True Hearts - Not Tonight EP

A1. Not Tonight


A2. All My Time


B1. Trust Me Candy


B2. God's Gift To Girls


TRUE HEARTS (Houston, TX)
Not Tonight EP
Counterfeit (CR-512), 1980

Terry Carolan was looking for a new project following the demise of his band, Just Boys. He had recently moved to LA to try and get the band signed, but unfortunately interest from labels never materialized and things fell apart. After auditioning and not landing gigs with such legendary acts as Badfinger, The Quick, Dwight Twilley Band, and others, he migrated to Houston at the recommendation of his longtime friend Gary Littleton.

Littleton, who was integral to the early success of Just Boys, had recently transplanted to Houston himself. After discovering a band called The Pinups who were in need of a second guitar player, he convinced Terry to move out to Texas and join the group. Terry ended up playing in three different incarnations of the The Pinups between 1979-84, but it was after his first stint that he formed his next band, The Flirt. The original line-up consisted of Terry on lead vocals/guitar, with bassist John Rempe (who played in the final days of Just Boys) and two former members of The Pinups, Manual Martinez on lead guitar and Rick Holeman on drums and backing vocals.

The band went to Tampa to record a full length album after just a few months of rehearsals. Certain tracks such as "Not Tonight," "All My Time," and "Trust Me Candy," which were all conceived during the Just Boys days were finally brought to light. In the end, the band wasn't enthused with the overall production of the sessions and opted to pick their four favorite tracks and release an EP instead of an LP.

The record was released in a limited run under the bands new moniker, True Hearts. It was put out on the Counterfeit label, which was formed in 1977 by Carolan and Littleton to release the sole Just Boys single. The EP shows the natural progression and maturity of Carolan's songwriting ability and is heavily laced in Raspberries-style power pop.

The band toured relentlessly through Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas while dealing with a constant routing cast of members. Some more recording was done, but the band eventually imploded before anything else was released.

A CD compilation was recently released on Kool Kat Music containing the collective works of the True Hearts. In addition, “All My Time” earned a notch on 2013's Texas power pop compilation album, Radio Ready that was released on Cheap Rewards Records.

Just Boys - Hook, Line And Sink Her

A. Hook, Line And Sink Her


B. Thanks A Lot


JUST BOYS (Tampa, FL)
Hook, Line And Sink Her b/w Thanks A Lot
Counterfeit (CR-511), 1977

Bobby Woodrich and Terry Carolan started playing together in 1975 in a glam/pop/rock band called Fairytale. Before that, Terry played with Gary Heslin in an influential melodic rock band called Amnesia. By mid-1976 the three of them got together to form Just Boys.

Disco and country rock were running rampant in central Florida at the time. Those who weren't accepting of those styles started their own scene. Just Boys were at the core of this new movement of bands who were playing original music in the Tampa Bay area. Although they were tagged as "punk," they felt they were more of a melodic rock band with certain pop sensitivities.

Having limited avenues in which to play, they approached the owner of a small tavern whose clientele consisted of two old fishermen. The place had a small stage, so they asked if they could put together shows in exchange for the door money. With the assistance of friend Gary Littleton, who placed ads in the college paper and ran a series of outrageous posters for the newly coined Maniac Lounge, they were packing the place in no time. Local newspapers started writing articles about how Punk Has Invaded Tampa and Just Boys were given a front page story in a weekend entertainment magazine.

In 1977, Terry and Gary Littleton formed Counterfeit Records in order to put out a Just Boys single. The initial run of 1000 copies sold fast and warranted a second press of 2000 more. They had their sites set on getting a record deal and actually came pretty close. After sending records out and receiving rejection letters from Polygram, CBS, Warner, and other majors, Arista came back with a positive response. They wanted to hear a "breakthrough track." So the band, which by then had replaced Heslin on drums with Ral Spera, promptly recorded more songs.

The next logical step for them was to move to LA and find management that could secure them the record deal. In the midst of trying to get out to the West Coast to deliver the new material, their A&R rep was repositioned and her replacement unfortunately had no interest in the band.

They persevered a short while longer in LA until Bobby moved back to Florida. After trying to find a suitable replacement, things went from bad to worse and they eventually called it quits. Unsure of what to do next, Terry moved to Houston to try things out with a band called the Pinups, before starting his next project, True Hearts.