Toxic Angels: Behind the Music - Part I

Rising from the ashes of obscurity, rock activist, gentleman, (oxford) ballet enthusiast, scholar, concert pianist, roadie and all-around good guy Andrew "Biff" Murray has returned to shed some light on the dark days of cock rock madness he survived with revered 80's high school hair band Toxic Angels. Featuring Skinny Pete, A.Parr Esq., Scotty F and the one and only Sean "Tool" Taylor, who lost the head of his bass in a freak bottle toke accident, the band rocked as hard as they could on a daily basis for one reason, and one reason only: girls. and beer. and metal. and girls. My only advice to you before climbing into Biff's handbasket and venturing on into the depths of hell is: stay away from the brown acid. Take it away Biff....

Hello. My name is Biff and I am a Roadie. My career started with a tragically misunderstood group known at one time as the Toxic Angels. The music industry in 1989 was simply not ready for the agressive style and rebellious, take-no-prisoners attitude this quarrelsome quartet unleashed on a completely unprepared music scene.

After two years in the womb developing their skills, the Angels exploded onto the scene in 1989-90 with their breakthrough demo release "Who Cares?". Their sound was unlike anything Westmount had ever heard. The reverb-drenched, alcohol and stripper-lust fueled genius of legendary engineer/producer Paul Venesoen distilled the raw energy of the group into a focused, auditory blitzkreig.

The band was riding a wave of fame and success. But fame is a cruel, fickle, spiteful bitch. Little did the idealistic young Toxic Angels know that disaster was waiting just around the corner.

After a two week, non-stop, intense recording session for the "Who Cares" EP, the Angels (and their producer/engineer) were both emotionally and physically exhausted (and wildly drunk). It was time for everyone to take a break and regroup. Everyone went their separate ways. So naturally, everyone headed to the Forum to clear their heads and renew their creative energies.

But this was escapism at its' best... there was work to be done. The 'Who Cares' EP was on tape, sure, but it needed to be mixed... it needed the golden touch. There was work to be done. The Toxic Angels had a date with destiny at Studio 107 to groom the beast they had created.

Seizing the moment when their producer had sobered up, the Toxic Angels reluctantly returned to Studio 107 to finish what they'd started. It wasn't easy. The mixing and re-recording sessions were an ongoing labour of love and hate. Comprimises were made, girlfriends interfered, parents complained, and finally after many debates over pitchers at Hanovers, the final changes were accepted. The producer still demanded more cowbell. And in the end, after all the fighting, all the strife and confusion, the group, exhausted again, came back together and agreed on what history will record as the "WHO CARES" EP.

Now in the can, the only thing left to do was to take it on the road.

When we return, the Angels take it on the road, but how will the public react?

Posted by scotty at June 17, 2005 10:08 AM