Theo and The Skyscrapers Are Touring the East Coast with The Damned (Dec '08/Jan '09)

Theo and the Skyscrapers (T.A.T.S.) are supporting The Damned on the band's current East Coast run.

T.A.T.S. is the current project from former Lunachicks vocalist Theo Kogan and the band is finishing work on their third CD which is scheduled for release in Spring '09.

T.A.T.S. tour dates with The Damned are:

Dec 29, 2008 8:30PM - The Black Cat Washington, Washington DC
Dec 31, 2008 9:30PM - The Blender Theater @ Gramercy NY, New York
Jan 02, 2009 8:00PM - Wonder Bar Asbury Park, New Jersey
Jan 03, 2009 9:00PM - Theater Of Living Arts Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 04, 2009 8:00PM - Paradise Rock Club Boston, Massachusetts

Links:
Theo and the Skyscrapers' MySpace Profile

Toilet Boys - "Sex Music" CD Review

The Toilet Boys have returned for one last hurrah. A new CD of previously unreleased tracks, "Sex Music", was released in December on Dead City Records.

This isn't a Toilet Boys reunion though as the majority of tracks were written and demo'd by the band prior to their breakup in 2003. There is one newly written song on this disc, "Drug of Choice", along with a remix of this song by each of the three band members.

This disc is a fun return to the not-so-long-ago days when the East Village was both sleazy and dangerous. Anyone who caught the band's live show in the late 90's will know exactly what I mean. This disc captures the high-energy glam/gutter punk sounds of the first few Toilet Boys releases and the leadoff track, "Sex Music", sets the tone for the rest of the disc. "Sex Music" starts with a spoken word intro from Theo and Debbie Harry and song has the repeated chorus "This is the sound of flesh". To repurpose a quote that Sean Pierce gave to Rolling Stone 10 years ago...Sex Music is the sound of an "already an up-and-running rock & roll machine going for broke and kicking ass".

Aside for the remixes, which are fun but unessential, there isn't a bad track on this disc. The Toilet Boys even tip their hat to former tour mates The Ramones with a glammed-up cover of "Carbona Not Glue".

The band held a CD release party at the Marquee a few weeks ago but, sadly, have no active plans to record or tour. It looks like each of the Boys will keep on with their current solo projects - Sean is playing in Theo's band, Eddie is in Psychic TV and Miss Guy is finishing up a solo CD.

Screen Test: Interview w/ Rob Roth, Theo Kogan & Sean Pierce

Earlier this afternoon, I had the chance to talk with Rob Roth (who conceived and directed Screen Test) along with Theo Kogan and Sean Pierce (who are performing the live score) about the upcoming performance of Screen Test.



Screen Test "seamlessly blends haunting hallucinatory imagery, modern paranoia, and the gritty sensibility of the NYC underground rock scene to explore what is real and artificial, the role fantasy plays in survival, and how the political and media landscapes of fear affect our current mindset."

This is the third year that Screen Test has been in production so check out one of the clips from last year's performance. There are a couple other clips on YouTube.



Screen Test is playing at the Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street. The shows are January 12 & 13 and the performance starts at 8:30PM each night. Tickets are $20.

Toilet Boys' CD Release Party is at The Marquee on Wednesday, December 12th

After four years of silence, The Toilet Boys are "back" for one final release, "Sex Music". Most of the tracks on "Sex Music" were written and demo'd in the year before Toilet Boys went on their final tour.

"Four years later, the Boys have come together to re-record some of these demo's that would have made up their next release. The energy of the sessions even inspired a brand new track -- “Drug of Choice” – complete with a remix by each member of the band.”

Here is the complete track list for the new CD:
1 Sex Music
2 Nothing To Lose
3 Gimme Everything
4 Astrological
5 Gods And Monsters
6 Carbona Not Glue (Ramones cover)
7 Drug Of Choice
8 Let's Do It Again

Remixes:
9 XXX Music (The Cult of Sean Pierce Remix)
10 Nothing To Lose (Miss Guy Loves Daddy mix)
11 Drug Of Choice (Electric Eddie Meets Bryin Dall Remix)

The record release party is at The Marquee, 289 10th Avenue.

Links:
Toilet Boys' MySpace page
Dead City Records