Brent Muscat Interview
BRENT MUSCAT INTERVIEW:
January 20, 2008
As a member of 80s sleazesters Faster Pussycat, guitarist Brent Muscat reached successes that most artists only dream of. However things have gone sour between Brent and his former band, and more specifically vocalist Taime Downe, but he hasn’t let that (or cancer) slow him down. As he explains in this interview, Brent is currently in a new group called Sin City Sinners (www.myspace.com/scsinners), working on an autobiography and contemplating releasing his own album.
Sleaze Roxx: How did your new band, the Sin City Sinners, come together?
Brent Muscat: When I was doing my 20th anniversary tour of Faster Pussycat in Europe I started discussing doing a band here in Vegas, where we live.
Sleaze Roxx: How would you describe the sound of the Sin City Sinners?
Brent Muscat: Right now we have only been playing covers and songs from our respective bands. But we play a wide variety, one week we’re learning Enuff Z’Nuff songs and the next it’s New York Dolls or Dead Boys.
Sleaze Roxx: How much music have you guys recorded and when can we expect to see a CD release?
Brent Muscat: We have all written songs and we’ll see what happens. I have also been considering doing a CD of songs from my old band, Faster Pussycat, that I wrote and it would have guest singers on each track.
Sleaze Roxx: How hard/easy is it to promote a new band these days compared to when you were starting out in Faster Pussycat?
Brent Muscat: The invention of the internet has definitely helped. You can reach a million people with the click of a mouse.
Sleaze Roxx: Does being older and wiser change the way you write or could you still picture yourself writing something like Where There’s A Whip There’s A Way again?
Brent Muscat: Who said I’m older and wiser? lol
Sleaze Roxx: You have been battling cancer for awhile now, how is your treatment progressing and what is your prognosis?
Brent Muscat: As of right now my doctors believe I am cancer free. But I still have to go back every 3 months for check-ups.
Sleaze Roxx: How has cancer changed your perspective on things?
Brent Muscat: Anytime you’re faced with a life or death situation, it makes you think of what is important in your life. Friends and family are much more significant then fame and money.
Sleaze Roxx: Do you still enjoy being on the road touring?
Brent Muscat: No. Its not that I don’t like seeing new places or playing for fans, its just that in my last few bands, I would be stuck with crazy guys doing drugs, not showering and just being plain stupid.
Sleaze Roxx: What are some of your most memorable stories about life on the road?
Brent Muscat: There are so many, I hope one day to finish my book so you can read all of them and I won’t hold back.
Sleaze Roxx: What is the status of the biography you were writing?
Brent Muscat: My writing partner and I both have other things going on right now. We have a 100 page draft and I hope to put it out some time in the near future.
Sleaze Roxx: For awhile you and Taime Downe were battling over control of the Faster Pussycat name, why did you decide to end the legalities?
Brent Muscat: In my opinion the band was dead since we broke up in 93. Taime hasn’t helped things by putting out sub-par records that sound like a poor man’s Ministry. I was only planning on using the name for one year anyway. The only people who won are the lawyers and the only people who lost are the fans.
Sleaze Roxx: Does it bother you to watch Taime change the direction of Faster Pussycat and tarnish what you helped to create?
Brent Muscat: Yeah, see my answer above.
Sleaze Roxx: All accounts say that Taime said some horrible things about you at Rocklahoma. Have you forgiven him or just moved on?
Brent Muscat: The day it happened I got 10 calls from people saying Taime said something to the effect of, a lot of people die from cancer, why couldn’t it have killed Brent. It was pretty hurtful and classless, not to mention there was a cancer charity at the event. I’m glad I gave him that show, so he could show everyone his true colors. Not only did at least a 1000 people hear him say it, he had the balls to deny he said it. I’m not sure I have forgiven or forgotten, but I can say I’ve moved on.
Sleaze Roxx: Did the recent passing of Kevin DuBrow make you think about patching things up with people you have become estranged from?
Brent Muscat: Sometimes in life things die or end, like Faster Pussycat, and you have to move on and let things go. It’s a shame to lose a rock icon like Kevin… I was fortunate enough to perform on stage with him and I’ll always have my memories.
Sleaze Roxx: After everything that has happened between you two could you ever see Faster Pussycat reuniting? Hell, Van Halen managed to do it!
Brent Muscat: Comparing Faster Pussycat to Van Halen is funny, we’re not even in the same league. I tried to reunite with Taime and Greg, they are obviously not interested. In my opinion Faster Pussycat is dead.
Sleaze Roxx: At one time you played with a band called Sin City Allstars. What is it with all these Allstar bands popping up these days?
Brent Muscat: My current band is called the Sin City Sinners which you can check out at www.myspace.com/scsinners. Unfortunately a lot of original guys are incapable of playing music anymore, so it forces the remaining guys to join forces together. At our most recent shows we’ve had Phil Lewis, Jizzy Pearl, Ron Keel, Sami Yaffa, Donnie Vie, Paul Shortino and Cheetah Chrome. So in one night you get to hear a bunch of different music including some from my former band.
Here’s a list of upcoming shows/guests, check out www.myspace.com/scsinners for more:
1/22/08 Sami Yaffa of Hanoi Rocks & New York Dolls
1/29/08 Jizzy Pearl of Love/Hate & Ratt
2/05/08 Paul Shortino of Rough Cutt & Quiet Riot
2/12/08 Mickey Finn of Jetboy
2/19/08 Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys (tentative date)
2/26/08 Frankie Banali of Quiet Riot & W.A.S.P.
Sleaze Roxx: You were also in a version of Adler’s Appetite. What was that like? Is Steven as out of control as he often appears?
Brent Muscat: HAHA, I love Steven, but he is more out of control then you could ever imagine. Our link is that I grew up with those guys in Hollywood and toured with Guns N’Roses in 1987.
Sleaze Roxx: Have you ever thought of releasing a solo album?
Brent Muscat: Yes, I may also do a CD of songs I wrote with my old band with guests singers on each track.
Sleaze Roxx: For those that didn’t experience it, explain the Sunset Strip phenomenon in the 80s.
Brent Muscat: How would you put that in words? To fully understand you would have had to been there.
Sleaze Roxx: What were some of your favorite bands/musicians from that era?
Brent Muscat: Guns N’ Roses, Hanoi Rocks, and of course my former band Faster Pussycat.
Sleaze Roxx: It seems there are a million bands influenced by the Strip coming out of Sweden these days, what is your impression of them?
Brent Muscat: I don’t know much about the music scene from Sweden. If there’s anything good let me know. I’ll produce them or they can open for me here in Las Vegas.
Sleaze Roxx: What are your favorite songs to play, and which ones make you wonder what you were thinking?
Brent Muscat: I wrote about a third of the music in Faster Pussycat and most of it I still like and play live.
Sleaze Roxx: What sort of legacy do you hope to leave behind?
Brent Muscat: I think I made some good music and I hope to have a book of my life out there. But most of all I hope to be remembered as a good husband, father and friend.
Thanks to Brent Muscat and Sin City Sinners