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| JUNKYARD | |
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| BIO | VIDEO |
A gritty, heavily tattooed outfit that infused elements of southern rock and blues into their brand of rock and roll. Their no-frills brand of rock'n'roll, where the music mattered more then the image, should have made them household names, but they failed to have much in the way of commercial success. Formed in Los Angeles by a couple of transplanted Texans in David Roach (vocals) and Chris Gates (guitar, ex-Big Boys, Poison 13/current-Chris Gates and Gatesville). Members came and went before they offered the drum stool to Pat Muzingo (drums, ex-Decry, Suckerpunch, Speedbuggy, The Atoms, S.V.D.B., Tourists), who in turn brought with him bassist Clay Anthony. The final piece of the puzzle was the addition of guitarist Brian Baker (guitar, ex-Minor Threat, Dag Nasty/ current Bad Religion), whom Gates knew from the punk circuit when he was in such bands as Minor Threat and Dag Nasty. The self-titled debut album, produced by the legendary Tom Werman, followed a grittier hard rock path than the punk roots of the members. The follow-up, "Sixes, Sevens and Nines” (produced by Ed Stasium) was more of the same raunchy music, and just before it's release Todd Muscat ( bass, ex-Decry, Kill For Thrills) replaced Anthony. A third album was never officially released as the band was dropped from their recording contract ( music recorded during that time was released in 2008 under name of “XXX” and “Joker” on iTunes). The writing was on the wall for the group and they went their seperate ways. A live album was released in early 2000 (Shut Up- We’re Tryin’ to Practice), and the band began to do a few live shows in America and Japan with Tim Mosher (guitar-ex Broken Glass, Suckerpunch) replacing Baker. A mini album of new and old songs was released (Tried and True-2003) and in 2007 a release (Put It On Ten and Turn the Knobs Off) a collection of early demos and covers that capture the band in it's true raw element, plus a live DVD recorded in Austin, Texas on the bands 1st tour back kin 1989. There is still a few things available at http://junkyardblooze.com/ After the 1st of the year there will be a brand new website that will feature more information, a timeline, a band tree, a blog from all band members and much much more. Here is a great review posted everywhere on the internet: "Junkyard never attained the same level of commercial success achieved by other pop-metal acts of the late 80s like Motley Crue, but they were at least as deserving of such success. Mixing pop metal with classic Southern rock, Junkyard's debut album blew me away when it came out. I was a huge Lynyrd Skynyrd fan and had long been curious what it might sound like if a band took Skynyrd's sound and made it heavier. Junkyard proved to be just the band I was looking for. Songs like "Blooze" and "Texas" just plain rock out, while "Simple Man" really does make you want to "grab your keys and your cigarettes and disappear into the night" even if like myself, you don't actually smoke. "Hands Off" is arguably the best song on the album - both lyrically and musically this song shows what a special band Junkyard were. Junkyard rocked and lived hard, and were said to be difficult to drag into the studio to record albums. Thus, we are left with only two real albums by these guys, the first of which I believe to be the best. If you do find that you like Junkyard's Junkyard as much as I do, try your best to find an old copy of their fine follow-up Sixes, Sevens, and Nines. These guys should have been stars...." |
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