Pete Comita
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In the summer of 1980, Tom Petersson, founding member and bassist for Cheap Trick, left the group after recording the George Martin produced All Shook Up, released toward the end of that year. Petersson departed in order to form a band with his wife Dagmar. Suddenly faced with the task of finding a replacement, the band undetook a talent search which ended with what they believed was the perfect fit. Pete Comita. The Italian born and Midwest USA raised guitarist was hired for the Japanese tour that was to kick off the day after Petersson left. Comita (once a member of the L.A club band Empire using the alias of Pete Valentino) proved to be just what Cheap Trick was hoping for. Right from the start, the new bass player showed he had the playing and writing chops that could honor the band's canon. Comita co-wrote "Reach Out," (which can be heard at RayOrama's Jukebox) the band's contribution to the soundtrack for the cult film "Heavy Metal." Creatively, it came very close to some of the band's acclaimed, early work and seemed to be the harbinger of great things to come for both Comita and the band. Reaction to him during dates in Japan proved that fans would not only accept, but fully embrace him. The union, however, would be short-lived. For undisclosed reasons, known only to Comita and the band, his presence on stage became increasingly limited. Eventually, and frustrated at the turn of events, Comita quit the band early in 1981. Shortly thereafter, and with much less publicity and enthusiasm, session man Jon Brant (who often used to drive Comita to rehearsals) became the new bass man. The first album recorded with Brant was One on One, the group's seventh album in 1982. Brant seemed destined to stay put, until in 1988, Petersson decided to rejoin the band and Brant was dismissed and went back to session work. The reformed lineup has continued to record and tour extensively but, whatever happened to Pete Comita?
In 1982, almost immediately after leaving Cheap Trick, Comita joined U.S.S.A., which was heralded as a "Super Group" by critics when it first emerged. The lineup featured Comita, guitarist Tommy Gawenda of Pezband fame and former Montrose vocalist Bob James, who after just a few months was replaced by Off Broadway's Cliff Johnson. The project wasn't meant to last. Although they never released any official recordings, U.S.S.A. received much critical acclaim for the powerful live shows they brought to clubs during their short-lived career. Comita now found himself without a job once more. He did a brief stint with Enuff Z' Nuff, and in 1984, when original former Cheap Trick bassist Tom Petersson released his Tom Petersson And Another Language EP with wife Dagmar, Comita was invited to join their band, called Sick Man of Europe. They gigged tirelessly around New York and Europe well into 1986. However, the vinyl-only set failed to chart - selling exactly 323 copies of the 1,0000 pressed - and Comita once again moved on. Since then, Pete Comita has kept a very low public profile, occasionally lending his talents to projects started by friends. In 2001, he appeared on David Glen Eisley's The Lost Tapes, and in 2003 he helped record Gary Moon's Still Moon.
| Cheap Trick |
| Robin Zander | Rick Nielsen | Tom Petersson | Bun E. Carlos |
| Randy "Xeno" Hogan | Pete Comita | Jon Brant |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Cheap Trick | In Color | Heaven Tonight | Dream Police | All Shook Up | Found All The Parts | One on One | Next Position Please | Standing on the Edge | The Doctor | Lap of Luxury | Busted | Woke Up With A Monster | Cheap Trick (1997) | Special One | Rockford |
| Live albums: At Budokan | Music for Hangovers | Silver |
| Compilations/Box Sets: The Greatest Hits | Sex, America, Cheap Trick | Authorized Greatest Hits | The Essential Cheap Trick |
