BIOGRAPHY – Pretty Boy Floyd

By 1989 the glam metal cycle was slowly grinding to a halt and bands like Poison and Faster Pussycat had begun flirting with blues, while attempting to distance themselves from their earlier effeminate image. Yet another band to emerge from Hollywood’s so-called “hair metal” scene was Pretty Boy Floyd, whose debut album Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz would gain them minor success as the decade came to an end. Their origins can be traced back to a band called Doll, who had been formed in 1986 by Kery Doll and guitarist Aeriel Stiles, later joined by bassist Michael “Alice” Hannon and drummer Philip “Dare” Geldray. But soon afterwards Hannon decided to leave and form a new group, Salty Dog, effectively bringing Doll to an end.

Stiles immediately set about starting a new band and through the pages of a magazine called Music Connection he met Steve Summers. A fan of glam and classic rock like Kiss, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, Summers was seduced by the Hollywood scene, attending gigs by Van Halen, Mötley Crüe and an upcoming group known as Guns N’ Roses. Stiles and Summers met up and began discussing the possibility of working together, while Stiles began composing songs that would eventually find their way onto Pretty Boy Floyd‘s debut album. The next musician to join the line-up was Vinnie Chas, who had grown up in Seattle and had started a group while still in his teens with a friend from high school, Jerry Cantrell. Their first project together was Sinister, a cover band that performed songs by Def Leppard, UFO, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. At Chas’ suggestion they soon relocated to Dallas, Texas, but eventually the band fell apart and Cantrell went on to form Alice in Chains. Chas instead moved to Los Angeles and found an advert in a local magazine called the Recycler, which led him to Stiles. With drummer Kari Kane also joining the group, the first incarnation of what would become Pretty Boy Floyd was born.

Stiles soon became disillusioned with his bandmates and frustrated by their lack of progress and announced his decision to leave. Despite the setback, Summers managed to find a suitable replacement, Kristy Majors. Born Chris Maggiore and raised in New York, Majors had grown up on the city’s thriving punk scene, often attending shows at the legendary CBGB, where he witnessed bands like the Ramones, the New York Dolls and the Dead Boys performing. It would be the Ramones that would have the most effect on him, prompting him to learn how to play the guitar. For a time he enjoyed minor success with his local band Sik Bitch (later known as Jett Black), but inspired by the countless Hollywood metal bands that were currently being signed by major labels, Majors decided to head out to Los Angeles to find fame and fortune. The title Pretty Boy Floyd came at the suggestion of one of their friends, Kim Fowley, and was inspired by the name of a bank robber who was apprehended and shot during the 1930s.

Although Stiles had left the band, they decided to continue using the material he had written. In an interview with Lollipop Magazine Online, Stiles later recalled; “I went to their first show at the Roxy. I was surprised when I was outside and was hearing – it might’ve been Leather Boyz. Then I was really surprised when I got in and every song they played was my song. I had no idea they were doing that.” Pretty Boy Floyd were eventually offered a deal with a major label, MCA Records, a company whose experience with metal artists was minimal. As they were preparing to enter the studio to record their first album they received news of legal action from Stiles, who was concerned that the band were still performing his songs without permission and would not give him the credit that he deserved. These issues were eventually settled out of court, although when the album was finally released there was no writing credits listed on the sleeve, nor was Stiles referenced in the acknowledgements (although early supporters like Cantrell were). Of the ten songs that would make their way onto the album, only nine were original compositions, while one was a cover of an obscure Mötley Crüe track, Toast of the Town, although once again credit for this was not included in the production notes.

While hair metal was often ridiculed for its pomposity and flamboyance, the musicians from this scene were very skilled and many of the songs were based around complex riffs or solos. To prepare for the upcoming recording sessions, Chas was introduced by their producer, Howard Benson, to a professional bass player called Steve Bailey. An experienced music teacher, Bailey had arrived in Los Angeles in 1985, following a career performing with Paquito D’Rivera and Dizzy Gillespie. The recording of the album would take place in the summer of 1989 at Kajem Victory Studios in Philadelphia, while Benson would be assisted in the mixing by Bill Jackson at The Enterprise in Burbank, Los Angeles.

The only song from the sessions that would not be included on the album was a cover of the 1975 Alice Cooper classic Department of Youth. Originally recorded for the soundtrack to the Wes Craven horror movie Shocker, the song would be cut from the film, although Megadeth‘s rendition of Cooper’s No More Mr. Nice Guy would be released as a single to promote the feature. 1989 would see the release of new albums by Aerosmith, Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns and Alice Cooper and would be the last successful year for hair metal. For those outside of the Hollywood scene, their introduction to Pretty Boy Floyd would come with the single Rock & Roll (Is Gonna Set the Night on Fire), which would receive heavy rotation on MTV’s Headbangers Ball. But as they began to taste success they would once again face legal action, this time from a Canadian rock band also called Pretty Boy Floyd. Formed by Vancouver native Tommy Floyd, the group had released an EP and full length album, both known as Bullets & Lipstik, but had failed to break into the American mainstream.

Floyd discussed the issues over the Pretty Boy Floyd moniker with Metal-Rules.com; “In 1989 a group of imposters from L.A. ran ads in BAM magazine looking for a guitarist to complete their new band Pretty Boy Floyd?!. At the time, I was amazed that any band would even attempt to capitalize on all of our sweat. I called the L.A. band and inquired about the guitar gig and then asked them where they came up with the name. They openly bragged “some band from Canada!”… After a meeting with my manager at the time and our trademark lawyer, we all agreed that enough damage had been done to the name. That even if we decided to hang on to it (as I owned the trademark) there was significant damage done. There was so much confusion in the industry and media that no one seemed to know who was who. But the one single fact we couldn’t overlook was that they were on a “major.” Of course, we didn’t let on to the L.A. band that we were no longer interested in keeping the name. We eventually settled out of court with MCA giving us a nice chunk of change.”

