Balance -

Balance was an American rock band that released the 1981/82 albums Balance and In for the Count and scored a Top 25 hit with “Breaking Away.”

Members: Peppy Castro (vocals), Bob Kulick (guitar), Doug Katsaros (keyboards), Chuck Burgi (drums), Dennis Feldman (bass)

Background

Balance formed in 1979 when veteran rock singer Peppy Castro teamed with journeyman guitarist Bob Kulick and relative newcomer Doug Katsaros. The trio first interacted on the 1978 solo album by Kiss frontman Paul Stanley.

Castro (b. Emil Thielhelm, 1949) first emerged in the Blue Magoos, the Sixties Bronx garage-rock band that scored a 1966 hit with “We Ain’t Got Nothing Yes” (a future Nuggets mainstay) and released five albums through 1970 on Mercury and ABC. He then formed Barnaby Bye, a two-album Atlantic act with ex-Illusion drummer Mike Ricciardella and brothers Billy and Bobby Alessi, a future soft-rock duo. Castro and Ricciardella then formed Wiggy Bits, a hard-rock quintet that made one album in 1976 on Polydor. Without Castro, three-fifths of that band formed Network, an AOR septet that cut two albums for Epic.

Kulick (b. January 16, 1956, Brooklyn) earned his first credit on one track (“Sweet Sweet Funky Music”) on Good Times a’ Comin’, the second album by Hookfoot, an English rustic-rock quartet that doubled as studio backing musicians for Elton John. After an unsuccessful 1973 audition for the first Kiss lineup, Kulick backed Lou Reed on the ex-Velvets 1974 album Coney Island Baby and played on Wild Angel, the Reed-produced 1976 album by Nelson Slater. He also played on albums by Ruth Copeland (Take Me to Baltimore), singer-songwriter Michael Wendroff, and RCA funk-rockers Pepper.

In 1978, when each member of Kiss recorded a solo album for Casablanca, Kulick played multi-tracked guitar (acoustic and electric lead) across Paul Stanley, which features vocal backing by Castro on two tracks, including one (“Hold Me, Touch Me”) with pianist ‘Gling’ Katsaros in his first documented credit.

The three musicians recorded their first album as Balance with bassists John Siegler (Air, Utopia), Willie Weeks (Gypsy, Full Moon), and drummer Andy Newmark, a prolific sessionist (Carly Simon, Gary Wright, Lalo Schifrin, Sly & the Family Stone) with recent credits behind Andy Pratt, Carolyne Mas, Cheryl Lynn, and Rickie Lee Jones.

Balance

Balance released their self-titled debut album in July 1981 on Portrait.

The album blends polished studio arrangements with dual emphasis on guitar and keyboards. Guitarist Bob Kulick trades spotlight lines with keyboardist Doug Katsaros, whose string arrangements and backing vocals add depth behind Peppy Castro’s leads.

Balance opens with tightly arranged mid-tempo tracks that spotlight bright keyboard textures and controlled guitar accents. “(Looking for the) Magic” opens with a shimmering synth motif that trails into a crisp rhythm section, while “I’m Through Loving You” centers on rhythmic keyboard stabs with short vocal phrases stacked over them. “Fly Through the Night” moves slower, introducing the album’s most expressive piano sequence, followed by a gradual build into layered guitar and vocal swells. “American Dream” adds cinematic scale with its upward string flourishes and sustained chord passages. “Hot Summer Nights” and “It’s So Strange” close the set with more assertive pacing and sharper guitar presence. Despite surface uniformity, shifts in density and phrasing keep the sequence varied.

A1. “(Looking For The) Magic” (3:57)
A2. “I’m Through Loving You” (3:04)
A3. “Breaking Away” (3:15)
A4. “No Getting Around My Love” (3:52)
A5. “Fly Through the Night” (3:58)

B1. “American Dream” (4:18)
B2. “Haunting” (3:50)
B3. “Falling in Love” (3:17) – backing vocals by Paul Stanley
B4. “Hot Summer Nights” (3:21)
B5. “It’s So Strange” (4:09)

Balance self-produced the album with engineering and co-production by Tony Bongiovi at Power Station in New York, where it was also mixed and mastered. Doug Katsaros handled string arrangements, performed by the Max Ellen Strings. Siegler and Weeks alternate bass while Andy Newmark drums throughout. Jimmy Maelen plays congas on “Breaking Away.”

“Breaking Away” appeared first in June 1981 on 7″ backed with “It’s So Strange.” It peaked at No. 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 35 in Canada. “Falling in Love” followed in November, backed with “Fly Through the Night,” and peaked at No. 58 in the US.

In for the Count

Balance released their second album, In for the Count, 1982 on Portrait.

The album sharpens their layered approach with expanded interplay between guitarist Bob Kulick and keyboardist Doug Katsaros, whose synth lines and harmonic accents heighten the arrangements around Kulick’s phrasing. Peppy Castro, Katsaros, and Kulick share production credits, continuing the trio’s hands-on role in shaping the sound. Wiggy Bits bassist Dennis Feldman and serial drummer Chuck Burgi (Brand X, Hall & Oates) joined for this release.

A1. “In for the Count” (4:52)
A2. “Is It Over” (3:05)
A3. “Slow Motion” (4:24)
A4. “Undercover Man” (4:27)

B1. “On My Honor” (3:33)
B2. “All the Way” (3:37)
B3. “Pull the Plug” (3:43)
B4. “Bedroom Eyes” (3:55)
B5. “We Can Have It All” (3:47)

Sessions took place at Power Station in New York and Criteria Studios in Miami. Balance co-produced the album with Tony Bongiovi, who also served as one of seven engineers involved in tracking and mixing. Doug Katsaros contributed additional engineering and string arrangements. Barry Levine shot the sleeve photography.

“American Dream” b/w “I’m Through Loving You” appeared as a 7″ in March 1982. “Slow Motion,” backed with “Is It Over,” followed in July.

Postlude

Balance bowed out with the 1983 single “Ride the Wave” (b/w “She’s Alone Tonight”), issued by Polydor exclusively in Japan, where the band played their final shows.

Kulick and Katsaros played on the eponymous third solo album by Michael Bolton while Castro and Katsaros interacted on the ex-Blackjack singer’s fourth, Everybody’s Crazy. Castro and Kulick each played on different albums by Diana Ross and separately on titles by Aldo Nova and Meat Loaf, respectively. Katsaros did uncredited work as a Kiss auxiliary and played on the 1983 release by Arc Angel, an AOR one-off by journeyman Jeff Cannata (Jasper Wrath, Zoldar & Clark).

Discography: