Poster for the band’s debut concert, 1973
ABOUT
Flashback to 1973. Two years before Kim Fowley would unveil his teenage Runaways to an unsuspecting world, the rock ‘n’ roll Svengali of the Sunset Strip was assembling the Hollywood Stars. Fowley conceptualized the group as a West Coast answer to the New York Dolls — having the energy and excitement of mid-60s pop and rock, with the crunchy guitars and attitude of hard rock.
The “teen appeal” original lineup of the Stars comprised Scott Phares (vocals), Mark Anthony (guitar), Ruben De Fuentes (guitar), Terry Rae (drums) and Gary Van Dyke (bass). These young men had caught a buzz off the British Invasion of the prior decade, and by the late ‘60s they were active participants in the garage and psychedelic explosions which brought forth such Southern California sensations as the Byrds, the Doors, Love, the Seeds, the Music Machine, and countless others.
Rising to prominence during the glitter rock days of the Starwood and Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco, the Hollywood Stars struck upon a songwriting formula which featured hooks and choruses as indelible as the bubblegum hits of a few years prior. However, the Stars’ approach was energized with the power pop drive of the Sweet and the Move, and the glam swagger of Cockney Rebel and Hunky Dory-era David Bowie.
Flash forward to November 2018. Forty years after the band’s breakup, the Hollywood Stars reconvened for a special event at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles. The audience was enraptured at the sight of this legendary band springing back to full-blown rock ‘n’ roll glory. In 2019, the previously unreleased 1976 album, Sound City, finally arrived in stores, and in 2023, the group released the Still Around EP, which featured the band’s first new songs in 46 years.
The Hollywood Stars continue to record and tour. The current lineup includes vocalist Scott Phares and drummer Terry Rae (founding members in 1973), bassist Michael Rummans (joined in 1976), and guitarists Jeff Jourard and George Keller (recruited in 2023). Jourard was an early member of the Motels and co-wrote that band’s second single, “Total Control,” with Martha Davis. He also played guitar on 1976’s Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Keller has played sessions with George Cromarty, Tina Turner backing vocalist Ann Behringer, Colin Carter, the Stingrays, and alongside Rummans in the LA garage rock band, the Sloths. The Hollywood Stars released a new studio album, Starstruck, on June 14, 2024.
MEDIA BREAKS
Record Collector Magazine / UK (Interview w/ Scott Phares - 2024)
It’s Psychedelic Baby Mag (Interview w/ Scott Phares - 2024)
The C86 Show / UK (Interview w/ Scott Phares - 2024)
Blowing Smoke with Twisted Rico (Interview w/ Scott Phares - 2024)
Goldmine Magazine (Interview w/ Scott Phares & Michael Rummans - 2024)
Boomerocity (Interview w/ Scott Phares & Terry Rae - 2024)
It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine (Interview w/ Terry Rae - 2024)
13th Floor / New Zealand (Interview w/ Scott Phares & Jeff Jourard - 2024)
It’s Psychedelic Baby Mag (Interview w/ Michael Rummans - 2024)
It’s Psychedelic Baby Mag (Interview w/ Jeff Jourard - 2024 )
Noise11 / Australia (Interview w/ Jeff Jourard - 2024)
Rock Daydream Nation / Australia (Interview w/ Jeff Jourard - 2024)
Baxie’s Musical Podcast / WAQY Radio (Interview w/ Jeff Jourard - 2024)
Sweet Sweet Music Blog (Interview w/ George Keller - 2024)
Music Connection Magazine (Concert review)
Shindig! Magazine / UK (“Taxi Driver” single review)
The Big Takeover (Starstruck review)
The Midlands Rocks / UK (Starstruck review)
Musoscribe (Starstruck review)
Add To Want List (Starstruck review)
Ruta 66 / Spain (Starstruck review)
LA Weekly (Live review 2023)
MetalTalk (Career-spanning feature)
AllMusic (Sound City review)
LA Weekly (‘Album of the Week’ for Sound City)
LA Weekly (Whisky A Go Go “Concert Pick” + interview w/ Scott Phares)
Pandora Radio (Hour-long audio interview w/ Scott for “Pandora Stories” feature)
Modern Drummer Magazine (Interview w/ Terry Rae)
Strange Brew Podcast / UK (Interview w/ Terry Rae)
Dangerous Minds (Interview w/ Terry Rae)
Reprobate Press / UK (Career-spanning feature)
Classic Rock Magazine (‘8 out of 10’ Sound City review)
Shindig! Magazine (4-star album Sound City review)
Ugly Things Magazine (Sound City review)
The Big Takeover (Sound City review)
Goldmine Magazine (Sound City review)
We Are Cult / UK (Sound City review)
Musoscribe (Sound City review)
OX-Fanzine / Germany (‘8 out of 10’ Sound City review)
The Arts Desk / UK (Sound City review)
AntiMusic (Sound City review)
Vintage Music Club / France (Sound City review)
Fireworks Rock & Metal Magazine / UK (Sound City review)
Let It Rock.com / Canada (Sound City review)
The Portable Infinite (Whisky concert recap - July 2019)
Pitchfork (“Ten Essential Kim Fowley Tracks” feature)
AllMusic (Shine Like a Radio: The Great Lost 1974 Album review - 4 stars)
Record Collector Magazine (Shine Like a Radio: The Great Lost 1974 Album review - 5 stars)
