INPRESS 12/12/01

In this crazy mixed up world of ours, it’s hard to find definition and see things with absolute clarity. Another one of those little obvious factors is that there are two, defined sides of the coin. We all know which is which, and we can pay our bills by that manner of understanding with a smile on our faces and walk through like in total harmony. Well I think that that could be said for all of you reading this article but all of those home truths were shattered quite recently when I saw the film clip to a song by a band calling themselves The Toilet Boys. All seemed well and in order with both coin sides being themselves and The Toilet Boys being standard “new school” rock band (ala: Beautiful Creatures and Backyard Babies) fronted by what appeared to be a quite attractive female. Then I was ripped out of my comfort zone and made aware that, with shirt off, this woman was a man disguised as a woman. Not a new thing I know but I was shocked when the call from my editor came and asked me to talk to front person, the rather unaptly named GUY! But Neily V, being the private dick, rock journo that I am, had to get to the bottom of this confusion.

Where did the concept for The Toilet Boys come up?
It just kind of happened, confessed Guy. We wanted a sincere roots based rock n roll band. Add to that an energetic outfit that wanted to perform shows and make people happy. There was no blueprint for the type of band we were going to be. The only thing that was certain Neil was that I knew that I wanted to present myself in a certain way.

So I asked Guy to tell me whether he presents himself with his unsuspecting other persona to the world throughout everyday life or just as the lead singer of The Toilet Boys.
“It’s not me everyday that’s for sure. It is a big part of how I look when I go out, whether it be to parties or whatever. I really wanted to present myself glamourously, the way that Bowie used to, or Elton John or Rod Stewart, Cher or KISS even. I always knew I wasn’t going to be onstage sweating in a T.Shirt.”

The name of the band is a rather perculiar one, it doesn’t seem to be the name that would get a band a huge album sales. I asked Guy to tell us how the name came about and told him I thought the name might hinder their sales.
“I thought of the name as being funny and stand out from any others.” Guy replied. “A year before the band was formed a couple of friends and I appeared in a magazine while we were at a festival. We happened to be standing in front of a portable toilet and I said ‘Oh, look, the toilet boys’. So when I put the band together, that was the first thing that sprung to mind. Plus another bunus was that my mum hated it as well”.

The first clip from the album is for the track  Another Day In The Life which ia very similar to The Ramones I wanna Be Sedated clip, suggesting that they may have had an influence on the band. “Obviously they are a big influence of mine. I feel that they are the greatest rock band ever. When we did the video, Joey had just died and we felt that it would be a nice sort of tribute to him as Dee Dee and also Joey are big friends of ours.”

On talking about influences, I’m lead onto the question regarding the production on the Toielt Boys debut album. In this day and age of big, stadium rock production in rock n roll, the band have steered a long way from this and presented for the listening audience a sound that takes us back to the seventies when recording studios had one hundreth of the gear that even the minutest of studios have today. Was that intentional course of action taken by The Toilet Boys? “I’d have to say that it was, because that presentation of rock music is a big influence and appeals to us. The other factor is that we wanted to make this record pretty simple, so we recorded it pretty quickly.”

The Toilet Boys have recently been signed by Nik Tropiano of Chatterbox Records fame, who does a damn lot of supporting of underground bands that may not get a look in. So I queried Guy as to how this collaboration came to being. “I really don’t know how it started. But I think that Nik may have been approached, and he became a fan of the band, and really wanted to get the name of The Toilet Boys out there.”

“In regards to what you said, Neil, earlier about not being able to sell records these days on just the name of a band, I think that that is less important these days. In another day and time that may have been an aspect of sales, but not now.”

So with Nik and Chatterbox behind the band in Australia, does that mean that there’ll be a chance The Toilet Boys will get here sometime soon?
“Yes, there is talk of us being included on the Big Day Out bill, which we are really looking forward to being part of. I’ve heard some incredible things about Australia and I can’t wait to get there.”

Do you think, Guy, that without the glitz and glam that The Toilet Boys are projecting towards their audience, if you stripped it down and retained just that rock element, and appeared on stage today just as you are now, painting the bathroom, on stage, film clips and CD covers…
(interjection by Guy)
“It’d be more outrageous than anything you’ve seen so far. I’m painting my bathroom in nothing but my underwear, which is kind of the same thing, with a t.shirt on my head! I look stranger painting the bathroom than I do on stage. Go ahead, Neil please finish your question…”

Do you think that the band would do as well without any sort of masquerade?
“That is the question that is asked of us most frequently. The answer is YES! And proof of that for myself is when I realsied that our music can stand out on it’s own regardless of how I look.”

And more proof is evident when Guy says “We have a song on the movie American Pie 2, the director flipped out over the track Another Day In The Life. He had only a demo on disc with no cover or pictures of us. As you may understand that made me truly happy that he chose to use us on the basis of music. When he got all the promo after the first listen and choosing us, he loved what our band was about.”

All the projections of various people’s personau according to Guy “is just extra, The music is always the most important factor here for us, and the way we look is just another facet to help present The Toilet Boys music in a more entertaining way.”

So what is the song that defines The Toilet Boys?
“I could pick a few but for just one it would have to be Another Day In The Life. It is what we’re about which is having a good time and that you can have a good time with us. But really Neil, the whole album sums The Toilet boys up; we are four people having a great time. Life can be a drag at times and it’s hard to come up with funds to do things that you need or want to, but at the end of the day life more than anything is fun, can be fun and should be funas long as you make it fun. The Toilet Boys are offering escapism for those of you who choose to take it. As a kid growing up in southern California I was pissed off because I couldn’t go out pr whatever, and I had music that got me through, but honestly this is truly the album that I wish I had when I was growing up! I feel that we are speaking to kids in a good way and offering them the chance of escapism if they want to go with it.”

So readers, advice from Guy is this “Put our record on, have some fun and daydream about what you’re gonna do with your life oneday. Summed up The Toilet Boys are gonna rock your socks off and put a smile on your face that won’t go away for days!”