Musical History of Steve Couch

I started playing in rock bands in Junior High school with the guys from the neighborhood. In the early days 1967-1971 the band was made up of Steve Couch (Rhythm Guitar/Vocals); Steve’s brother, Mike Couch (Lead Guitar); Leonardo Robaina (Bass Guitar/Vocals); David Roppolo(Drums/Vocals); The band had many names like "Us Guys", "Psychedelic Sound", "M+LSD" until we finally settled on "Blue Mist."
We played regularly at the Friday night dances sponsored by City of Hialeah, Florida, Parks and Recreation Dept. Sparks Park and O’Quinn Park were a couple of the more popular parks and most of our friends would show up and support us. We even participated in a couple of the "Battle of Bands" competitions. Other gigs included Hialeah Roller Rink Dances, private parties, weddings, and Moose club events. While in middle school, we once played for a political event for City of Hialeah for then Mayor Henry Milander.
When my brother, Mike, graduated Hialeah High School in 1970, he went to Miami-Dade Community College and met Vinnie Fallica. Vinnie was a multi-talented musician that fit in with the guys perfectly. Although he played Guitar and sang, just as I did, when he was brought into the band, I put down the guitar and became the groups Lead Singer / Percussionist. Vinnie was seasoned experienced musician from New York City, and he brought a strong Motown style to the band. His strong vocal ability forced us to concentrate on our vocal harmonic sound. It wasn’t long before we were producing some of the best harmonies in the area. As the bands vocal aspect improved, we began playing much stronger as a unit. We became part of the regular rotation at The City of Hialeah Parks circuit which included Municipal Auditorium, which attracted some of the best bands in town, like Echo, Queens Kids, World of Matter, Hemlock, and the Heroes of Cranberry Farm.
With Vinnie in band, Blue Mist had their strongest line-up and gigs were plentiful every Friday and Saturday night throughout South Florida. We played numerous Fraternity Parties, Municipal Auditorium dances, the Officers Clubs and Community Center at Homestead Air Force base, the Homestead Armory, and Corporate parties. The band was playing very strong and things were looking up.
However, in Feburary 1971, Vinnie finished school and moved back to NY. Even though the band continued to play, we never could find a replacement for the sound that Vinnie had brought to the band. We all became disillusioned and knew it was time for us to go seperate ways. Finally, in April 1971, the band did its final gig at Marco Polo Hotel on Miami Beach. David and Leo went on to form "Eros" and my brother Mike and I , started "Andromeda." Although we all remained friends, we never played in a band together again
the brief stint playing with "Andromeda" was a lot of fun and for the first time I was exposed to various musicians with styles and attitudes I had not experienced before, more of a harder edged blues/rock sound. It was a great learning experience. The band played for a short time but broke up when Mike got a job at the newly created Disney World and moved to Orlando. At that point, I was basically left to evaluate if I wanted to continue in music or not. Due to my strong musical background from my family, it wasn’t long before I had that burning desire to begin performing again. I had now been exposed to different musicians and found myself moving into a completely different musical direction.