finetune artist: Faster Pussycat

The mid-80s Los Angeles glam/sleaze scene that produced Guns N'Roses also saw the formation of Faster Pussycat in 1986, around vocalist Taime Downe and guitarist Mick Cripps - although Cripps later departed for L.A. Guns along with original bass player Kelly Nickels. Downe, formerly co-owner of LA club The Cathouse, recruited guitarists Brent Muscat and Greg Steele, bassist Eric Stacy and drummer Mark Michals, and, with their name deriving from Russ Meyer's movie Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, the band signed to Elektra Records in December 1986. Faster Pussycat was recorded on a low budget with Poison producer Ric Browde, and was an infectious collection of Aerosmith/Rolling Stones-influenced numbers, with the band's sense of humour shining through in "Bathroom Wall", "Don't Change That Song" and "Babylon". A UK tour with Guns N'Roses and US dates with Alice Cooper, David Lee Roth and Motrhead helped to build respectable album sales, and the band had matured considerably by the time they recorded Wake Me When It's Over with John Jansen. This buried the glam image under a heavier sound and greater lyrical depth, with "Pulling Weeds" addressing the abortion issue, while the emotive "House Of Pain" examined the trauma of divorce through a child's eyes. The humour still permeated through, however, on "Slip Of The Tongue" and "Where There's A Whip There's A Way". Michals left in disgrace, jailed on drugs charges, on the eve of a European tour with the Almighty and Dangerous Toys, and Frankie Banali filled in before Brett Bradshaw assumed the drumstool for further US touring with Kiss and Mtley Cre. Whipped showed further progression and a different approach, but emerged into a much-changed musical climate. Despite the quality of the album, Faster Pussycat fell victim to a combination of the recession and the success of the Seattle bands - ironically, Downe was a Seattle native - with Elektra dropping them while they toured America with Kiss. The band split shortly thereafter. Taime Downe was later seen working with Pigface.

Listen to Faster Pussycat at Finetune.

House of Pain
Bathroom Wall
Poison Ivy
Slip of the Tongue
Babylon