which reached #69 in the U.S.

Six years after "When I'm with You" had been a chart hit in Canada, Las Vegas DJ Jay Taylor began playing the song. KRXY DJ Gabe Baptiste also started playing "When I'm With You," and listener response was positive. As a result, Capitol Records re-released the song. It subsequently became #1 in the United States in February 1989. While Curci and DeMarchi made efforts to re-form Sheriff, a reunion was not to be. The lack of interest from other Sheriff bandmembers eventually led Curci and DeMarchi to team up with several former members of Heart to form Alias, who in the early 1990s had two popular singles, with "Waiting for Love" and their #2 success, "More Than Words Can Say."

Meanwhile, Lanni and Hassel continued to work with Frozen Ghost until they split up in 1993.

Curci and DeMarchi resurrected the Alias name in 2009 with new members, and they released their second album (which had been shelved seventeen years prior). They continue to tour with Alias.

Lanni has become a producer, having worked with Our Lady Peace, Finger Eleven, and Simple Plan, among others.

At an Alias concert on December 30, 2011 at Cosmo Music in Ontario, original Sheriff bassist, Wolf Hassel joined Curci and DeMarchi on stage for the first time in 27 years for a full set, which included a performance of "When I'm with You." This performance would ultimately lead to Hassel joining Alias on a permanent basis in 2014. -

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheriff_(band))

- Listening to this album time and again still sends shivers of AOR delight down my spine. It's hard to believe this piece of Canadian perfection came out in 1982, it still sounds fresh now as it did back all those years ago. Initially this album sort of came out of nowhere, though a big label release on Capitol got it a higher profile. From my perspective not much is known about the bands earlier history (apart from being Toronto natives), though they began around 1979 and we all know that the members (with the exception of Elliott) went onto bigger and better things with their future respective projects. For me Sheriff first came to prominence courtesy of their appearance in Derek Oliver's Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. Upon their description I knew I just had to have this album so in 1982 I imported it from the UK and was not disappointed. The 'X factor' with Sheriff is obviously the incredible vocals of Freddy 'The Human Siren' Curci. This guy sings with power and melody and to this day I rank him right up there with the Mark Free's and Steve Perry's of this world. However, not to be outdone is the gifted song writing talent that is Arnold Lanni. His contribution to the album is enormous, in fact his efforts are represented on all the songs and melody and harmony are a pre-requisite.

All the songs are wonderful, some more than most. 'California', and 'Makin' My Way' feature soaring vocals from Curci while 'Kept Me Coming' and 'Give Me Rock And Roll' really rock the ante up a bit. For me the highlights are the AOR tastic 'Mama's Baby' and the superb ballad 'When I'm With You'. Funny how 6 years after the bands demise does this track get radio play to the point of going to No#1 on the US Top 40! Funny also how the track as it appears on the remastered CD from 1988 is slightly different to the original version put on vinyl in 1982. For collectors see if you can spot the difference.

Sheriff went nowhere fast and by 1985 they were no more. Later on they metamorphosed into two separate units: Frozen Ghost featuring Lanni and Hassel while Alias contained Curci and De Marchi (along with ex Heart members) and in itself was a fine band. Even with the success of 'When I'm With You' in 1988, Sheriff could not be persuaded to rejoin, mainly because Lanni had the Frozen Ghost gig happening and was the principle songwriter and did not want Sheriff going out without his involvement. Alias was also happening but by the time their second album was due, the bottom fell out and the material eventually became Freddy Curci's 1994 solo album 'Dreamers Road'. However, even after thirty years, you can't keep a good album down, and 2012 paid tribute to this great album with a Rock Candy reissue, adding eight additional bonus tracks of a 1983 live performance at El Mocambo (7 tracks + intro). -

(http://gdm.glorydazemusic.com/articles.php?article_id=529)