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Anyone who loves Jason McMaster's sleazy, raw, high octane, earsplitting vocals in Dangerous Toys, will also love him in his other kick ass band, Broken Teeth! Broken Ears is more like it, because when you leave a show after McMaster has been screaming through a set, whether he's fronting Dangerous Toys, or whether it's Broken Teeth, your ears are gonna bleed!
Jason McMaster and Dangerous Toys are another one of those bands that got grouped into the whole "Hair Band" scene, but certainly had their own sound, with hard rockin tunes like "Teas'n Pleas'n," "Strange," "Scared," and one of my personal favorites, "Sport'n A Woody," and a shitload of others. The hard rockin Texans definitely left their mark, they rocked hard and loud enough, that they most likely won't be forgotten anytime soon! Dangerous Toys are definitely an asset to this genre of hard rock/metal as we know it.
Although Dangerous Toys aren't doing much anymore, they do still play the occasional gig from time to time. McMaster spends most of his time these days recording and touring with Broken Teeth. The band currently have three great albums out. Their first self-titled cd, which was released in 1999, their second cd titled, "Guilty Pleasure," and a great live cd titled "Blood On The Radio (Live)," which was released in 2004. All great cd's! Get em' if you don't have em'.
I recently caught up with the power vocalist for this exclusive interview for GlamMetal.com TM, and he was able to clear up a couple of things for me, and hopefully for any of you diehard Dangerous Toys fans out there like myself. So, here he is, the man who probably got mistaken for Axl Rose back in the day more than anyone else on the planet! Jason McMaster! Enjoy!
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Jason McMaster, Welcome to GlamMetal.com TM! How the fuck are you man?
I'm great man! Thanks!
I understand you're currently out on tour with your band, Broken Teeth. How's the tour going so far, and how long do you plan to be out?
Technically, we leave for the road on the 12th of July, but we are playing a series of dates here in Austin before we get on with it. We have fun out there, but it's been tough to make a go at doing it yourself. You might see more in the long run, but I believe distribution and some tour support is in order for broken teeth to really start kickin it in the ass out there. We do well on the punk rock side of touring and marketing, but it'll be cool to kick into gear with some help. We are also needing to hit the studio, do a new record, then tour that release. This 2006 summer tour will be a sort of sell all the merch, so we have money to make more type of thing.
You've recorded a couple of kick ass records with Broken Teeth so far, your self-titled debut, "Broken Teeth," your sophomore album, "Guilty Pleasure," and a live cd titled, "Blood On The Radio." Are you currently working on another record, and if so, can you give us an idea of when it may be released?
We don't have a release date for it yet. We have about half the songs done, and are playing them live in the set on tour, but as soon as we can get into the studio, we will. It's just tough at the moment, we gotta get to the markets out there that don't know about us yet, which is another reason to do it now before the new stuff gets out.
For those who don't know that you are fronting another band besides Dangerous Toys, mind telling us a little about Broken Teeth, how it was formed, and how long you have been with the band now?
Well... first off, Dangerous Toys Isn't really a working band any longer. Sure, we do shows every couple of years, and we get asked to do festivals and stuff to commemorate something, or celebrate something with someone, but we haven't made a record since 96, so that's that. You can still see Dangerous Toys play once in a while, but once in a while don't cut it, so other projects seem to rise to the occasion, and Broken Teeth is one of those. What started as an invitation to make a record for Perris Records, as a bartering tool for studio time, became a real rock band. The record (self-titled release 1999 on www.perrisrecords.com ) started to sell, so we had to form a real band around what was three guys in a studio project for fun. That would've been Paul Lidel on guitar, me on vocals and bass, and Bruce Rivers on drums. Since it started to move, we wanted a five-piece classic rock look and feel, so I called Mike Watson for bass, and Jared Tuten for 2nd guitar to round it out. That was the line up until 2002, then Mike left, and Brett McCormick came in on bass. Recently, Paul Lidel has left the band to do other
things, and we have his friend and roommate, Dave Beeson on guitar now. So...I'm the singer, Brett on bass, Jared and Dave on guitar, and Bruce on drums. We work together so well, its scary! The songs write themselves almost, and Paul will also contribute to the writing. Paul and I are still in the Dangerous Toys line up when we play. so... it's all one family.
