The scene: Jimmy's Music Club in uptown New Orleans, sometimes in the early 1980's. Onstage, the five members of the Cold are confidently jumping and jerking their way through a series of punky new wave tunes that feature rapid-fire drums, propulsive melodies, and energetic vocals.

The style of music is reminiscent of Blondie, the Rezillos and, from an earlier era, the Dave Clark Five. Vance DeGeneres pounds out insistent, melodic bass lines while drummer Chris Luckette jovially whacks the crap out of hit kit. Guitarists Kevin Radecker and Bert Smith swap terse but distinctive riffs. And in the center, Barbara Menendez sings, dances, and plays keyboards with the zeal and energy of the zippiest of aerobics instructors while wearing the trademark Menendez miniskirt, which is mostly mini and very little skirt.

This was the Cold at its peak, a pure pop band boasting memorable songs and a passionate following.

In 1979, when the music of Olivia Newton-John, Christopher Cross, and The Captain & Tennille dreamily filled the airwaves, a precursor to the Cold was launched by University of New Orleans students Smith and Radecker, who were playing variations on the rabble-rousing, three chord sounds of the Buzzcocks and the Sex Pistols. Soon, these two guitarists joined forces with DeGeneres, brother of comedian Ellen; Menendez, a year out of Mount Carmel High School; and Luckette, who joined after he split with another locally popular group called the Normals.

From 1980 to 1982, the Cold became a live music sensation, filling clubs like Jimmy's and Jed's with fresh, young fans taken by the band's high-energy sound and Menendez's even more high-energy stage antics. These legions of fans helped fuel the Cold's record sales - four singles totalling more than 25,000 copies - and defy the airwave barrier for local music. In a radio market known for ignoring local rock (this was before the days of Deadeye Dick and Better than Ezra), the Cold placed the singles "You" and "Mesmerized" on WTUL, WQUE, WTIX, and B-97.