![]() It wasn’t long after Downe met Bay Area guitarist Greg Steele at Retail Slut and subsequently made contact with drummer Mark Michals and guitarist Brent Muscat that Downe’s brainchild began to take shape.īassist Kelly Nickels was the last to join, stabilizing the lineup for a short while. In 1985, when Downe founded Faster Pussycat, the local scene flooded with anticipation. While many like-minded hopefuls prowled the Sunset Strip in those days, few possessed the work ethic and tenacity of Seattle transplant Taime Downe, a well-connected scenester who worked at a popular rock ‘n’ roll clothing store on Melrose Avenue called Retail Slut and moonlighted at The Troubadour as a stage light operator. Three and half decades later, Faster Pussycat is still rocking, and it feels as fresh as it did in 1986.” Look no further than their 2021releases “Nola” and the Johnny Thunders cover “PirateLove”–Faster Pussycat are as virile and tenacious as ever… and won’t have it any other way.By Andrew DiCecco prospective musicians in the 1980s, West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip was hardly perceived as a proverbial boulevard of broken dreams, but rather an inspiration for bullish expectations, unwavering resolve, and boundless enthusiasm.įlavored with the distinctive aromas of cigarettes, Aqua Net hair spray, and leather, Sunset Boulevard’s 1.5-mile stretch often overflowed with aspiring rock stars and eager concertgoers alike lining the sidewalks outside the scene’s most prominent music venues, including the Whisky a Go Go, The Roxy, Gazzari’s, or The Central. “The only number that really matters to me is the number 35. The gold and platinum records are nice, but Taimeconsiders his greatest accomplishment to be longevity. With an attitude and swagger all its own, their self-titled debut featured the instant classics “Babylon”, “Bathroom Wall,” “Cathouse” and “Don’t Change That Song,” and its follow-up ‘Wake Me When It’s Over’ climbed even higher with the radio hit “House Of Pain,” “Poison Ivy” and “Where There’s A WhipThere’s A Way.” Despite their successes, Faster defied the mainstream mold and always followedfrontmanTaime Downe’s underground sensibilities. Those chops are on full display on the band’s two most recent studio albums and the upcoming new album, “Checkered Past,” arguably one of the most vital and exciting releases in the band’s catalog.įaster Pussycat rose from the depths of the mid-‘80s Hollywood rock scene, taking the Sunset Strip by storm with a sound that wasn’t glam and wasn’t punk but blistered somewhere in between. But despite having many songs to back up that image, the band could also write powerful ballads (see the smash hit, “The Ballad of Jayne” for Exhibit A of this argument) that showed there were some serious songwriting chops in the band. Guns never looked like the pretty poster boys that so many of their peers did, but more the band that you would be terrified to bump into in an alley as they would likely be carrying switchblades and ready for a fight. A must hear and listen for all fans of the band, both new and old. This current incarnation of the band has been touring non-stop, with a notable break coinciding with all other touring bands, and the cohesiveness of the unit, not to mention Phil’s stunning and unique vocals andGuns’mind-bending guitar playing, are on full display here. GUNS, led by Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis has always delivered solid rock ‘n roll to their fans. From their self-titled debut in 1988 to the widely praised comeback albums “The MissingPeace” and “The Devil You Know”, L.A. “Checkered Past” shows a band invigorated and ready to bash you over the head, as well as “wow” you with some epic, slower songs, and even make you dance a bit to some rock ‘n roll. When fans absorb the album as a whole, they’ll see that the tracklisting is divided up into ‘sets’ or ‘suites’, where a sonic style is explored across multiple songs before moving on to the next, making for a remarkable listening experience.įeeling inspired and excited like they did when they first started out, but with many years of wisdom and experience under their belts, and most importantly, a renewed and stronger creative and personal relationship, Guns and Lewis are maintaining a creative peak that started with “The Missing Peace”. Heavier songs are mixed with bluesier, boogie-inducing tracks and dark, introspective ballads, often harkening back to the first three albums the band made but also pushing the band forward. Written and recorded during late 2020 and early 2021, “Checkered Past” sees Tracii Guns, Phil Lewis, and company continuing with the darker lyrical tone of the preceding studio albums, “The Devil You Know” and “The Missing Peace” while incorporating their classic rock influences into the mix.
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