Touch(2)

by Doug Stone
Touch evolved from pomp trio American Tears, who recorded three records for Columbia in the '70s. Mark Mangold tickled the ivories and sang lead. Greg Baze slapped the bass and Tommy Gunn hit the drums. This lineup released two slabs comprised of Mangold's bombastic tunes. By the third LP, Powerhouse, Kirk Powers played bass and Glen Kithcart sat on the drum stool. This incarnation jelled better than the previous and Mangold kept the replacement drummer for his new band Touch. Now Doug Howard assumed bass duties and singing guitarist Craig Brooks jumped on board. Touch's eponymous inaugural contained several fine moments, as the strong vocal harmonies of Brooks finally suited Mangold's striking keyboards and songs. In 1980, the quartet played the first Donington Festival, where Howard accidentally swallowed a bee at the end of the set. "Don't You Know What Love Is" appeared on the resulting compilation, Monsters of Rock, but the debut album never took off, and Touch split, citing label and management problems. Todd Rundgren produced a follow-up that remains unreleased, although two songs surfaced on a later CD reissue of Touch. Mangold went on to work with Michael Bolton and Drive, She Said, among a myriad of others.