May 25, 2006 Jetboy Shakes Up The Whiskey / All Access Magazine
By Maya Dawn Henderson Photos by Bam and Danni Valdez
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When Jetboy first came out on the San Francisco scene, back in the early 80’s, my rock friends and I were instantly hooked on their high-energy, punk-driven glam-edged style. This was shear pleasure to our ears, and our eyes, especially being in a city where the rock scene was predominately ruled by speed metal at the time. Jetboy was an exemplary image of a hard rock glam band. They managed to fabricate elements of punk, glam and traditional hard rock into their own distinct sound. Even back then, seeing Jetboy at Mabuhay Gardens and the Stone in San Francisco, there was no denying you were in the presence of a band who knew that, even if they didn’t change the face of rock, they would have damn good time doing it for their audience. Five guys that wanted to be in a band, play rock and roll, and just have a kick-ass time and that comes through loud and clear with their unpretentious yet powerful songs.
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Raucous and wild, they stormed the stage at the Whiskey this late April evening, opening with my favorite Jetboy song, Feel The Shake. An anthemic song of the late 80’s, with a strong, slow, groovin’ bass intro, solid ¼ note drums, the wailing high-pitched guitars, the lyrics somewhat predictable, but no less monumental . . “cause I ain’t happy till it makes my ears bleed! “ This is a tune of epic proportions and that stirs up memories of KNAC. They played Make Some Noise and Bad Disease after that, maintaining the standard, necessary loud guitars and screaming, scratchy vocals. These are songs about drinking and drugging and chicks and all kinds of debauchery. The guitars ooze 80's cockiness, and have the playing savvy to back it up, while the drumming lands on every pin head. A great mix of blast and atmospheric rhythms built up to Locked in a Cage. This is fun, simple glam meets metal meets hard rock music and yet somehow none of it comes off gawdy or campy. Although slightly schizophrenic the songs, In The Alley and Car Sex both packed a powerful and emotive punch. Mickey Finn belted them both out with some sassy, LA Guns-styled vocals, with that emphasis on snottiness. I recalled a punk-like, more minimalist approach to his style, almost coming across like an homage to Joey Ramone.
Filled to bursting point, with one of the more sweaty, electric and enthusiastic crowds in recent memory, Jetboy packed the Whiskey.. Looking for “a Jetboy” upon entering, I asked a mo-hawked kid at the bar if he was a new member in the band…”I wish!” he yelled. So there you have it . . . they drew all ages and their fan base reaches far beyond the Bay Area. Fire In My Heart was played next and it really echoed of an era gone by that needs to be revisited. Not to say it sounded dated, far from it. Laden with melodic hook, this music sparks a wistful nostalgia in me, harking back to the days when poodle perms were, oh so cool. The bass-player, a-young-version-of-Joe-Perry-look-alike, whipped off his shirt during the tune Talkin’. Two words, air guitar. ‘Nuff said. The players in Jetboy, as a whole, delivered the adrenaline shot that the whole eighties and early nineties street rock output seemed to conjure up so effortlessly. They kicked in to the song Hair and I couldn’t help think of how they were somewhat reminiscent to those theatrical metal gods, Kix. They maintained a strong, epic command of the music's atmosphere throughout their set. They closed up the evening’s set with Rock n’ Roll All Night. The closer-tune brought things to a highly evocative climax to this show.
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It was most excellent to see Jetboy playing out again. I had a chance to say hello to the band just before the show. I ran backstage just to say hello to my Bay Area gunner-friend, Fernie Rod. Their back stage area was packed with make-up -donning, rock-star-lookin’ types everywhere. I noticed many LA based fans back there, including ex -Vixen bassist, Cher, I elbowed my way in and found Fernie and Billy. They filled me in on the latest band going on’s. Thankfully, Jetboy has reunited, with all original members, the one exception being former Exodus bassist Michael Butler. (Well, that’s still an SF band, I reassured them). Today Jetboy is; Mickey Finn on lead vocals and harmonica , Fernie Rod, rhythm and lead Guitar and backing vocals, Billy Rowe on rhythm and slide guitar and backing vocals, Michael Butler on Bass guitar and backing vocals and very much the S.F. kid, Ron Tostenson on drums.
Right now, they’re in the process of booking dates for the near future. They’re also releasing a CD/DVD with a chronological collection of songs from the early years till the final ones, along with some great video footage. This, I have to get my hands on. Also, they’re releasing a separate DVD of the first reunion show from the Key Club June 22nd. 2005. This was from the Hollywood Rocks CD box set release party, which was the first live appearance Jetboy had done In 14 years! That was the show that got the ball rollin' to reform and work as a band again. So listen, definitely check out Jetboy at their website and of course at their myspace page. Keep your eyes open for the next time they’re here. Why? I’m telling you, these San Francisco boys rule! www.jetboyrocks.com www.myspace.com/jetboyrocks
~ Maya Dawn Henderson ~