Some of the greatest bands in the music industry are ones
that most people have never heard of. It’s an unfortunate bi-product of the
industry. Only so many bands can get the proper level of promotion. Only
certain bands have the magical stroke of luck that pushes them out of obscurity
and into notoriety. For every Cinderella, Poison, and Motley Crue, there are
the Nitro’s, Slyder’s, and Blackeyed Susan’s of the industry. Sadly, some of
the most talented musicians in the world wither away in the realms of “never
heard of them.” Tuff Luck is one of those bands and theirs may be the saddest
story of an unknown band that shouldn’t be.
Growing up as a youth in the 80s, Tuff Luck would have
fit right into my wheelhouse had I ever had the chance to hear their music. Their
posters would have graced my bedroom walls right next to KISS, Van Halen, and
Poison. Tuff Luck was a hard rocking, hair metal band from South Florida
tearing up the scene in the mid-to-late 80s. They had the look. They had the
talent. They had the local following. What they lacked was the one lucky break that
would have turned their entire career around. Seeing such talent not make it is
a true shame.
A lot of bands proclaim the talent that their members
possess, but from the clips and audio tracks portrayed in this documentary,
it’s clearly obvious that Tuff Luck possessed the talent. They had one of the
most amazing guitarists in Dave Scott. I would put him up there with Nuno
Bettencourt and Slash. He was light years ahead of CC Deville. Todd Kelly was
one of the best drummers of his day, and he would have drummed rings around
Fred Coury or Carmine Appice. And he would have smoked Tommy Lee. Then there
was the very young, insanely talented, James Marino on bass. He played music
with the bass guitar that just wasn’t possible. He would have made Kip Winger
look like a fool and he definitely would have given Billy Sheehan a run for his
money. Rounding out the band was lead vocalist Kenny Monroe, who had the frontman
presence of Bruce Dickinson merged with Brian Johnson. He commanded the
audience as soon as he set foot onto the stage.
And yet with all of this talent, with all of the buzz and
sold out shows in the South Florida area, Tuff Luck is a story about the band
that didn’t make it. Hard times, terrible breaks, and poor decisions just
haunted them from the beginning. “Tuff Luck” chronicles the story of the band from
their humble beginnings, through their rise to local fame, to their almost
superstardom blast off, and then finally through their demise. There’s even a
glimpse of their lives now. I must admit that by the end of this documentary I
was saddened. Tuff Luck is a band that should be headlining the M3 Festival
next year, and instead, they are a band that most people are just hearing now,
20 years after their ending. This is a documentary of what could have happened
as well as what didn’t happen, and it sheds light on how much luck needs to
accompany talent in order to make it big.
At the end of it all, the band members are grateful for
the time and fans they had. They have put that part of their lives behind them
and moved on to other careers. They were just one of the unfortunate casualties
of the late 80s hard rock scene. Tuff Luck should have been a household name,
instead they disintegrated in the wasteland of obscurity.
Without a doubt, “Tuff Luck” is the best rock documentary
I have ever seen. It details the incredible journey of an exquisite underdog
band that almost made it, and highlights their share of tragedy. There is not a
finer rock documentary out there and I implore everyone to see this film. You
will not only be thoroughly entertained, but you will also be scrambling to
EBay, looking to buy that rare copy of a Tuff Luck bootleg. Yeah, the band is
that good.
“Tuff Luck” is available on Amazon and ITunes now. Get
some!
You can also watch it on Amazon Instant Video:
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