I used to listen a lot to Beautyqueen killerz a couple of years ago. They had an interesting sound and an image which attracted me. They recently released their first cd under a new monicker. Glam & Glitzine decided to visit The Forbidden Planet.

Q: Could you give me an in-depth background on Forbidden planet, for those not familiar with the band

Dave: We started under the name Beauty Queen Killerz in the fall of 1994. We met through an ad in the DC city paper. I can't remember exactly what the ad said, but I know it mentioned glam, the Stones, Stooges, Bowie and New York Dolls. So, we all were pretty much into the same stuff and we started rehearsing. We played a ton of shows and put out a cassette under the Beauty Queen Killerz. Then after a line-up change, we switched our name to Forbidden Planet and put out a cd. Dan sings, Stikky plays drums, Matt plays bass, Jim plays lead guitar, and I play rhythm guitar.

Q: You remind me of some seventies glam/glitter bands eventhough your sound is a bit rawer. Do you agree? Which are your influences?

Stikky: Yeah, I think that's pretty accurate. We like having upbeat, catchy songs, but we also like our songs to pack a punch. As far as influences, I'd say T. Rex and the New York Dolls.
Matt: David Bowie.
Dan: The Troggs, the Cramps and the Stones.
Jim: Early Who, the Beatles.
Dave: The Stooges and the early Kinks.

Q: You changed your name from Beautyqueen killerz to Forbidden planet. The first name is typical glam while the latter is a lot more thoughtful. Does it suit the direction you're currently taking? What do you mean by it?

Dan: I think the name change was a good thing. It helped us get away from being pigeonholed as a glam band. We got the name Forbidden Planet from the movie which we think is really cool.

Q: You have recently released your first cd. Any thoughts on the product? Are you satisfied with it?

Jim: Yeah, we're satisfied with it. We enjoyed working on it and can't wait to get back into the studio for the next cd.

Q: Any plans on releasing a single or a video? How are you going to promote the cd?

Stikky: We do have a video in production at the moment. We shot the footage and it just needs to be edited. We've been promoting the cd through shows, airplay, fanzines and magazines.

Q: What is your opinion on the tendencies and chances of a glamrevival? Do you consider Forbidden planet as glam? If not, how would you label your music?

Matt: There's always a possibility of a glam revival because glam puts a great emphasis on having the music be fun and I find the music of today to be quite boring. As far as a label for our music, we like to think of it more as glam-punk. A glam sound with more of an edge.

Q: How can GLITZINE's readers get in touch with you?

Dave: They can e-mail us  or write to us at: Forbidden Planet, PO Box 3654, Silver Spring, MD 20918.

Rebel Rebel was formed in 1990 in Los Angeles. Influenced by such groups as Jane's Addiction, Alice Cooper and The Plasmatics. They are currently breakin' some major territory with their debutcd "Lifestyles of the sick & Fameous". I thought it was about time Glitzine got a little chat with The Kings of Noise.

Q: Please introduce Rebel Rebel to  Glitzine's readers?

Ted (Rebel Rebel): Jet (vocals), Teddy (guitar), Marchello (bass) and Giz (drums). We've been together eight years and formed in L.A. We're like brothers, in it til the end.

Q: Your cd "Lifestyles of the sick & fameous" has been out a while? Have you got any feedback on it?

Ted: Our cd came out in Jan 97 and has done well. Reviews all over Europe, Asia and the U.S. Perris distributes it and we get fat checks every three months so I guess it's doing well. We sold out and had to repress it. Airplay all over the world! We've got some offers but we want a BIG deal and won't stop til we accomplish that.

Q: I think Rebel Rebel has a very special sound. How did you develope that certain noise?

We love action/gangster films and sc-fi stuff and wanted to include it in our music. We do it on a primitive level. We don't use samples and tapes live like Marilyn Manson. We record the stuff off of videos on cable into a cheap tapemachine and I play the shit live the same way. Turn on the machine and I control it with a volume pedal so you get a different mix every show. You won't see us do anything we can't do live.

Q: I know that you've toured a lot. When is your next show? Are you hittin' the road again soon?

Ted: We've just done shows with Total Chaos and Impotent Sea Snakes and in November we're doing a California town with Thee Trash Brats. We get a lot of offers but it's not always financially possible. We have good jobs and if we can't make an equal amount on the road, we'll stay in California.

Q: You've been fameous for your outrageous stageshow, could you tell me a bit about it?

Ted: We do have a wild show. Alot of times clubs want us to chill out but we just do what we do and usually end up getting banned. We break shit, set stuff on fire and play some really good, fast music!

Q: Do you have any new material? In case you have, what does it sound like?

Ted: We have a lot of new stuff. We've recorded some new stuff, seven songs like "MK ultra"; "Venus + X" and "LAs Vegas total". Our manager is still shopping our cd to promoters, labels and others, so it still has some life in it. It hasn't got out there yet, the way we want it to before we put out another cd. The New stuff is harder and deeper but in the same style with the same elements.

Q: Anything else you think everyone should know?

Ted: Buy the cd and check out our website at http://www.indieweb.net/rebelrebel. See our show when we come to town!