What made you decide to move on to another band project other than Dangerous Toys?
When Dangerous Toys came off the road ten-years ago, there was nothing but me and Paul writing, with the occasional get together, to see what the Toys plans were. Nothing ever really came up, and we never really broke up, so... me and Paul, and everyone else in the band were open for anything we wanted to do. I went and played guitar in an Industrial Metal band called Terminal 46, and at that same time, I played bass with the Union Underground from San Antonio, which went on to make a record with Columbia Records. (Dangerous Toys original label) I had other projects going also, Gahdzilla Motor Company was taking most of my time, and in 99 the Broken Teeth thing sort of took over everything. I also still found time to play bass for another band called Activator. (search on
www.stonerrock.com ) So...bands come and go...it's the bands people remember, that won't go away. No matter what, those are the ones you tend to fall towards by default. I have always been in more than one project. My newest thing is fronting a Judas Priest tribute band called, Sad Wings.
For those who haven't seen Broken Teeth live yet, what can they expect when they do finally get to a show?
Broken Teeth bring it live! It's about being fierce, and rockin the shit out of everyone with old school stomp! We sound like Motorhead and Rose Tattoo, maybe Nashville Pussy, and Buckcherry sort of. It's nothing new, and we aren't trying to save the world or anything, just trying to make it as nasty as people really like it to be. That is, if you get them of the couch!
What's a couple of your personal favorites to play live, and do y'all cover a couple of Dangerous Toys classics as well?
Broken Teeth do not cover Dangerous Toys, or any other bands that any member has been in. Paul was in Dirty Looks and Lizzy Borden. I was in Watchtower and Union Underground, etc..People ask for Toys, but I just point at the drumhead that says "Broken Teeth" and shrug it off. I like "Devil Money," and "El Diablo." Those are Teeth songs!
What's the writing process like in Broken Teeth?
I usually get a tape of riffs thrown down to a drum beat... real simple, and then I add vocal lines/lyrics, and maybe a bass line. It morphs into something by the time we all get in a room together with it. Seems to work the best that way. I get lyric ideas from all sorts of places, phrases I hear on tv, or on the street. When I hear some funny shit, I usually refer to it in a song.
Are you still working at all with Dangerous Toys, and will you ever record or tour with Dangerous Toys again?
No plans for any Dangerous Toys recordings, but Shadows Fall recorded "Teas'n Pleas'n" for their Century Media Records release called "The War Within." They sent me the master tapes and I did the vocal, sent the masters back, and that was done as a B-side for "The War Within" in Japan. Last week, Shadows Fall released a new cd with a few covers, and some newer recordings of some older songs, and "Teas'n Pleas'n" is one of the covers! Sounds great, and it's cool that they released that in the states domestically for us fans! I have been getting a lot of response from that, and I am also seen live doing "Teas'n Pleas'n" with them on their dvd called, "The Art Of Touring." Those guys in Shadows Fall are real cool, and doing very well. Check out their stuff. Dangerous Toys is playing September 3rd in Austin at a festival called Batfest, on the Congress Ave. bridge, downtown Austin. The ticket price is three bucks! Yes, three bucks, and Rhino Bucket is opening!!
Awesome! Yeah, I wanted to ask you how the Shadows Fall cover of "Teas'n Pleas'n" came out.
Hell yes, it rocks!! They down tuned the guitars on it, so it's heavier and darker, but dude, the Shadows Fall nailed it!! All the parts are true to the song. I'm completely proud of it.
Are you still friends with all of your old Toy-mates, and do you guys stay in touch?
Ya, I talk to Mark Geary the most. Dangerous Toys are still on the lips of many rock fans! We always hear about something someone had said about DangerousToys, and try to catch up with the news on it. Paul is still a song writing partner of mine going on twelve-years now. Mike and Scot are around as well.
Does Dangerous Toys get any major tour offers at all?
No major tour offers, but a few offers to play some club dates. Since we don't tour, and don't make the money that gives us reason to lose our day jobs over for taking a tour, we do play the occasional gig here and there, as I stated before.