Pretty Boy Floyd continued to perform around the Hollywood club scene, opening for more established acts like L.A. Guns and Warrant. A second video, the power ballad I Wanna be With You, brought the band further success, while they would also be featured on the soundtrack to the hit movie The Karate Kid, Part III, where they would be credited as PBF. The album Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz would eventually sell 750,000 copies, but the music industry began to shift towards the Seattle scene and men in make-up were no longer in vogue. MCA decided to clean house, first starting with the staff and then the artists, including Pretty Boy Floyd. Following the dissolution of the band, Chas teamed up once again with Stiles to form Rattlin’ Bones, before venturing into the world of filmmaking as part of Sony Pictures’ special effects department. Majors would also join Sony, working as an A&R rep, but in 1998 their hiatus came to an end when they were approached by independent Los Angeles label Cleopatra Records about re-recording some of their earlier material for a new album.

Although Summers, Majors and Kane returned for the recording of Porn Stars, Chas was preoccupied with his new projects. In his place was Keff Ratcliffe, who had started his career in the UK before emigrating to the United States. Another new addition was guitarist Keri Kelli, whose résumé included the long-forgotten Big Bang Babies and the Newlydeads, the latter formed by Faster Pussycat frontman Taime Downe. Porn Stars would feature a total of six songs from Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz that would be reworked, as well as covers of Shout It Out Loud by Kiss and Cooper’s Department of Youth. “We were offered some good money to record that album but looking back I wish we would have passed on that,” Majors told Love-It-Loud.com last year.

Despite having recorded a new album, it seemed that Pretty Boy Floyd had no interest in an official reunion. In 1999 Majors and Summers contributed to the album Backstreet Anthems by Shameless, a record that would also feature appearances from Eric Singer (Kiss), Stevie Rachelle (Tuff) and Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns). In 2002 Majors released his first solo album, The Devil in Me, which had originally intended to be a Pretty Boy Floyd record before he parted ways with the band. The following year he released For Those About to Sniff Some Glue… (We Salute You), a tribute to his idols the Ramones. Among the classic that he would choose to cover were I Just Wanna Have Something to Do, Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue and Censorshit, avoiding the band’s more popular titles. Majors also teamed up once again with Kelli to form New World Idols, while also continuing to release solo material, resulting in the albums Goodbye Rock-N-Roller and Sex, Drugs ‘N’ Rock N Roll.

Pretty Boy Floyd continued regardless, recruiting Lesli Sanders to take his place. Sanders had performed in several obscure bands during the 1990s, including Tramp Alley and The Lemons, but Pretty Boy Floyd would be his first professional group. Over the next few years they would undergo numerous line-up changes, with Davey Lister taking over as guitarist in 2007. Having been taught by Skid Row‘s Dave Sabo, Lister had performed with Mars Needs Women and Frankenstein 3000, while also working as assistant art director for adult magazine Gent. His introduction to Pretty Boy Floyd had come via the drummer from his previous group the Dropoutz, but it was clear that his time with the band would be short-lived. In 2008 Kane and Kari joined Summers onstage in Hollywood, prompting rumours about a possibility of the classic line-up reforming, but while Majors would remain with the band Kane once again slipped into obscurity.

The next drummer to join the band was Troy Patrick Farrell, who had joined White Lion in 2005 following the departure of Bjarne T. Holm. Over the years he had also performed with Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille and former Warrant frontman Jani Lane, while also taking part in the “super group” Lost Angels with ex-Mötley Crüe singer John Corabi and session musician Eric Dover. In 2009 another compilation was released called Glam as Fuck, following just five years after The Ultimate Pretty Boy Floyd. On April 6th 2010 Chas passed away in Vancouver, Washington at the age of forty-six. He had been working with former bandmates Stiles and Kery Doll on a revamped version of Doll. Later that year Pretty Boy Floyd released Kiss of Death, a tribute album dedicated to their heroes Kiss, a band they had covered numerous times before. Among the tracks were reworkings of the classics Love Gun, Strutter and I Love It Loud, as well as lesser known songs such as Firehouse and Deuce.

Members would continue to come and go, with ex-Enuff Z’Nuff drummer Vik Foxx taking over from Farrell and making his live debut with the band in Rosario, Argentina in October 2010. Foxx would leave following a tour and was replaced by Ben Graves, best known for his work with the Murderdolls. The future of Pretty Boy Floyd remains unclear; it has been over a decade since they last released an album of original material and have constantly changed their line-ups, with Summers being the only constant member. In February Sleaze Roxx reported that Majors had posted a statement online expressing his frustration with the band; “Well folks it seems like Pretty Boy Floyd has returned to a dysfunctional operation so I will just be putting out a new solo album this year, and the Pretty Boy Floyd new record is on permanent vacation.” Regardless, the band recently completed a successful tour of Scandinavia so, even if they have no intention of recording new material, Pretty Boy Floyd remain a popular live act.

See larger image Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz (Audio CD) List Price: $9.98 USD New From: $39.76 In Stock Used from: $18.94 In Stock Release date October 5, 1989.