History : Part III
Enuff Z'Nuff didn't have to find a replacement drummer, he found the band. As Donnie described, "Ricky bugged us 'til we hired him. He called us every day, he sent us pictures of his ugly mug, he sent us videos, we were in New York and he had sent us his promo package...we thought we'd give him a shot. He came down, he banged on the drums, he was solid and sounded real good. He did us a favor because he really filled the spot."

With no hard feelings with Vik and the band in full configuration again, they did a few stateside dates to break Ricky in before their European tour in support of Poison. Chip and Donnie played a two-hour acoustic request show on Y-108 radio with Scott Loftus, an appearance that would become the most bootlegged Enuff Z'Nuff show of all time. They shot a video for the single "Right By Your Side" at a beautiful Chicago ampitheater that Chip's grandfather used to paint years ago. It would turn into the first music video the band was truly proud of.

Vik Foxx and Ricky Parent

Promo Picture Before Ricky Parent Joins


Promo Picture Soon After: Ricky, Chip, Donnie, and Derek
Promotion goes into full swing. The band does another highly-bootlegged encore acoustic set on Y-108 radio. Critics and collegues embrace the album. Led Zepplin's Robert Plant told MTV that he thought Enuff Z’Nuff was the perfect blending of pop and metal. The band makes some more appearances on Howard Stern. One of Chip's stories about Madonna (whom he used to date) gets mentioned in Stern's newly released book Private Parts. The band joins Stern for some book signings, get some radio play, but it seems yet again the band is not getting the exposure they deserve. The music scene has changed, and suddenly the grunge movement kills the amount of airplay Enuff Z'Nuff's power ballad "Right By Your Side" will see in America. Nirvana and Pearl Jam become the new bands MTV plays. Enuff Z'Nuff not fitting in with this trend, Arista seems to lose all faith in the band. However, the band's album is a hit in Europe and Japan, and Chip and Donnie fly to the Far East for multiple TV and radio appearances to support their new album. As for the band's relationship with Arista, there seems to be some hidden trouble that doomed the band before the album was even released...

As Chip recently explained in a candid interview with the magazine, Metal Edge:

The band flew to L.A. for a prestigious showcase gig with Clive Davis and all the Arista bigwigs in the crowd. "So here's Clive," recounts Chip, "introducing all the new artists on the label, saying how great they were doin'...'And at 12 million, we have Barry Manilow,'" imitates Chip, "and everybody claps, 'And at 15 million, we have Whitney Houston,' and everybody claps, 'at eight million, Kenny G,' and while he's announcing all these people on the roster, Donnie sneaks up on the stage with two roses and sticks them between Clive's legs simulating a hard-on! Now Clive--being a very sharp man--looks down, sees the flowers, and says, 'Oh, I guess everything's coming up roses!'

"So we play the show," continues Chip, "a blazing show, two hours at The Roxy, two encores, yet when we came back after the second encore, management says, 'You shot your foot off out there. Clive says it's not the show he expected--He wanted The Raspberries and Badfinger, and you gave him almost metal!'"

So did Donnie's joke on Clive turn into the band's ultimate mistake? The band doesn't know for sure, since Clive seemed to take everything in good humor, and Chip admits that the band DID in fact send Arista their poppier music when they got signed. The band's relationship with Arista certainly wasn't coming up roses. Enuff Z'Nuff is no longer a priority for Arista; the label wants to break the band up and give Donnie a pop-rock oriented solo

project. Donnie refuses, at the time unwilling to leave his adopted brother Chip and their band behind. The album's follow up single is released, "Innocence," and Arista doesn't push it at all. The band finds themselves unhappy, is in financial debt, and managment again advises the band to leave the label. Enuff Z'Nuff ask Arista to be released from their contract, and Arista complies.

However, leaving the circus of major labels would soon prove to have many benefits for the band. Never in the dark when it comes to writing songs, the band would soon show an unprecidented outburst of productivity and creativity in the following year, releasing 3 albums within the span of a few months in Japan in 1994. Chip mentioned with a smile about how they were going to make the Guiness Book Of World Records.


CD Single "Innocence" Cover

Part IV