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17 Apr 2013, 15:1028
Street Toyz - Some Assembly Required + More Assembly Required (1987)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + scans + Audio Videos
Size : 102 mb[/color]
►►Dead Link
Bio:
Street Toyz plain and simple was a band in Overdrive! Like it or leave it, they raised the bar for every band that played the Dallas scene...and then they shut that bar down! Other bands took their lead from the roadmap that Street Toyz paved; their professionalism was second to none, their product rivaled that of the majors, and their live show...well that was the cherry on top of the sunday.In the summer of 1985, Jimmy K Simmons and John Leasure formed Street Toyz (The original working name for the band was Soakin' Wet). John and Jimmy eventually moved to Dallas, Texas, which would ultimately become home base for Street Toyz. They obtained an apartment (boy...if walls could talk) and rented a rehearsal room at Musicians Exchange. The year was now 1986 and the guys decided on Chris Debray (drums) and David McKnight (bass) as the rhythm section to complete the band...and so started the foundation of the band and a long wild trip. Jimmy buckeled down and wrote the music and arrangements for the songs on the original album and John completed the songs lyrically (with the exception of "She's Alone" written completely by Jimmy).The eighties were rolling along full speed ahead and the band was living the life of rock stars (well rock stars without a lot of money...but whatever the band lacked in money they more than made up for in the women department). Street Toyz also kept good company with other talented musicians. Down the hall was a newly formed band called Tracy Lords (later changed to Lord Tracy). Tracy Lords/Lord Tracy was made up of Terry Glaze (fresh out of the band Pantera as their frontman), Barney Wolfe, Chris Craig, and Jimmy R. "To this very day, I can still remember the guys in Lord Tracy playing Piranha and it bleeding through the walls we shared...sometimes it was a competition as to who could out play or play louder than the other guys."In 1987, Street Toyz entered the Planet Dallas Recording Studios and recorded Some Assembly Required. When the album was finished, we had to let David go and thus began a continuous rotation of bassists in and out of the band. We lived this band as if it were a day job and we refined our live show so that it was flawless - and many industry people took notice. One of those guys was Madd Maxx from ZRock Radio. He saw us play at one of our many performances at Dallas City Limits and thus began a long beloved relationship between Madd Maxx and the band. He took such a liking to the band that he was playing every one of our tracks in regular rotation; this was huge considering that ZRock was 'THE' metal radio station for the entire US at the time.We had some great experiences as one of the top and most-well respected bands on the Dallas rock scene...in fact, a good majority of those experiences I wouldn't even be able to relay in this booklet so as to protect the innocent (and not so innocent). However, a few highlights that come to mind when I reminisce are hanging out with Dirty Looks at our first in store appearance; picking up Tom and Kerry from Slayer at the radio station and introducing them to Pantera at Dallas City Limits; playing Bubble Butt with Tom Araya on the mic; and maybe the most endearing memory was being asked by Marc Ferrari (Ferrari) and Criss Olivia (Savatage) to join their band. These are just a few of the many sordid and deranged memories in the life of a band, and I wouldn't trade them for a thing!We enjoyed the ride and a ride it was. And here it is, twenty-five years later, and thanks to FnA Records we get to prolong and relive that memory just a little bit longer. Tracks 1-5 on this album release were transferred directly from the 25 year old, well-preserved master reels. Tracks 6-8 featured myself, Jon Leasure, Michael Layne on drums, and Russell Davis on bass and this was the final (and perhaps) the best and most cohesive version of the band. The last two tracks (9 and 10) are just a little thrown in bonus which is Bo Bullock on vocals, myself on guitar, Chris Craig on drums (I can't remember the bassists name…) and Jimmy R. laying down some slide.
