New Yorker Arno Hecht has been in bands since age 13. A history major at Columbia University, Hecht earned his way through college playing in various rock groups. After college, Hecht tried a "real life" job before returning to his musical roots. After playing in numerous bar bands, he joined a new wave group, Brend and the Realtones. He recalls, "Brenda had been in a couple of Warhol films so these 6'5" transvestites in leather mini skirts would show up at her gigs. It was very surreal. But what a band! Later on, I brought in Paul Litteral and sometimes Crispin Cioe whom I met at a gig at Max's Kansas City, he was the only person I've ever met who knew all the lyrics to the Coasters' song "Shopping for Clothes." All in all, it was a very cool group."

During this period, Hecht was studying "Uptown" with "dean of arranging" Don Sebesky while jamming with a bunch of Horn players at the Lynne Oliver "jazz workshop and finishing school" on West 90th Street. "I had this dream to create The Uptown Horns but the horns kept leaving to pursue their own gigs," he remembers. When Brenda got caught up in the "scene" and not the music, the Realtones left to work as a separate entity backing up top R&B acts such as Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Don Covay and Solomon Burke.

In 1980, Hecht and Litteral left the Realtones to play with a "punk soul" band called the Nitecaps. One night after a gig, Iggy Pop offered the trio a session if they could find a trombone player. Funk was enlisted and soon all four were jamming as one horn section.

Not long afterwards, the newly sworn-in members of The Uptown Horns began a weekly jam at Tramps with visiting dignitaries ranging from Southside Johnny to David Johansen. Their Uptown Horns Party continued for almost two years. The party was over when J Geils Band keyboardist/producer Seth Justman and managers stopped by Tramps to enlist the horn section for their "Freezeframe" album and 1982 world tour.