Novo Combo was a power pop and new wave rock group popular in the early 1980s. Their initial lineup was Pete Hewlett, Stephen Dees, Jack Griffith, and drummer Michael Shrieve, who was formerly with Santana. The band scored minor hits in 1981 with the songs "Up Periscope" and "City Bound." Lead singer and bassist Stephen Dees released a solo album for RCA Records called From the Hip during 1977 which was produced by Daryl Hall. He also performed with many other acts from the 1980s including Hall and Oates as well as Tony Carey. He was also featured in the Tony Carey video of "The First Day of Summer." He would later form his own independent pop/art rock band Bandees in the late 1990s. Lead guitarist Jack Griffith performed with Mick Jagger, Carlos Santana, Gary Moore, in addition to penning songs for Warner Chappell, Fiona, Revo Bop. Now he has his own Commercial Business Studio, where he records bands, produces TV commercials. Novo Combo's singer and guitarist Pete Hewlett is a world-class singer who lives in Pittsburgh. He toured and recorded with Billy Joel, Carly Simon, Joe Jackson, Julian Lennon, Amy Grant, and Eric Carmen. Pete Hewlett got his first recording contract when he was 16 years old. His band Peter's Pipers won a battle of the bands contest at West View Park. That sent them onto the national finals, and got them a deal with Philips Mercury Records. Then came a new band—Sweet Lightning—and the attention of RCA records, where they recorded an LP and a pair of singles. Afterwards, the band moved to Cleveland, where Pete recorded with Eric Carmen (Raspberries), then joined the Euclid Beach Band, for which Carmen made an appearance on their one-off self-titled album from 1979. But the real turning point came two years later when Hewlett's former Sweet Lightning bandmate Syd McGinness (guitarist for David Letterman) recommended Hewlett to Carly Simon, who was looking for a new backup singer. Hewlett got the job, moved to New York City, recorded "Come Upstairs" and headed out on tour with Simon. While in New York, Hewlett answered an audition with Stephen, Jack, and Michael and formed Novo Combo. They were signed to Polygram and put out two albums: Novo Combo in 1981 and The Animation Generation in 1982. From the website GloryDazeMusic.com, they said when reviewing The Animation Generation, "The songs which stand out are the