The 16 Eyes Look!

(Introducing The 16 Eyes straight from the Arizona desert with EYES from all over!

The 16 Eyes are new group comprised of garage veterans, blasting the most powerful garage sounds since the 60’s. Keep all of your Eyes and ears open!
Forged in the garage /punk/ psych/ mod scenes of New York,Philadelphia, Seattle and Cincinnati, these Phoenix residents bring their experience to the table, abd to your turntable !!!
If you like bombastic drums, fuzzy guitars, pinball bouncing bass lines and songs that will stick in your head, this band is for you. Drop the needle, PLAY IT LOUD and hold to your ears!!!)Introducing The 16 Eyes straight from the Arizona desert with EYES from all over!

The 16 Eyes are new group comprised of garage veterans, blasting the most powerful garage sounds since the 60’s. Keep all of your Eyes and ears open!
Forged in the garage /punk/ psych/ mod scenes of New York,Philadelphia, Seattle and Cincinnati, these Phoenix residents bring their experience to the table, abd to your turntable !!!
If you like bombastic drums, fuzzy guitars, pinball bouncing bass lines and songs that will stick in your head, this band is for you. Drop the needle, PLAY IT LOUD and hold to your ears

The 16eyes are:
Orin Portnoy – Bass and Vocals
Orin was born in a Garage, Orin played in The Outta Place, The Optic Nerve, The Primeval Unknown, The Automatic Erasers, Odds & Sods, and The Lone Wolves.
Originally from New York City, and Orin likes Pizza.

Frank Labor – Guitar and Vocals
Frank full of energy, Frank played in The Tickets, Labor Party, Battered Suitcases, Jeff Dahl Band and 8Five Kalidocolor.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Frank likes vegetables and sometimes hides some of his eyes.

Steve Ostrov – Guitar and Vocals
Steve is allergic to non-striped shirts, Steve played in Doc & The Pods, The Cybermen and The Freaks of Nature.
Originally from Ohio, Steve likes dogs but has never owned one.

Ward Reeder – Drums
Ward big bang and the universe started, Ward played in The Primate 5, Sinister Six, Automatic Erasers, Odds & Sods and The Glory Holes.
From Seattle, Ward likes it loud and fast.REVIEWS

New Tims – Phoenix 28/06/2018

16 Eyes features Reeder on drums as well, and is pure garage rock. Joining Reeder in 16 Eyes is bassist Orin Portnoy and guitarists Frank Labor and Steve Ostrov. Look is the band’s first full-length and is on Area Pirata Records out of Pisa, Italy. Everybody shares in the vocals, which works for the most part, although not everyone seems to be comfortable or confident behind the mic. Look could easily have come out of the ’60s garage rock scene with strong nods toward The Who (especially as Reeder channels Keith Moon on this one repeatedly, and that’s a good thing) and the Kinks. Killer stuff.

THEE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN 10/07/2018

Outta Phoenix but forged in the Garage /Punk/ Psych/ Mod scenes of New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and Cincinnati , The 16 Eyes are new group comprised of Garage Rock veterans whose musical CV includes bands such as The Outta Place, The Optic Nerve, The Primeval Unknown, The Automatic Erasers, Odds & Sods, The Lone Wolves, The Tickets, Labor Party, Battered Suitcases, Jeff Dahl Band, 8Five Kalidocolor, Doc & The Pods, The Cybermen, The Freaks of Nature, The Primate 5, Sinister Six and The Glory Holes. Released on Area Pirata Records, the band’s debut record, Look, gathers together 13 sharp originals along with their frantic version of the much covered Eddie Holland song ‘Leaving Here’ and it’s a nuclear blast of British Beat/R&B influences that channels the amphetamine charged sound of The Who, The Kinks and The Yardbirds rippin’ it up down in the Soho clubs during the mid 60s. We know there are hundreds of bands that have tapped into the sound of the post-Mod, pre-Psychedelic Freakbeat era of British music, but The 16 Eyes just seem to do it better than most. Short and sweet sounds abound with most of the 14 tracks clocking in around the two minute mark, standard time for a Freakbeat classic, as The 16 Eyes strip their songs down to a pure 60s essence. For fans of the genre this record well worth your time, check it out here…………

Avec un tel pédigrée (The Outta Place, Optic Nerve, Jeff Dahl Band, Sinister Six, The Cybermen, Odds & Sods, The Lone Wolves pour vraiment ne citer que les plus connus mais ils ont tous les 4 joué dans pléthore de groupes Garage / Mod / Psych Punk depuis presque 4 décennies) je m’attendais à du tout bon. Et c’est bien le cas !
Un album double dose avec des titres hyper catchy qui vous explosent à la gueule dès la première écoute, et, un ensemble de 14 chansons qui constitue un album varié et cependant homogène qui s’écoute, se réécoute et se révèle petit à petit !
Si vous n’écoutez que superficiellement vous aurez l’impression d’être tombé sur un disque de Garage Punk de haute gamme. Mais si vous allez plus loin vous découvrirez que ces chansons regorgent d’influences Mod / Freakbeat mais aussi qu’on entend ici et là du Wild Rock’n’Roll / Pré Punk / Proto Grunge… Par endroit on oscille entre Heavy et Pop 60’s… C’est souvent tendu (la basse très Mod) ça arrache parfois mais c’est tellement varié et si bien exécuté qu’on se régale sur toute la longueur et qu’on se ressert de ce cocktail parfaitement équilibré !Eric VANHOUTTE – Ratboy ’69 _ A Rock And Roll Blog 26/03/2017

Look, the debut full length album by THE 16 EYES   was released weeks ago on Area Pirata Records out of Pisa, Italy. The 16 Eyes included 4 garage veterans, blasting the most powerful garage and freak beat sounds since the 60’s. If you like bombastic drums, fuzzy guitars, pinball bouncing bass lines and songs that will stick in your head, this band is for you. Drop the needle, PLAY IT LOUD and hold to your ears. Time to talk to these guys:
1. For the viewers of this blog who don’t know you, What would you tell about The 16 Eyes to introduce yourselves? How long are you guys together as a band? Were you in other bands previously? Who is playing what instrument in the band?

