Xciter

Hollywood became the worldwide capital of hard rock and (some would call it) metal during the '80s, but the little-known truth is that the previous decade teemed with nearly as much local band activity — albeit on a far more underground level. Indeed, Van Halen were really the only massive success story to emerge from the So-Cal '70s hard rock scene, (with also-rans Quiet Riot and, to a much lesser degree, London, finally breaking through in the next decade), leaving numerous colleagues and contemporaries almost completely forgotten in their wake. One of these oft-forgotten hopefuls was Xciter — an explosive hard rock band born in 1978 of an earlier glam-based outfit named the Boyz, and featuring future Dokken and Lynch Mob members George Lynch (guitar) and Mick Brown (drums). Vocalist Gregg Sanford and bassist Monte Zufelt completed the group's lineup, and, over the next year-and-a-half, the foursome played all over the L.A. area and recorded two very promising demos, from which several songs ("Paris Is Burning," "Sleepless Nights," and others) were later recycled for use on Dokken albums. Eventually, the originals were also packaged into a 2006 CD collection but, in the meantime, and like so many of their contemporaries, Xciter had never made it out of the '70s. Their close brushes with fame (legend has it Xciter were only out-played by Van Halen on the bill that saw Kiss bassist Gene Simmons take the latter under his wing) ultimately proved to be just that: close but no cigar. Instead, it would be Lynch and Brown's subsequent liaison with Airborne vocalist Don Dokken in the band bearing his name that brought them widespread mainstream recognition.