Bulletboys
Biography
BulletBoys is a glam metal band from Los Angeles, California that was formed by vocalist Marq Torien, guitarist Mick Sweda, and bassist Lonnie Vencent in the late 80s after they left King Kobra. It also featured new young rock drummer Jimmy DAnda. Their self-titled debut album, labeled by one critic as "a decadently wonderful excursion into the eye of the hair metal hurricane", brought them huge commercial success, producing the top 40 rock hits "For The Love Of Money" (an offbeat The OJays cover) and "Smooth Up in Ya" (also known as simply "Smooth Up").
The band’s first two albums, featuring melodic pop metal arguably a cut above the style of the times, were 1988s BulletBoys and 1991s Freakshow, both distributed by Warner Brothers. Well received by many musical critics such as those from the All Music Guide, massive fan support allowed the group to at least partly weather the storm of musical changes at the start of the 90s. Some critics, supporters and detractors alike, compared the band to David Lee Roth-era Van Halen, as the bands blues-inspired riffs as well as Toriens vocal and performing similarities were noted as being partly derivative. That argument was furthered by the fact that rock impresario Ted Templeman produced both the Roth-era Van Halen albums and the BulletBoys. Still, the guitar work for the Bulletboys was nowhere near the level of Eddie Van Halen, albeit still showing serious talent, so the comparisons are limited.
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Though having successful tours, the BulletBoys appeared to have possibly peaked too early while it seemed that the changing times had also eaten away into the groups fan-base. Soon after releasing 1993s Za-Za to a mixed reception, an album that went in more of a power pop direction reminiscent of Cheap Trick, the group split up. Singer Marq Torien and bassist Lonnie Vencent continued to use the BulletBoys name and recorded Acid Monkey. A heavily alternative inspired album that was a major departure from the band’s usual hard rock style, the 1995 release seemed to be a clear sign of an end of an era.
All original members got together to record new tracks for one album in 2000, which was titled Greatest Hits: Burning Cats And Amputees (also known as just Burning Cats And Amputees). Marq and Lonnie then released a new album, Sophie, in 2003 under the BulletBoys name. This album featured vocal performances from former Skid Row lead singer Sebastian Bach. Interestingly, producer Andy Johns had also worked with major Bulletboys influence Van Halen (along with numerous other artists).
More recently, line-up changes havent just meant that frontman Torien has been the only constant member of the group but have also caused sticky issues with touring. The release of 2009s 10 Cent Billionaire got some initial buzz, yet disaster struck as the recession crippled the groups label and sunk the bands hopes for a large-scale comeback. Still, 2011s Rocked and Ripped and 2015s Elefante have shown that even when down for the count the group refuses to give up.
In 2009, they released their sixth album, titled 10c Billionaire, on Chavis Records. The material was originally written in 2006 with plans, by Torien, for a new project using the same name. However, they eventually released it under the BulletBoys moniker. In October, original bassist Lonnie Vincent returned to the group while guitarist Tony Marcus (XYZ, Arcade, Vicious Delite) was also added to the lineup with a tour of the US announced soon after.
In January 2010, the group were confirmed to play the Stockholm Rock Out Festival on April 30 of the same year. In March, the song "Smooth Up In Ya" appeared briefly in the movie Hot Tub Time Machine. In April, the group were confirmed to play another Festival, Rock N America, that took place July 23–25. On August 28, 2011, former drummer Johnny Giosa died in a car accident in Los Angeles at the age of 42.
On December 12, 2019, BulletBoys announced that their original lineup would be reuniting. The reunion kicked off with a hometown gig on December 30, 2019 at the Whiskey a Go Go. In January 2022, Mick Sweda revealed that he and drummer Jimmy D’Anda were no longer part of the BulletBoys. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.