What's a couple of your all-time favorite Dangerous Toys tunes?
The entire " The Rtist 4merely Known as Dangerous Toys" cd is killer! But, I guess "Bones in the Gutter," "Angel N. U.," "Ten Boots (Stompin)," and "Strange" are some of my faves. "Scared" is good to!
I really dig the Dangerous Toys cover art! Who does all the spooky clown art, and who came up with the idea to begin with?
Tommy Pons is the original artist. I have known him since 1983, and he is still doing art for people. He did all five Dangerous Toys cd covers, and does art for an Iron Maiden fanzine.
How often did people mistake you for being Axl Rose back in the day, and did you get sick of people thinking that you were Axl all the time?
Hey, It's not my fault that I have red hair and sing high! I wore suspenders in the bands I was in before I knew who Axl Rose was. It was kinda weird seeing his stage attire, and remembering "Hey, I wore that in 1984!" I never denied, or gave benefit of the doubt, reasons why people would think that I ripped off Axl.
What freaked me out, was when people would approach me in the early Guns N' Roses days and actually think I was Axl. I would ultimately end up asking them, "Does Axl have this tattoo, and do you really call yourself and Guns fan?"
I understand Axl looks a lot different now a days, but do you still get the mistaken identity even today?
I don’t think it was ever a case if "mistaken identity," as much as it was ignorance.
(Laughs) I would have to agree there! What were a couple of your favorite Glam-Metal bands from back in the day Jason?
Alice Cooper, The Sweet, T.Rex, Queen, Slade, Bowie, and Kiss. As far as what Los Angeles was doing in the 80s, I wasn't into any of it, until it turned out I was face first, touring with some of the bands. I was in a technical sorta math metal band called WATCHTOWER before I had any interest in what was real popular in any cock rock scene. AC/DC is my favorite cock rock band, and that's an arguable description. I dug the first Bang Tango, LA Guns, and Faster Pussycat releases alot, but Junkyard, Rhino Bucket, and Circus of Power were the bands that usually ended up in my cd player.
Of all the tours you've been on, which bands did you particularly enjoy touring with the most?
Judas Priest, Alice Cooper, Motorhead, Metal Church, The Cult, and LA Guns.
Any crazy, freaky or wild stories from the road you dare to share with us here at GlamMetal.com TM? Something that really comes to mind?
Just being there every night, watching my favorite bands play (Priest, Cooper, Motorhead, The Cult) was the best! Touring with them, I learned alot...how to act, how to be professional, what not to do, how to treat fans... all that.As well, just being on the side of the stage when they walk off, and walk right by you, was energizing! It truly made me think that rock is king, and the music of the true. Fans of rock and metal will die for it! Amen!
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Any newer bands that you really dig these days?
Not really new, but my favorite stuff right now is Danko Jones, the new Rhino Bucket is good, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Shadows Fall... there are a few more that might come to mind later. sorry.
Do you still hail from Texas, and what do you like to do for fun when you aren't working or touring?
Hell yes! Austin is the best, I love it here. Just hanging with my girlfriend, listening to music, and writing songs is about all I have time for between touring. I don't work much, no full-time, but it helps with the gas prices. That is about all I complain about these days, so don't get me started!
I hear ya brother! In closing, is there anything you'd like to say to all of your fans out there Jason?
I love you guys! Anyone who cares about their music as much as rock fans do, you're on my list of kings! You know and feel something that the ones who don't have music or art in their lives are missing. You are the ones who were considered "different" when growing up! "It's just a phase," is what someone told you once, and here you are still rocking, and doing your thing, that’s it, it's your thing! HORNS UP!!! SEE YOU ON THE ROAD MOTHER FUCKERS!!
Thanks for taking the time to talk with GlamMetal.com TM Jason, and good luck with the tour man!
Thanks Doobie!
Anyone interested in more info on Broken Teeth can go to www.brokenteeth.com and www.myspace.com/brokenteeth
For Dangerous Toys info, you can visit www.dangeroustoys.net and www.myspace.com/dangeroustoys3000
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