Interview with Mickey Martin, drummer for L.A.'s Shiny Toy Guns

by: Vivien Weimar

Shiny Toy Guns had been toiling around the L.A. scene for years with their debut album, We Are Pilots, which they put out independently before being picked up by Universal. Recently Grammy-nominated, The Shiny Toy Guns are winding down their European tour and heading back into the studio.

Back in November of last year, I had the opportunity to do an interview with Shiny Toy Guns, but due to their hectic tour schedule as well as trying to find studio time for their new album, the band’s been busy. Finally, SubCulture Magazine got to sit down with drummer Mickey Martin as he got us up-to-speed with what the band has been up to, his musical guilty pleasures and spending Thanksgiving in McDonalds in Spain. You know what they call a Big Mac in Spain? We bet Mikey now does.

Interview with Coffin Joe, Josh and Spider of The Horrors  

By: Vivien Weimar 

Not since the days of The Cramps and The New York Dolls has such a breath of fresh feedback and styling gel been so welcome from one band. England's The Horrors have been honing their darkly themed rock since 2005, but it is this year's release of their epic album, Strange House, that should finally bring the cryptic band to the light of mainstream audiences. Strange House's lead single, "Sheena Is a Parasite" is a whirling dervish of noisy guitars meshed with urgent, screaming lyrics. But perhaps even more impressive is the song’s accompanying video directed by legendary auteur Chris Cunningham (most noted for his over-the-top creepy Aphex Twin montages). Featuring actress Samantha Morton in a modern-day head-spinning role straight out of The Exorcist, it is clear The Horrors are a band where image and sound go hand-in-hand. SubCulture Magazine got a chance to catch up with Coffin Joe of The Horrors as they transverse across America and pay a muddy Glastonbury their first visit support of their new album.