Hollywood
Teasze, Jolly Power, The Romeos & Leatherboyz Interview
EUROPEAN GLAM Glam was actually born in europe, in the U.K. actually. Plenty
of the bands from the first wave of glam/glitter rock (late sixites/early seventies)
were from England. When the glam once again became the talk of the town, in
the early eighties, europe was pretty dead. WRATHCHILD was a good band but not
if you compare them to their american counterparts, MOTLEY CRUE and RATT.
The glamwave that produced the most bands were that in the late eighties. U.K.
had TIGERTAILZ and WRATHCHILD. SWEDEN had SHOTGUN MESSIAH but the european-scene
was pretty poor. It was dominated by american bands PRETTY BOY FLOYD, TuFF,
VAIN, LA GUNS and FASTER PUSSYCAT. The american domination is about to change
though, europe is currently producing plenty of great glamoriented bands. This
section will has it's focus on some of the best glambands europe has to offer
at the moment.
HOLLYWOOD TEASZE
HOLLYWOOD TEASZE is without a doubt one of the best european glambands at the
moment. It's suprising that they hail from Germany, which hasn't got any deep
rooted glamtraditions, eventhough HELTER SKELTER was a great band.
HOLLYWOOD TEASZE was formed in 1990 by Chris la Kriz (bass & vocals), influenced
by the LA scene of the late eighties. The other members were Frank E guitar
(vocals & guitar) and Harry la Bumm (drums). They toured a lot and earned
a reputation as a fun and outrageous band. They supported THE BATES, CAPTAIN
SENSIBLE and TRASH BRATS.
HOLLYWOOD TEASZE reached a greater audience with their two excellent demos "They
might suck... but they suck real hard!!!" 93 and "The Wonder years"
95. The first is higly recommended, containing a excellent unreleased song -
"Don't turn your head".
HOLLYWOOD TEASZE's first cd "Glamdolls in toyland" was released in
95 (see review elsewhere in this issue). They've shot a video for "LA diddy"
and considering making a new one, "4 my parents".
Harry la Bumm left the band in late 1996. He was replaced by glam/gothic drummer
Andi hill (ex. BABY DOLLS/ASTRO VAMPS/JAIMZ GANG - the first two are great glam/gothic
bands). If this departure will influence HOLLYWOOD TEASZE remains to be seen.
If you're into glam/powerpop/punk you must check out this band!
JOLLY
POWER
Italy is known for plenty of beautiful things but NOT for being the origin of
any glambands. JOLLY POWER is out to change that. Consisting of Lucka Chiva
(guitars), Belly (bass), Max (drums) and Elia (vocals).
JOLLY POWER started out in late 93, their first demo "Like an empty bottle"
was released soon after. The Tape earned some good reviews. In late 96 they
released their long-awaited debutcd "Fashion, milk and smoking pills".
A very sleazy street affair. The cd is being distributed by Delinquent records.
JOLLY POWER has the potential to put Italy and Europe on the map. Time will
tell. E-mail
THE
ROMEOS
THE ROMEOS are a new glam/punk band from Wales, a fourpiece of Andii Vamp (vocals),
Kristy Kane Lovelock (bass) and Raz L. Nicks (guitars). They're currently without
a drummer. THE ROMEOS play glampunk with the same candycoated hooks as their
american counterparts QUEENIE BLAST POP and THE ZEROS. They will soon release
their first demo, supposed to be a killer! It'll be available for £ 1.00. Contact
c/o 46 Broad street, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glam., South Wales, UK
Interview
I mailed one of the editors of Leather
Boyz,a great glam fanzine - highly recommended, to get a more overall picture
of the european glamscene. The LEATHER BOYZ staff is putting up a glamfestival
this summer, it'll be blast! More on that event later on. Here we go...
1. Could you give me your musical background?
I know it might sound fake or even made up but I really started with the Beatles
& the Stones when I was 9 or something. Then some of my friends started
turning onto Heavy Metal that, at that time, I really could not stand.....at
least until "Theater of Pain" & "Look What the Cat dragged
In" hit me like a ton of bricks, that is! What finally convinced me, though,
was "Inside the Electric Circus". I still remember buying the record
and being blown away by Mr.Lawless's voice: 18 years old and convinced Blackie
was God! I guess this was the second step in my conversion to GLAM - the first
being Poison & Crue, of course.
2. What made you dedicated to GLAM?
Personally, I would entirely blame it on my good friends Ken Anthony and Kelv
Hellrazer: back then these guys were staff writers for the mighty Metal Forces....gee,
I still have some copies of that mag featuring cool bands such as Ruby Slippers,
Maximum, Kidd Comet, Tuff, Tommi Gunn, etc. But If I had to pick "the"
year I went totally Glam, that'd have to be 1989: Pretty Boy Floyd, Vain and
Swingin' Thing all released their killer debut albums then.
3. The European glamscene (with the exception
of the U.K.) has been pretty poor but that's about to change isn't it?
There is a good number of great bands all over Europe: Wales, Germany, France,
Denmark and of course Finland are all on the map....we must not forget that
Glam, like punk, did start in good old Europe in the first place and I have
this hope and hunch it might re-start once again from here: hell, even Italy
has an healthy scene at the moment. What really makes me confident, though,
is that the fans are there, especially the younger ones (at least that's what
my friend Jyrk from the 69 Eyes says!)
4. Could you give G&G readers an in-depth
report on the European glamscene?
If you read the latest issues of Leather Boyz, you'd find tonz of cool glammy
bands waiting for the big break. The leaders are definitely Germany's own Hollywood
Tea$ze and the 69 Eyes even if "newer" acts such as Starry Eyes (Italy),
Romeos (Wales) and Crystal Ecstasy (Finalnd) are ready to steal their crown....but,
as I said, you can find also juicy stuff coming from France (Love Sikk Junkiez
& Undercover Sluts), Norway (Bangkok Babes), Denmark (the great Push) or
even Russia (Cathouse & Lady's Man). Another great outfit that has apparently
broken up recently is Plastic Tears: potentially huge in my humble opinion!
And don't forget the ultimate bunch of pretty boys in drag costumes and heavy
make-up: Smelly Boggs!
5. The glamfestival that you're putting up
this summer is really something
extraordinary! Could you give me all the details on that event?
The original idea came from that couple of lunatics named Dave &
Mic from Starry Eyes. We, at Leather Boyz, helped them put the final line-up
together and are still working with them for all the promotional hassles. The
whole she-bang will take place in Ospedaletti, on the Italian/French border,
one of the most beautiful sea resorts in Northern Italy. It will be held outdoors
on saturday July 19th and it will feature: Hollywood Tea$ze, Starry Eyes, Smelly
Boggs, Jolly Power & Love Sikk Junkiez! It will be a blast, mark my words.
Anyone wishing to receive all the details can E-mail
me or write to my Leather Boyz' bro/editor:
Marco Morrone
Strada Falconera 19
10156 Torino
ITALY