Rock group originated in D.C. featuring Tony Grasso (guitar), Curt Jonnie (bass), and Mike Zack (drums ex-British Walkers, Lawrence & the Arabians).
While performing at the Keg in Georgetown, the group caught the ear of Jay Senter, producer from New York, who signed them to a recording contract. Their 1969 self-titled album on ABC Records consisted of rock music with an influence of blues and a touch of psychedelia. Eddie Kramer (keyboards) also played on and produced the album. A single “Hey Medussa” was also released on the ABC label.
In fall of 1969 the group went through some personnel changes. Jonnie left the group. Saxophonist Jimmy Loomis (ex-Echoes, Fugitives, Mitch Ryder Show) and Sam Towers (bass ex-Danny & Elegants, Mitch Ryder Show) joined, along with vocalist Mike Jones.
Zack was later with the Cherry People, and Nils Lofgren band. Loomis and Towers traveled to L.A. Towers later returned and joined Flow…
From Sam Towers …
Puzzle was one of the most popular bands in the DC area. They were the house band at “The Keg”, a nightclub on Wisconsin Avenue, close to M street in Georgetown, and had released their first album on Spring 1969. Unfortunately, the three original members had a falling out, and their bass player, Kurt Jonnie, left the band. Guitarist, Tony Grasso, and Kurt both sang lead, so Kurt’s departure left them without both a bass player AND a vocalist. They were trying me out for bass, and I brought my friend, Mike Hodgeman, along to be their vocalist. We both got the job.
I was surprised at how popular Puzzle really was. We were playing six nights a week and the place was packed every single night! It was as if the Keg existed only because Puzzle existed, and especially because of the drummer Mike Zack. He had his own following, and I could see why. He had the best meter of any drummer I had ever heard and he was tons of fun to watch! It was a real pleasure playing with that guy!
Zack was a very unique dude. He had his own roadie – an assistant that stayed by his side every moment we were playing. Zack hit his drums HARD and kicked his double bass drums with such force that he often broke a pedal right in half! His assistant had to keep his drums positioned because Zack hit them so hard that they were constantly moving all over the place! He also replaced broken equipment on the spot, as needed – drum heads, bass drum pedals, hi-hat hardware, cymbal stands – you name it. And, while he did these things, Zack never stopped playing!
Tony sang and played his guitar really well. He played a black Les Paul and used a double Marshall stack for amplifiers. He broke his strings all the time, just like Zack was always breaking stuff. One thing about Tony though – if he broke a string he somehow could make do on his other strings, so that you never noticed he had broken one unless you looked over at him! And, at the end of the song, he would replace that broken string with lighting speed! We never missed a note or skipped a beat because of those guys breaking their stuff all of the time. I had never seen anything like that before. It was wild!
1969(LP) ABC 671 Puzzle
1969 ABC 11181 Hey Medussa / Make the Children Happy
