SHINY TOY GUNS
done by George/Radio Souns of the Suburbs and DaniK

When did the band form and were they friends before they formed the band?
Answer: Chad and I (Jeremy) have been writing music together since 1990. Carah and Mikey joined the band about 2 years ago or so.

Where are the band based, are they all from the area?
Answer: We are based in Los Angeles, in the Hollywood area.

Who writes the songs?
Answer: Chad and I write and produce all the music ourselves. Then we bring
everything together as a group and compare ideas and thoughts as to where the final direction of the song should be pointed and who it should be pointed at.

How would the band describe their sound and how has it evolved?
Answer: Our sound today is real simple .. its a marriage of voices, guitars and
synthesizers..something that each song focuses on directly.
Some songs are sharper towards more of a rock element, some are driven
more via technological aspects as far as sounds and shape.
Still each one never forgets the other, everyone within this relationship
is respected and reflected evenly.
The evolution? We are always moving .. and always have been. We started
a bit leaned towards electronic music and steadied everything
to where it was more balanced between rock and electronic naturally as we
continued to tour America.

Who would the band list as musical influences?
Answer: Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, enigma for music that we have had in our lives
for years.
Currently we listen obsessively to new music from bands like mew, the
ours, metric, the sounds and Tommie sunshine.

How important are fans to a groups development and how hard is it
developing a fan base for a group like Shiny Toy Guns in the States?
Answer: Our friends are our lives and everything we know. We take a backwards
approach...we are the fans' band...people are not OUR fans.
We listen to everything single thing anyone says and take it dead
seriously. we answer every single email, read every story,
listen to every demo and keep all the pictures people send us. Its a
relationship that we will never default on and its the most important thing in our lives.
And its never "hard" to develop a fan base anywhere...you just let it
become a reality...naturally and organically. When someone
takes the time to love your music and comes to you and expresses this you
embrace it (and them) like you would anything that would come up in your personal life. Taking sounds and music and performing this to other humans is NOT the business of music. The business side is something we don't deal with, and "developing a fan base" is not something we look at as a business issue. Rather its like extending a common thread of people together who all feel the same
emotions and feelings that we do and I'm sure you do as well and then keeping the communication bonded together so everyone stays somewhat on the same page as long as they want to be.

Have the band had much support from radio and the music industry in
general in the United States?
Answer: We have undying support from the underground music scene in the United States via a network of small college radio stations and indie rock dance clubs and dance/rock nights at rock venues. Commercial corporate radio in america is something that if its meant to happen for us it will naturally occur at the right time...and its nothing we even need or think about really.
Record Companies?
We have met with some amazing people here. A lot of visionary situations
and great offers, but for right now we are actually perfectly content with our lives and satisfied to continue doing things all by ourselves for right now.

How difficult is it finding a niche for the band in the American market?
Answer: It seems to be difficult, but really its logically simple. You just need
to write music that people can relate too that's interesting and unique, and then paint your picture to a shade of color that no one else is using.
Its really not that difficult of a thing to grasp, it amazes me how so much music is so similar, almost strikingly similar.

Has the success of D.H.T.affected the way the industry views Pop music and Synth Pop?
Answer: Wish I knew what D.H.T. meant:)

What about a tour? Do the band intend to tour America this year and maybe tour Canada and Europe?
Answer: We are currently on tour now until late July ... we finish america in
June, then on to England and possibly Spain (Sonar), then in July we tour all of Canada.

Any plans for a single and maybe an album this year? Will they be
released in Europe?
Answer: We are releasing an E.P. potentially called "radiofire" in the UK and all
of Europe and Australia..then another EP, and a full length album
in those territories by Christmas.

Away from music what other interests do the band have?
Answer: We do lots of things .. quite unusual habits I think, but it keeps sanity
right where its supposed to be. Some of us chase tornadoes every spring
throughout the middle part of America, some of us paint and do sculpture....some design clothes and boots for other bands and other artists.

How important is the internet to a band like Shiny Toy Guns? How has
myspace.com: helped? Has it made it easier for the band to network with
other bands and their fans?
Answer: The internet is more important to us than our instruments. Without it we couldn't communicate in either direction.

What are the bands aims for 2006?
Answer: Meet everyone we possibly can and make new music and sounds for next year...and we also want to build a new website that helps teach
kids how to create and record their own music and demos for free so people can create things without having to have thousands of dollars in expensive software.

Have any major labels expressed an interest in the band?
Answer: Every single one of them.

Would the band consider relocating to Europe to help them establish themselves?
Answer: That's a good question:) because we talk about that all the time. We want to live in Munich or somewhere in Denmark...and we for sure
are wanting to make the next record outside of the United States.

Thank you for the interview!
George & DaniK

shiny toy guns on myspace: www.myspace.com/shinytoyguns