The Touch

.. The Touch - "Just A Taste" CD now available. Please click here to hear samples and purchase.
The Touch is a four-piece hard rock band based out of Hollywood, California. Their sound combines catchy, melodic vocal harmonies with hooky, bluesy guitar and a pounding rhythm section. The band members share the common goal of making soulful, melodic, yet hard-edged music – the kind that has infiltrated popular culture for decades in terms of attitude and fashion, but is missing from the current music scene.
The Touch was formed in Hollywood in 2004 by Johnny Dean (vocals), Denis Phares (guitars), Greg Beltz (bass), and Gary Leskowitz (drums), all of whom moved to California from the East coast. Along with his punk edge, Dean is strongly influenced by american rock bands such as Aerosmith, Motley Crue, as well as European favorites Hanoi Rocks and Backyard Babies. This comes across in his songs, which feature unpredictable melodies that overflow into screams, and eventually lead into full-on, rock and roll choruses. Phares honed his skills listening to the blues, and later applying his rhythm chops to numerous hard rock acts. His leads are fluid with a rich Les Paul tone, more reminiscent of Dickie Betts or Joe Walsh, than most punk or metal derivatives. By contrast, Beltz grew up on a heavy dose of metal bands such as Guns n’ Roses and Metallica. He is the musical anchor - dishing up relentless, driving grooves and tasty fills that magnify the intensity of the songs. Leskowitz, a converted jazz musician, rounds out the rhythm section with simple, but intelligent grooves that follow the heavy rhythms, without losing the subtle accents that make the songs come alive. The result is kick-ass rock n’ roll. The live performance is electric. The look is flashy, contrasting the hard-edged music and onstage demeanor.
The Touch have been playing the Hollywood clubs, including the Whisky, Roxy, Joint, Gig, Cat Club, and King King, for the last year, and are starting to hit their stride. Each show brings a bigger crowd than the last, and the compliments are plentiful. Check It Out magazine notes that “the music is very much appreciated by the crowds on the Sunset Strip because it sounds clean and very rock ’n’ roll”. Now Playing magazine states, “Stylish, smart, wearing cool clothes, The Touch raked sonic fingers down arched backs with psychedelic-tinged incitement.” Notable shows include an opening slot for Beautiful Creatures on New Years Eve, and more recently, an opening slot for a reunited Buckcherry at the sold-out Whisky a Go-Go.
The first studio release from the Touch, entitled "Just A Taste", is available at www.cdbaby.com/touchsounds.