History
The band with its classic line-up consisted of Stevie Rachelle on vocals, Jorge DeSaint/guitars, Todd Chase/bass and drummer Michael "Lean" Raimondo. The band played all over the West Coast and eventually was doing cross country tours headlining clubs. Yet had no record deal. After becoming the biggest unsigned band in the world, after years of hard work it finally paid off.
Tuff was signed in 1990 by Atlantic Records, and released their debut album What Comes Around Goes Around in May 1991, in which the band released the successful power ballad "I Hate Kissing You Goodbye". The video reached #3 on Dial MTV behind Guns N' Roses & Metallica. In 1995, Tuff's independently-released Fist First was reissued by another major label BMG as Religious Fix, with the addition of three bonus tracks. Their album of watered-down, third-rate hair-band cliches helped bring down the genre.
But after struggling with record labels for years Stevie Rachelle decided to form his own for the band in 1994. Tuff was first signed in 1990 by Atlantic Records. The band was then picked up by IRS Grand Slamm Records in early 1993. The label folded in less than a year with the end of the mother label IRS Records which distributed Grand Slamm. Tuff were without a label again. In early 1994, Rachelle officially started RLS Records. The initials had a dual meaning. The first was "Record Labels Suck" & the second was "Rachelle's Lyrics & Songs". The offshoot Cheezee Records was formed in 1996 to be the home for the singer's side project Cheeseheads With Attitude (CWA).
Tuff again signed to a record label in early 1995 when BMG/Mausoleum/MMS records picked up the RLS Fist First release after it sold upwards of 10,000 copies. BMG re-issued it as Religious Fix in June 1995 with 3 bonus tracks. The additional tracks were produced by Randy Cantor.
In 2001, Tuff released the compilation CD The History of Tuff, which included the song "American Hair Band", a parody of Kid Rock's "American Bad Ass" (both of which incorporate the instrumentals of Metallica's "Sad But True"). "American Hair Band" made references to numerous similar bands of the era as well as criticizing grunge and alternative rock.
Tuff released What Comes Around Goes Around Again in 2012, which featured four rerecorded songs from What Comes Around Goes Around plus new tracks.
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