Michael Reidy, the stage-strutting, shock-rocking frontman for the power-punk band Razz, which blazed across the D.C. music scene in the 1970s with roaring guitars and a rebellious edge that shaped the city’s club culture and street art, died March 5 at a hospital in Washington. He was 73.Mr. Reidy’s influence on the region’s music and art circles spanned more than five decades and came in many iterations.
With Razz no longer doing covers, Mr. Reidy was free to explore songwriting. His lyrics were never overtly autobiographical, but he left no doubt that he mined some of his own experiences, even if indirectly. InRazz came close. In June 1977, the band appeared in New York as a warm-up act for rising punk star Patti Smith at the high-profile venue CBGB. Razz landed a follow-up gig at Max’s Kansas City, another top New York music club at the time.Opening for the popular J.
With the chance for a record deal fading, Razz began to fray. By late 1979, Mr. Reidy and the others went their separate ways., and arranged Razz reunion gigs in the 1980s and ’90s, including one show in 1997 when Razz shared the bill with another revived act, the Monkees, at Washington’s 9:30 Club. Mr. Reidy found it appalling to be on the same bill as the 1960s pop group, and he let everybody know.“I know I don’t have a tremendous range.