User:Paulsouza/sandbox

Paul Souza is an American singer/songwriter from Boston, MA who began his performing/recording career right after college with a Boston band called Beat Surrender. Souza was a former Olympic level high jumper at The Pennsylvania State University. After graduating in 1983, he formed the band Beat Surrender with Penn State track teammate Ted Lyon and fellow Penn State graduate Dan Styklunas. After several lineup changes the band was signed to Columbia Records by Dave Novak and Mike Corbett. The band recorded an album, with 3 time Grammy Award winning producer Bob St. John, that was never released after Novak left Columbia. Interest from Jason Flom at Atlantic Records followed but a deal never materialized and the band dissolved in the mid nineties.

In 1996, Souza joined Anthony Nichols and Jim Koury of the heavy metal band Meliah Rage (3 albums on Epic Records)and released the critically acclaimed album "Barely Human." Four more albums would follow and a co-headlining tour with the band Metal Church. Souza, Nichols and Koury also started a side project called Cactusland which was signed to Warner Brothers subsidiary Aureus Records by famed record executive Lennie Petze (Boston, Cyndi Lauper). An album recorded by producer Tom Soares was never released after Aureus was dropped by Warner as part of a company downsizing.

In 2005, Souza and Nichols formed the band Velveteen Playboys with guitarist Scott Miller (Pleasure Pointe, Beat Surrender), drummer Mike Malinin (Goo Goo Dolls, Tanya Tucker) and bassist Tim Archibald (New Man, RTZ, Boston, Peter Wolf) and released the album "Cosmic Lounge." After several lineup changes, Souza enlisted the talents of saxophonist Robert Douglas Gay (New Man) and guitarist Robert Holmes ('til tuesday) and reunited with producer Bob St. John to release the album "Shakin' Not Stirred" in 2010.

After being introduced to Collective Soul drummer Johnny Rabb in 2018 by Mike Malinin, Souza and Rabb enlisted guitarist Joe Harrison and bassist Nathan Gray to form the band NU80. In February of 2021, NU80 traveled to Fort Lauderdale, FL to, once again, record with producer Bob St. John. The quartet finished a 5 song EP titled, "Vaccine" which has yet to be released.