Once in a long while, a band comes out with a true sense of originality. Pink Floyd did it in the `70s with their psychedelia. KISS pulled it off with outlandish costumes and explosive stage shows that caused more than a few fire marshals to shiver in their asbestos civvies. Guns N' Roses followed suit in the late `80s by refusing to compromise with record labels or concerned parents. . .at all. Now, Baltimore may be the proud birthplace of another truly original act. You may have seen their devilishly grinning Alfred E. Neuman-esque mascot, which vocalist/frontman Jeff Henderson refers to as "Disney on dope." The band is Psychoboy.
Formed in early summer `89, Psychoboy is teh brainchild of Henderson and guitarist Jason Mitchell. Henderson and bassist John Urbanski actually had the idea a few years back to form a versatile, original rock band with a sense of humor, but were unable to fill the vacant positions with the right personnel. So the two scapped the project and went their separate ways, vowing that when the time was right, they would try again.
When Henderson fell in with axemaster Jason "Jay" Mitchell and skins basher Sean Sheya years later, he knew the day had come to pick up where he and Urbanski had left off. Jeff explains the chemistry that occurred, "By the time Sean and I hooked up with Jay, we found we all wanted to do the same kind of thing, which was a no holds barred, anything goes. . ."
"Rock and roll circus," John concludes.
"Yeah," Jeff continues. "See, it all comes down to how we're real different from each other. We have arguments and all that shit, and we're real far removed, personally. But the thing we have in common is people we looked up to, whether it be Zeppelin, Fishbone, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queen or Van Halen. All of the bands that, in our minds, were the greatest. Bands that did what they wanted to do and then made it commercial on their own terms. They set the standard as opposed to following it. What we wanted to do was to take all those influences and make a band that was just nuts."
They have succeeded. How often can you go see a hard rock band open up their set with a rap, (and a good one!) then go on to pound out several furious originals, a killer version of James Brown's "I Feel Good," the Red Hots' "Backwoods," and mix it all up with spontaneous one liners?
Jeff describes some of the forces behind the band's performances and writing style. "We are legitimately having a blast when we play, and me particularly. I just lose myself having so much fun. But when we're writing stuff, we made it clear from the beginning that we wanted to avoid as many cliches as possible in every respect: lyrics, what we look like, what we play like. There's a finite number of ways you can say 'I wanna f*ck you' in the lyrics."
"We've said it our own way, though," John clarifies.
"Right," Jeff concedes. "We're real hard on ourselves as a band. Even if a song is good, we still can it if we're not all ravenous about it."
Hopefully, this determination will have brought the Psychoboys some luck in L.A., where they had recently showcased for the labels. Unlike many bands, though, Psychoboy aren't trying to get signed just so they can get chicks and drive Ferraris. According to Jeff, "The thing we're most excited about with getting signed is we'll have an opportunity to make all these ideas we've got tangible. We'll have the resources, because like animation, and market. . .Oh my God, it's gonna be nuts."
With this band's sense of originality and diverse influences, Psychoboy may be a leader in teh future of rock and roll. Jeff has his thoughts on that, too. "I think the `90s are gonna be a lot like the `60s where quality writing and innovation are gonna be heralded as opposed to suppressed like they were in the `80s." John agrees, "Yeah, I think people are demanding quality now."
On that note, what would Psychoboy say to young rock bands trying to make it? Never at a loss for words, Jeff is glad to offer a few suggestions. "Bust your ass and do everything that you can for yourselves, and do it as professionally as possible. Don't compromise anything from your press kits and the way you look to your songs. Be honest with yourself. Brutally honest. If it sucks, admit it to yourself and rewrite and change it. Never, under any circumstances, accept anything less than the best you can do, because if you do, they smell it on you.
"Do something different," he continues. "Have some balls. If you're a listener, go out and listen to stuff that's not on the radio. Promote the bands that are phenomenal but don't get airplay. If you're a musician, don't settle for the second best and don't promote Bon Jovi cookie cutter bullshit, cuz that's what's killing people like us who are trying to do something different and get somewhere."