Pezband was started in Chicago during the fall of 1971. Original members were Mimi Betinis (guitar and vocals), Mick Rain (drums and vocals), John Pazdan (guitar, piano and vocals) and Mike Gorman (bass and vocals).

 Initially, the group played Yardbirds, Kinks, Badfinger and Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac blues covers, as well as originals written by all the members. Shortly after forming, they were joined by vocalist Cliff Johnson. A year later, Pazdan left and was replaced by guitarist Dan Wade, who was soon replaced by Tom Gawenda. A little while later, vocalist Johnson was replaced by Wes Davis. (Pazdan and Johnson went on to form another Midwestern Power Pop group, Off Broadway (Atlantic)). Davis soon left, and Pezband carried on as a quartet, with Mimi and Mick assuming the main vocals and writing. In this configuration, the group was signed to ABC/Passport (later Arista/Passport), and released 3 full length LP's (Pezband, Laughing in the Dark, and Cover to Cover), as well as two live EP's (30 Seconds over Schaumburg and Too Old Too Soon).

They relocated to New York City in 1976, where they were soon immersed in the burgeoning club scene at CBGBs and Max's. They also toured and recorded in England (Too Old Too Soon was recorded live at Dingwall's in London). The group moved back to Chicago in 1979, where they released their last Passport LP, Cover to Cover. A short while later, Pazdan and Gorman switched jobs, with Gorman assuming the bass spot in Off Broadway, and Pazdan rejoining Pezband, this time as bassist. They played a few shows as a quartet, but Gawenda left to form The TAMI Show (RCA). Meanwhile, Pezband, having run out of their Passport contract, was picked up by producer Paul Broucek (whose recent work includes producing the soundtracks for The Lord of the Rings trilogy..) to record an LP at The Record Plant in LA. The resulting tracks, titled "Women and Politics" were never released, and the band decided at that point to take a "short break". During this "short break", Mimi formed a group in LA with Cheap Trick bassist Tom Petersson (and as you are watching how closely related things are here in the great American MiddleWest: at various points Cheap Trick, Pezband and Off Broadway all had the same manager), then moved back to Chicago, where he started a pop group called Black and Blond with former Off Broadway/Pezband singer Cliff Johnson. This group eventually morphed back into Off Broadway, at which time Mimi left. In the meantime, Mick had relocated to Florida, where he led a group called The Tantrums, to which Pazdan occasionally contributed bass and mandocello.

When not playing with the Tantrums, Pazdan founded two roots rock groups The Insiders (Epic), and later Big Guitars from Memphis (TDK). He also worked as the house bassist at Chicago's Kingston Mines, where he backed up everyone from Hubert Sumlin to Sugar Blue. So... how long did this "short break" last..and why did the band decide it was time to get back to work? In the summer of 2005, a Japanese boutique label, AirMail, licensed the 3 Passport LP's, and released them on cd. This spurred a lot of interest in the group, and later that summer John started talking again to Mimi and Mick, mentioning that he had "remastered" one of his favorite Pezband live recordings. Shortly after the trio decided that maybe they should finish that last LP they started... Their GO forward plans include a new lp (we mean CD, sorry) that will combine the Record Plant sessions with some new tracks recorded in a haunted ballroom in Aurora Illinois (where Sonny Boy Williamson first recorded "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" in 1937. GMLSG has been a staple of Pezbands live set since..1971.), as well as live shows that will have the group sharing the stage with a second (and third) generation of rockers who have grown up listening to and influenced by the group.

 

^{Some songs are in WMA Format.}