Marq Torien - vocals; Mick Sweda - guitar; Lonnie Vencent - bass; Jimmy D'Anda - drums
Bulletboys came at the end of the LA glam metal movement, when groups like Quiet Riot, Cinderella, and Ratt were all the rage both on the concert trail and on the still-novel media outlet, MTV. Bulletboys was spearheaded by singer Marq Torien and guitarist Mick Sweda. Torq had been a regular on the Sunset Blvd club scene for years, including a short stint as a guitarist for Ratt, and Sweda came from Carmine Appice's post-Ozzy band, King Kobra. Prior to that, Sweda was a member of Ratt for a period of only three to four months.
Although the band was signed by Warner Brothers VP, Ted Templeton (who also produced the band's early LPs), the affiliation with Templeton proved too problematic for the band. Templeton was best known for his work with the David Lee Roth-era Van Halen and Bulletboys had always been compared to the early VH.
This recording of the band made for the King Biscuit Flower Hour documents what they sounded like on their initial US tour. The group released two Warners LPs (Bulletboys in 1988 and Freak Show in 1991) that sold moderately and received mostly poor reviews from the rock press. They enjoyed the last few years of MTV's love affair with glam-metal, but by 1991, interest in the Bulletboys was beginning to wane.
Musically, they were so entrenched in that of a glitter metal band with spandex and big hair it was nearly impossible for Bulletboys to change its image. This line-up remained together until 1993 before splitting. Torien and Vencent carried on with the name, but changed the musical direction to alternative with the band's fourth LP Acid Monkey. In 1995, when that LP failed to sell in any respectable numbers, the band lost its major label deal. In 2000, the original line-up reunited to re-record its best known songs for a greatest hits collection. Sweda and D'Anda departed again in 2001, but Bulletboys remains a touring act.