Sound Check

Does anybody remember the good ol' days, when MTV videos were filled with lingerie-clad women driving sleek sports cars and hanging out with skinny, long-haired rockers?

Bangtoy 69 sure does. Heavily influenced by '80s metal, the hard-rocking Hollywood foursome -- vocalist Marcus Fraunce, bassist Rey Rey, drummer T.J. Storm, and guitarist Traci Lynne -- proudly plays the kind of music that used to sell records by the truckload.

"We never really made that transition the other bands did," Lynne says, referring to the '90s tendency to go altrock. "Our hearts really lie in the Skid Rows, and L.A. Guns, and Mstley CrYe and that whole West Coast thing. That's what we like to do. We don't want to change things because we're not popular. I believe there's a market for it somewhere."

He's right. On Friday night, the "Cheesy '80s Showcase" at the Underground in Fort Lauderdale will give Bangtoy 69 and nine other local bands the opportunity to performing covers of '80s songs, including Mstley CrYe's "Ten Seconds to Love," L.A. Guns' "Sex Action," the BulletBoys' "Hard as a Rock," and Skid Row's "Get the Fuck Out."

To get the music out, the four-month-old Bangtoy 69 is currently giving away -- yes, for free -- its three-song cassette, The Demo. The reason for not charging? "Exposure," Lynne explains. "We've been able to turn on people who otherwise wouldn't be turned on to what we are doing. Basically, we have a product, and it's important that we get it out to as many people as we possibly can. We're not concerned about anything else right now but the exposure."

Until their full-length debut CD (tentatively scheduled for a Christmas '98 release) is available, the band will continue to play local shows and stay true to its sound.

"We know the type of music we play isn't very prevalent right now, but it makes us very happy," Lynne insists. "We didn't cut our hair off and grow goatees and go out and buy rave clothes. And because of that, I think we're very pure to what we do. What makes us happy is playing hard rock -- straight-ahead hard rock."

You can get a copy of The Demo by e-mailing bangtoy69@aol.com, calling the Bangtoy 69 Rockline at 954-989-8966, visiting the band's Website at http://members.aol.com/tracibt69/toyz1.html, or checking out the band's upcoming gigs, including a show at the Underground July 31 and T-Zer's August 9.