ERIC STACY: There's Nothing 'FASTER PUSSYCAT' About TAIME DOWNE's Version Of Band

Blasting-Zone.com recently conducted an in-depth interview with FASTER PUSSYCAT bassist Eric Stacy. Several excerpts follow:

Blasting-Zone.com: What was the main motivation behind starting this version of the group?

Eric: "Brent [Muscat] has always been one of my closest friends. We got along really well during the first run of the band. We've always just got along and have always been good friends. For like the last three years, once or twice a year we'd call each other and talk about doing FASTER PUSSYCAT again. (Our attitude was) if Taime's [Downe, vocals] not interested in doing it and making it sound like how it used to, we'll get somebody else to sing. We'd talk about it and have all these grand plans and that's where it would end. Another year would go by, we'd talk again and we'd say, 'Hey, let's do FASTER PUSSYCAT again…', but that would be it. It kinda went on like that for two or three years and then finally this past December, Brent called me and said he might have a show for FASTER PUSSYCAT in Vegas. We talked again about doin' it and for a while, it seemed like it might go the way of all the other conversations, but just before Christmas of last year, we were talking about it and I said, 'Brent, if we don't do it now, we're never gonna do it, so let's either do it or never talk about it again.' Finally, Brent and I talked about it again in December and I said, 'Brent, it's now or never,' so he talked to (guitarist) Todd (Kerns) and (vocalist) Kurt (Frohlich),the other guys in the line-up and said, 'It's on.' The first time I walked into rehearsal, it just sounded amazing…like the band had been together for like ten years."

Blasting-Zone.com: Who owns the rights to the name FASTER PUSSYCAT?

Eric: "Brent Muscat legally owns the name. He registered the name FASTER PUSSYCAT. He's owned it for the past couple of years. After that first show in Vegas, we went back two or three weeks later and did another show at The Dive Bar and it was just completely packed. By then, our booking agent was booking shows in Europe for us. It all just started snowballing so fast. Apparently Taime went online one night and posted a blog on MySpace basically saying, 'FASTER is not going to Europe. That's just Brent's tribute band trying to make a buck. They're trying to cash in on my songs and my hard work. Brent you've made an enemy. You'd better watch out…' Basically, I thought that was a just classless move on his part. To begin with, if we're a tribute band, we're a tribute to ourselves because we are the band. That's like saying Steven Tyler and Joe Perry are a tribute to AEROSMITH, ya know? You can't be a tribute band to yourself. Anyone who has followed the band since the beginning of our careers, with the first three records, knows those songs were all written together with all of us writing. As far as it being all of his hard work, last time I checked, all five of us were in the band together, all five of us were in the recording studio together and all five of us were doing all the hard work together, so… I can understand where he may feel bitter or angry about it, but we have three fifths of the band together and Brent owns the name. That's the legal bottom line, ya know? …That's it, really."

Blasting-Zone.com: When Taime began putting together his version of the group, did he offer you the opportunity to rejoin the band?

Eric: "Frankly, no. And I think that was a combination of a few things. I think there was some bad blood. When I left the band, I guess they tried to continue. They got another bass player and did a club tour of Japan and a club tour of Canada, but it just wasn't right and they ended up breaking up anyway. I was the first one to leave and by that time, there had been a lot of in-fighting and a lot of bad blood. I admit that when I left I probably could have done it better. I could have sat down with the band and said, 'Look, I'm leaving,' but by that time, I was just so tired of certain things that were going on within the band. There were a lot of bruised egos…a lot of, 'How dare Eric leave like that?' ya know? A lot of bad feelings about how it went down and things that had happened during the life of the band. I had always thought that if we were gonna do a reunion, we'd do it right with all original members. I never wanted the reunion to be one of those where it was two-fifths of the original members. I had kinda gotten wind that Taime was starting to do FASTER again, so I went down and basically told him what about how I'd always felt that FASTER would do it right with all of the original members and how I was proud that we had never done a half-assed reunion. He basically said, 'You know, I'm just doing this as THE NEWLYDEADS with a different name with Brent along. I don't wanna do FASTER, I'm not into doing it. It's just THE NEWLYDEADS with Brent along as far as I'm concerned.' I think it was just a way for him to get back at me for all the bad blood, I guess."

Blasting-Zone.com: It's almost as if Taime has taken a totalitarian attitude in regards to his version of the group…

Eric: "Absolutely. And it's no secret that when Taime has gone out on the road with FASTER PUSSYCAT within the last five years. No matter what kind of money they make at a show…with him being the only original member and it basically being his band, he can decide how much money he's gonna take and what little money he's gonna let the other guys split up. He's pretty much running the show…he's running everything and that's obviously another big reason why he did it the way he did. He doesn't have to ask Brent, Greg or I how we feel about something. He doesn't have to be diplomatic or democratic…the money doesn't have to be split evenly, ya know? By bringing in a bunch of guys that were never in the band originally and calling it FASTER PUSSYCAT, it's basically Taime's show. He can run it how he wants, he can do whatever style of music he wants, he can pay the other guys however much he wants and that's it. That's where it stops. …As far as I'm concerned, it sounds nothing like FASTER PUSSYCAT, it looks nothing like FASTER PUSSYCAT and I've always said it's not FASTER PUSSYCAT. The only thing that's FASTER PUSSYCAT about that band is the name. There's nothing FASTER PUSSYCAT about that band at all."

Blasting-Zone.com: A this point, do you foresee there ever being any type of reconciliation with Taime?

Eric: "Well, ya know, for a lot of years, I really hoped there would be. For a lot of years, I really truly wanted it to be a real reunion with all five members. Brent and I have always said since we started this that they both have a standing invitation to come back, but the only thing we've ever heard is some anger and negative comments from Taime. We haven't heard anything from Greg. At this point, I don't wanna burst any fan's bubble by saying that it will never happen, but looking down the road, if I were a betting man, I'd say it's probably not going to happen. At the same time, there are so many more reasons I could tell people to come see this band. If it does happen, great, if it doesn't, then so be it, ya know? When I started playing with these guys and got to see how nice it was to play with guys that are not only fantastic musicians but nice guys who are easy to get along with. I realized that I liked playing with this line-up a lot. If a reunion with the original line-up doesn't happen, I really won't miss it anymore."

Read the entire interview at Blasting-Zone.com.