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 Caught in the Carousel - Music Reviews and More
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Billy Boy on Poison
By Alex Green
"Youth is the time to go flashing from one end of the world to the other," Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote. Although the late Scottish writer certainly didn't have the nascent glam rockers Billy Boy On Poison in mind, if he were to see the young L.A. band in person, he'd surely marvel at the great big blast of light that follows in their wake everywhere they go.
Comprised of four teenagers ranging from sixteen to eighteen, Billy Boy On Poison come with all the swagger of T. Rex, the hard rock glam of the New York Dolls and the uninhibited, loose-limbed and bluesy undulations of The Rolling Stones. Those are some pretty big names to throw around when you're talking about a band that's so young—in both its membership and its time on earth—but the legendary comparisons should come as no surprise because Billy Boy On Poison are a band that thinks big.
Inspired to be a musician after hearing Led Zeppelin at the age of seven, Billy Boy On Poison's lanky frontman Davis LeDuke seems hardwired to be a rock star. Known to do everything from performing live in his underwear, to giving his hair an electric rainbow dye-job, to scrolling "Free Fux!" on his lower abdomen, LeDuke has all the swerve of Iggy Pop, the glamour of Bowie and the punk charisma of Sid Vicious. But looks and charisma aside, he's also aware of both the power of youth and—from a philosophical perspective—its fleeting, ephemeral nature.
"Yeah, we've got songs about getting laid and blowing shit up, but it's more than that," he says in the Ironworks press release for his band's debut E.P. Sweet Mess. "It's teenage rebellion," he continues, "trying-to-be-heard stuff. Nobody listens to teenagers or gives a shit about what's on our minds. People say we're the future. We have to save the planet. If that's true, doesn't it make sense to listen to us while we're young, while we're learning, instead of when it's too late and we've gotten all cynical and lost our youthful perspective…?"
Loaded with bold melodies, strutting verses and a horny sexuality, Sweet Mess strikes fast. The opener "Happy Valentines Day" has all the libidinous howl of anything on Van Halen I; the heaving hard rock of "Standing Still" has a prowling urgency and with its stutter-step delivery, "Saturday's Child" sounds like a lost classic from the '70s. Elsewhere, "On My Way" boasts a deliciously dirty punch-and-blast attack and the pounding "Dirty Bomb" is an apocalyptic rock and roll rave-up.
Signed to Ironworks Music, the record label owned by actor Kiefer Sutherland and singer/songwriter/producer Jude Cole, Billy Boy On Poison's Sweet Mess is filled with the poise and nerve of a band with ten albums under their belts. But the fact is, Billy Boy On Poison don't have a decade-old discography and a firmly established global fanbase, so like all new bands, they must tour the world and win fans over one by one. A daunting task, but LeDuke is unruffled: "I can't wait to get in a shitty van and travel the country!" he exclaims in Sweet Mess' company press release: "…Play our songs, speak our truth to audiences who can relate to our sense of frustration with this troubled world."
Allow us to introduce you to the glamour wolves of Billy Boy On Poison.
FULL NAME: Davis LeDuke
NICKNAME: Never really had a nickname—my family calls me "D"…
BAND MEMBERS: ME, Ryan Wallengren, Greg West and Jesi Calcaterra (and a bassist to be named later ;)
HOMETOWN: Los Angeles, CA
WEBSITE: myspace.com/billyboyonpoison
RECORD LABEL: Ironworks Music—we were really lucky because Jude and Kiefer wanted to sign us the day after they first saw us perform. They were the first ones who really wanted the band and not a solo project. They saw my passion and vision for a return to the sexy bands of the '60s and '70s.
DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN ONE SENTENCE: We play dirty, energetic rock and roll.
DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN ONE WORD: pleasurabledirtyrockandroll
PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: Wearing a dress on stage; opening for Stone Temple Pilots.
STRANGEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: Wearing a dress on stage; opening for Stone Temple Pilots.
THE SONG YOU WISH THAT YOU'D WRITTEN: "Star, Star"—The Rolling Stones
THE SONG YOU'RE PROUD AS HELL YOU DID WRITE: "When It Rains It Pours"
FIVE BEST BANDS TO EVER ROAM THE EARTH: Beatles, 'Stones, 'Zeppelin, The who, Bob Dylan
WHAT WERE YOU LIKE AS A KID?: I was very happy all the time and I was really like the pied piper. Wherever I went kids just would gravitate to me. I was also very creative; I was the hardest kid to punish because whenever I was put in a time out, my parents would come back to check on me and I'd have a whole make believe world surrounding me using whatever props were at hand.
LIFE CHANGING MOMENT:
1. The day I listened to Zeppelin II and "Immigrant
Song" on a Bang and Olufsen turntable through JBL studio monitors.
Up to that point, I thought music was best heard through PC speakers
or a walkman! HAHAHA!!!! Every kid should be forced to do that—especially
if they are considering music as a lifestyle.
2. My first hit
MOST HUMBLING MOMENT: Working with Rob and Dean DeLeo.
BEST ALBUM TO PLAY AFTER A BREAK-UP AND YOU'RE HOLDING A BOTTLE OF VODKA AND SOMETHING SHARP: Bob Dylan—Bringing It All Back Home
INDULGENCE YOU REFUSE TO GIVE UP: MJ
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY: Peaceful anarchy
Internet
www.myspace.com/billyboyonpoison
www.billyboyonpoison.com
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