Miami garage band the Modds was formed in early 1965 by guitarist John Mascaro, bassist Don Ricketts and drummer Dewey Bond, who previously teamed in the British Invasion cover band the Deltonas. Singer Dean Liapis and lead guitarist Bob Nimer rounded out the lineup, which honed its mix of pop and R&B covers at local frat parties and dancehalls as well as the Miami Beach hotels the Americana and the Deuville. In June 1965 the Modds recorded their lone single, the original "Don't Be Late"--an acetate cut at Miami's Dukoff Studios, it fell into the hands of local DJ Morton Downey, Jr. (who would himself earn massive notoriety two decades later for his controversial television talk show), who began spinning the disc during his WFUN radio slot. The exposure helped the Modds land an appearance at a Columbia Records convention, where they opened for the Byrds and Paul Revere & the Raiders; a major label debut deal was in the works when Mascaro was drafted into the Army and Liapis joined the Air Force, effectively bringing about the band's demise. Bond later formed the band Asbury Park, while in 1973, Nimer took his own life. In the summer of 2002, Liapis, Mascaro and Bond reunited the Modds for the first time in decades, performing in Eustis, FL alongside fellow South Florida garage vets the Montells and Evil. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi