THE TOILET BOYS – Another day in the rock n roll life
Interview with Miss Guy
1.Hello guys, you have been very known in the States but less fans know about you in Europe and other regions. Would you like to introduce The Toilet Boys to the public?
Toilet Boys actually toured the UK, Europe and Japan several times and were very well received, especially in England and Spain. In 2010, we played the Azkena Rock Festival in Spain and got a great reception. Although we are known in the US and around the world, it is definitely on an underground level. I like to think we are at the top of the underground.
2. Your shows have always been the talk of the town due to your lasers, explosions,etc. How easy was for you to pay for the production of a show like this?
Well, it wasn’t easy in the beginning when our guarantees weren’t high, but once we started making more money, it was a lot easier to pay for our show. We always felt it was more important to put money into our show or my costumes then to pocket the money ourselves. We spent more on putting on a great show then we made at the end of a tour. For us, it was about the performance, the music, and our fans.
3. How helpful were your tours with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Deborah Harry, Dee Dee Ramone?
All of those tours were very beneficial in exposing us to new and larger audiences, but most importantly, it was fun. Like I said, Toilet Boys went out for the performance, the music, and the fans more than anything else. We were also really lucky on those tours. All the bands we toured with were very nice to us and very supportive of what we were doing musically and visually.
4. Do you think that your sex image affected the media attention and the music audience?
My image certainly helped get us attention from the press, the media, and the fans. What I liked about our image was that it set us apart from all the other bands of the time because therewasn’t anybody like us.
5. How did you manage to include your song “Another Day in the Life” in the movie American Pie 2? Did you have a positive feedback after the release of the soundtrack?
Our friend Lyle Derek knew the sister of the director (J.B. Rogers), and J.B. was looking for the “perfect” song for the big party scene. When he heard our song, he said that’s the one. It was very exciting for us, and it was exciting to be included in a blockbuster movie. Unfortunately, because our song was chosen after the soundtrack had already been finished, we weren’t on the soundtrack CD.
6. Why did the band break up in 2003?
It’s too long and involved to go into, but basically, we weren’t getting to the next level. We felt like we were in a rut and decided to take time off to work on other projects.
7. What was the reason behind your comeback to the music scene?
We got asked to play the Azkena Rock Festival in Spain with KISS, Bob Dylan, Slash, The Damned and many other bands we like, so we said yeah, let’s do it and have some fun.
8. Do you have other music projects except Toilet Boys?
I’ve been working on a solo EP, which is almost finished, and some video concepts for the songs. I also have a band called GoonSquad, which is a really fun, quirky, noncommercial project. For all things Miss Guy and the Toilet Boys too, check out www.missguy.net.
9. How did you decide to contribute in the compilation of the Runaways tribute and why did you choose the song Born To Be Bad?
Lauren from Main Man Records asked me to do a solo cover, but Toilet Boys had just played Azkena in Spain and we were feeling excited and inspired so we decided to do it as Toilet Boys. Born To Be Bad has this great campy 60’s girl-group feel to it. It’s got this contrast musically that really lets us play it up and have fun.
10. How important were the Runaways for you?
I’ve always been drawn to women in rock, so how could I not absolutely love the teenage bad girls of rock, TheRunaways. Cheri and Joan were electrifying performers in that group, and they still are as solo artists.
11. Do you think that the female fronted bands such as Runaways have been influential for the history of rock n roll?
Yes. They paved the way for all the big bands like The GoGo’s and The Bangles and later Courtney Love and Hole, Lunachicks, and The Donnas. The Runaways were really ahead of the times.
12. Which is your favorite album of the Runaways and why?
I like their self-titled first record best (The Runaways). Queens Of Noise has some great songs too. I also love Live In Japan just because I’m a sucker for a live record, and the inserts were incredible.
13. Which is your favorite track from the Runaways tribute album?
I like The Donnas song and David Johansen’s is pretty fun. I like the way Peaches and Kathleen Hanna did Dead End Justice, and I think we did a great job on our song too.
14. What are you up to now? Please let us know about the lastest news of The Toilet Boys.
I’m finishing up my first solo EP and working on some videos for the songs. I’m also gearing up to play some New York City shows and then a solo tour.
All things Toilet Boys are on hold for a while because Sean and his gorgeous wife Theo from Lunachicks just had a baby. Toilet Boys plan on doing several shows in major cities in 2012 and hopefully a new album as well.
15. When are you going to release new material?
I’m hoping to have my solo CD out this fall. Toilet Boys is looking at 2012 for our next album release.
16. What is the secret behind the name of the band ?
Honestly, I just thought of it as a joke for my first Toilet Boys show. Then we started getting bookings and a buzz started happening, and it was too late to change it. I originally wanted to call my band “The Flames.”
17. Do you think that sexuality is an influence for composing music?
Of course it is. As far as writing lyrics, it’s everything for me. Love and sex. Sex music.
18. Did you ever have any censorship problems with your image?
Well, the president of our label asked me to tone down my look, but I said no. On a personal note, my dad wouldn’t let my 7-year-old niece look at my first CD because of the way I was dressed. But other than that, I don’t think we were ever censored.
19. Adam Cardone is involved in illusion and escaping art, can you let us know more about these activities?
Adam is the absolute best magician. He’s so talented. You can find out more about his magic on his website – http://cardonethemagician.com/index.html
20. Are you still based in New York, how is the situation for rock n roll there?
Yes, we all still live in New York. There’s a pretty cool rock scene happening right now in New York City. Lots of young people discovering rock music and dressing up. It’s like a small renaissance. I love to see that.
21. Regardless of your success as a band, you insisted on being indie instead of aiming for the multinational labels. Was it a choice or just never had an offer from the mayor labels?
I always wanted to be accepted by the masses and have commercial success, but I am happy with what we achieved nonetheless. We got several offers from major labels and actually signed with one. It was a year of hell, and then we got dropped. But we had a great lawyer who got us a lot of money, and we took it, made our own record, toured the world and had a video in the Top 20 on MTV. So I like to say, fuck labels!
Information: http://www.myspace.com/toiletboysnyc