Orin Portnoy  – I play the electric fish (bass) we have been together as a band for a few years but "together mental it’s been a long time" I use to play in  The Outta Place, The Optic Nerve, The Lone Wolves  and many other bands which have all been enjoyable

Steve Ostrov : I play guitar and have been in The Freaks Of Nature, The Cybermen, Doc & The Pods as well as a bunch of other bands who never got around to recording.  I also played drums with The Tri-City Thundercats for a week in Japan.

Frank Labor : I play guitar also. Back in the day I played in a mod band called The Ticket and later the psychedelic band 85Kalidocolor. I’ve also played with The Jeff Dahl Band, Labor Party and The Battered Suitcases more recently.

Ward : The 16 Eyes will rock your socks off. I play drums. I was in Drag King, Primate 5, Sinister 6 and Tractor Sex Fatality. Currently I play drums in Shovel, Godspeedball and The 16 Eyes. The 16 Eyes has been together as long as I can remember.

2. About the recently released record “Look”, what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a live in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs? 

Orin : We did most of it live with very few overdubs.

Steve : We recorded at  Audioconfusion  in Mesa, Arizona.  Jalipaz was a treat to work with!

Frank : Jal is a great guy and gives Orin all the credit for turning him on to live tracking. We laid all the tracks with him at AudioConfusion and did the production at our BeatBum Studio’s. We all had a hand in the mixing process and after it was complete, Sharon Labor of The Bookends (my wife and master Mastering Engineer) did the mastering. We kept it all in house. Even the cover design.  Area Pirata  was great to work with in that way. In every way really!

Ward : It was a blassy gas.

3. To what kind of music did you listen to as a teenager and does it still influence your today work? What was your favorite band as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have a influence on your own work today.

Orin : As a preteen I listened to The Cramps. The Ramones and The Fuzztones, though my biggest influence would be The Who.

Steve : The Beatles were the first band that really got my attention.  In my early teens, I drifted into prog rock.  In my later teens I had my heart broken by a girl and punk rock has been my main music ever since.  It’s a shame really, as I never got a chance to thank her.  It started with bands like The Ramones, The Dickies and Devo but when I heard 60’s garage punk on a local volunteer radio station, I was hooked.  I can’t narrow it down to only 3 bands that still influence me, but I’ll say those early Nuggets, Pebbles and Boulders comps are still my guiding light.

Frank : In my early teens I was obsessed with all the British invasion bands. Beatles, Who, Small
Faces, Kinks, the whole lot. In my later teens it was Iggy, the Dolls, Dead Boys, Gen X, and all that punk stuff. Once I got into The Jam it was all Mod. I think the 3 bands that influenced me the most through this record (LOOK) would probably be: The Yardbirds, The Kinks and The Birds.

Ward : Rock and Roll. Yeah it does.  Favorite bands Beatles, The Who, Judas Priest, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Beach Boys. The Who, The Beatles and Velvet Underground still have an influence today.

4. Is there a main composer in the band or is everybody involved in one way or another?

Orin : Frank and Steve do most of the writing but I chime in and we all add our own twists to all the songs to make them our own.

5. What are The 16 Eyes favorite topics to write about or the topics that come easily when you guys write a new song?

Orin : My favorite topic is slapping ones mother.

Steve : I like writing about unpleasant people I’ve had to endure- narcissists, liars, control freaks, hypocrites, etc…  Writing is a way to get the poison out without killing anyone.  As everyone has had encounters with toxic people, I’d like to think of my songs as soundtracks for folks to process their ordeals- to know that someone else has been there and that they’ll get through it and be able to laugh about it in the end too.

Frank : When we first got together I started writing during the end of the presidential campaign. Sitting on the couch with a guitar watching the news. Bad old days, Shot in the dark and Dead blow hammer. Were all election news inspired. The other were more stupid personal things like my old car, an experience in a float tank, my desire to get out of town for a bit with my baby or my baby’s desire to get out of town and never come back. 🙂

6. Do you have a video on youtube featuring a track from the latest release?

Orin : No YouTube yet but hopefully soon

7. What can concert goers expect at a gig of The 16 Eyes? Are you playing any famous cover songs?

Orin : Lots of stripe shirts, We are big fans of The Pretty Things.

Steve : Tinnitus can be expected, so bring earplugs!

Frank : We do throw in a cover every now and then. The mod classic "Leaving Here" is even on the record. I really enjoy doing to Pretty Things Midnight to Six Man live.

8. Is there a new 60’s garage scene in Phoenix these days and are there any other bands you are feeling close to?

Orin : There is always people who play and enjoy this kind of music all across the world.

Steve : We’ve split a few gigs with a local band called The Faded Pictures.  They get it.

Frank : There are a couple hands full of bands here in Phoenix and we get some traveling bands come through also.

9. What are the plans for the rest of 2018 as far as The 16 Eyes are concerned? Are you guys planning to tour Europe soon to promote this newly released vinyl record?

Orin : We would like to travel and see our friends and start to record our next record.

Ward : To keep rocking in the free world.

10. Anything you would like to say to the viewers of this blog?

Orin : There is allot of excitement about our band now and we are very humbled, Thank you!

Steve :  Music is food for the soul.  Please give our cafe a try.

Frank : Thanks for supporting the  Ratboy69 blog, Area Pirata Records  and this genre of music!

Ward : Thanks for your interest and hope to see you soon.