Lou Miami (February 11, 1956 – July 25, 1995) was an American
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
based in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
, United States. His group, The Kozmetix, was popular on the local scene and released two
EPs. He combined a rough punk sound with a
glam-influenced choice of clothing.
Biography
Career
As was typical for many punk
bands at the time, the Kozmetix regularly played at
The Rathskeller
The Rathskeller (known as The Rat) was a live music venue in Boston that was open from 1974 to 1997. It was considered the "granddaddy" of Boston rock venues.
During its heyday, the Rat hosted such acts as the Cars, the Pixies, Metallica, Dea ...
,
The Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
, Jonathan Swifts, Cantones, and Spit as well as
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
venues such as the Peppermint Lounge, and the old Living Room in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. Lou Miami and the Kozmetix also regularly played the Inn-Square Men's Bar in
Inman Square
Inman Square is a neighborhood and historic district in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It lies north of Central Square, at the junction of Cambridge, Hampshire, and Inman Streets near the Cambridge– Somerville border.
Location
Like many squar ...
,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
.
In The Kozmetix, Miami was the
lead singer
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
, Jack Rootoo played
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
, H.P. (aka Helen Privett)
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, Dolores Paradise
organ, and Laural Blanchard
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
s.
During the band's touring years from 1979 to 1981, the Kozmetix line-up was Miami on vocals, Rootoo guitar, Bill Norcott on bass and Melodye Chisholm (now known as Melodye Buskin) on drums. Norcott and Chisholm were previously members of Phobia. This line-up had a regular Monday night gig at Cantones for two years, as well as appearing at numerous clubs in the Boston area. The group was managed by Joan Martin. (Note: the band toured past 1981. They were regulars at the Living Room on Promenade St. in Providence, at least up until 1983.) Following the release of their first single and subsequent LP, the band's popularity spread to suburbia, and throughout 1984 the band made regular appearances at KJ's Hollywood & Vine, a venue 30 miles from either Boston or Providence.
Their first
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
"Fascist Lover" b/w "To Sir with Love" was sold in a white plastic cosmetics bag that mimicked a
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...
shopping bag. "Fascist Lover" contained the
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
, "A fascist lover that made my mother, and then my mother made me." Their
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
''Lou Miami & The Kozmetix'' was
produced by Ann Prim and Karen Kirby, both from the Boston-based band
November Group.
On their second album, ''Rituals,'' the band consisted of Miami, lead singer; Rootoo, lead guitar; H.P., bass guitar; Laurel Blanchard, drums; and Toby Ingalls, rhythm guitars. Additional musicians used were
Chris Spedding
Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...
and Kristi Rose.
Videos
Miami's
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of "
One Hundred Years from Today" was done in a
retro
Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...
style, imitating the voice and music of singers from the 1920s.
Deaths
Miami died of
heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in August 1995. Jack Rootoo (Richard J. Galvin) died of
esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...
in Massachusetts on June 13, 2008, at the age of 51.
Discography
EPs
* ''Lou Miami & the Kozmetix
'' (1982)
* ''Rituals'' (1985)
Singles
* "Fascist Lover" and "To Sir With Love"
References
External links
Photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miami, Lou
1956 births
American punk rock musicians
1995 deaths
Musical groups from Boston
20th-century American musicians