Rock group formed at Lindale Jr. High and Andover High School in 1973 by Jay Fitzhugh (vocals, guitar), Gregg Fitzhugh (bass), Bill Rice (lead guitar), and Dave Rice (drums). This line-up was originally known as Equinox, but after their first engagement they learned of another Equinox across town and changed their name to Onyx in 1974.
Below: Andover battle of the bands photo and band card – courtesy of Jay Fitzhugh
Keyboardist Craig Wood joined Onyx. His brother Keith Wood ran sound and lights.
Tim Landers, music teacher at the new Lindale Jr. High, formed a rock band as a class. Jay had already gone on to Andover High, but the rest of the group Onyx were in the school rock band.
By being three groups of brothers, Onyx took on somewhat of a Partridge Family stigma until they came out and beat all the other school bands in a Battle of the Bands. “Our longevity and success deflated all the Partridge Family comments” muses Jay, “we all bought cool cars and the girls really liked the boys in the band! Both my brother and I married girls from our High School.”
Onyx wrote several original songs including the “You’re Only Foolin’ Yourself” that received local radio airplay. The group played teen centers, private parties, and a few clubs mostly in Anne Arundel County. Jay recalled a memorable gig at the Office Disco on 33rd Street, the group took the stage wearing their 70’s chic burgundy colored polyester jump suits with rhinestones on the collars and belts. The club turned out to be an alternative lifestyle venue and the band’s outfits were so uncomfortably revealing that Jay hung his guitar “low like Jimmy Page that night.”
The group eventually broke up in 1978 due to the change in popular music from rock to disco. The Fitzhugh’s and Wood’s went on to form Hide-N-Seek.