Album:
FnA Records were able to get their hands on the last remaining handful of still sealed vinyl records of Street Toyz’ 1987 album ‘Some Assembly Required’ and is making them available to the first handful of fans that want this collector’s item. Additionally, FnA Records will be selling a new Street Toyz album entitled ‘Some Assembly Required + More Assembly Required’ in CD format, as an autographed CD fan pack, and as a CD/Vinyl Collectors package at fnarecords.net.Street Toyz plain and simple was a band in overdrive. Like it or leave it, they raised the bar for every band that played the Dallas scene in the 80’s… and then they shut that bar down! Other bands took their lead from the roadmap that Street Toyz paved; their professionalism was second to none, their product rivaled that of the majors, and their live show… well that was the cherry on top of the sundae.In the summer of 1985, Jimmy K Simmons and John Leasure formed Street Toyz (the original working name for the band was Soakin’ Wet). John and Jimmy eventually moved to Dallas, Texas, which would ultimately become home base for Street Toyz. They obtained an apartment and rented a rehearsal room at Musicians Exchange. The year was now 1986 and the guys decided on Chris Debray (drums) and David McKnight (bass) as the rhythm section to complete the band — and so started the foundation of the band and a long wild trip. Jimmy buckled down and wrote the music and arrangements for the songs on the original album and John completed the songs lyrically (with the exception of “She’s Alone” written completely by Jimmy).The eighties were rolling along full speed ahead and the band was living the life of rock stars (well rock stars without a lot of money, but whatever the band lacked in money they more than made up for in the women department). Street Toyz also kept good company with other talented musicians. Down the hall was a newly formed band called Tracy Lords (later changed to Lord Tracy). Tracy Lords/Lord Tracy was made up of Terry Glaze (fresh out of the band Pantera as their front man), Barney Wolfe, Chris Craig, and Jimmy R.In 1987, Street Toyz entered the Planet Dallas Recording Studios and recorded ‘Some Assembly Required’. When the album was finished, they had to let David go and thus began a continuous rotation of bassists in and out of the band. The guys lived this band as if it were a day job and refined their live show so that it was flawless — and many industry people took notice. One of those guys was Madd Maxx from ZRock Radio. He saw Street Toyz play at one of their many performances at Dallas City Limits and thus began a long beloved relationship between Madd Maxx and the band. He took such a liking to the band that he was playing every one of their tracks in regular rotation; this was huge considering that ZRock was ‘THE’ metal radio station for the entire US at the time.‘Some Assembly Required’ remains a highly sought after album by hard rock aficionados and those who can get their hands on a copy usually wind up shelling out $50-$60 for the vinyl. For those long time fans who have wanted the album at a decent price, remastered and with bonus tracks — the wait is over! FnA Records were able to get into the vaults and obtain the original well-preserved reels for ‘Some Assembly Required’ and then had those five tracks from that album fully remastered. Tracks 6 to 8 features unreleased songs from what Jimmy K. Simmons considers the “best and most cohesive” version of the band and those tracks definitely show how the band was progressing and why they were catching the attention of the majors. The last 3 tracks showcase some of Jimmys flair for writing powerful, melodic, and catchy tunes and were recorded with long-time friend Bo Bullock.Those who rocked hard and played hard on the Dallas rock scene in the 80’s recognized that Street Toyz was a notch above the competition. They gave way to bands like Lord Tracy and Pantera and played host to an on-going rock-n-roll party night after night.“We enjoyed the ride and a ride it was! And here it is, twenty-five years later, and thanks to FnA Records we get to prolong and relive that memory just a little bit longer”, says band leader Jimmy K. Simmons. “We hope that you enjoy these tracks as much as we enjoyed creating them, and we thank everyone of you that was there that helped us live out our dreams and those of you who are now carrying on the legacy by keeping our music alive in your hearts.”
Line Up:
Chris Debray percussion, backing vocals
David Mcknight bass, backing vocals
Jimmy K. Simmons lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Jon Leasure lead vocals
Michael Layne drums tracks 6-8
Russell Davis bass tracks 6-8
Bo Bullock lead vocals tracks 9-10
Chris Craig drums tracks 9-10
Producer – Jimmy Simmons*, Street Toyz
Engineer, Co-producer – Rick Rooney
Recorded At – Planet Dallas Studios
Mixed At – Rainbow Records
Pressed By – Rainbow Records
Tracklist:
01. Totally Involved
02. Going All the Way
03. She's Alone
04. Girls Like You
05. That's Me (Doin' All Right)
06. Me & You
07. Twice Upon a Time
08. Walk Away
09. The Easy Parts Over Now
10. Wouldn't Trade It for the World
11. Everybody's Doing It (But Me) (Bonus Track)
+ 3 Audio Videos !!!
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