Billy Boy on Poison was an American
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
band from Los Angeles, California. Andrew Leahy of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
suggested the band was "
ke the glittery offspring of the New York Dolls", and they "create a debauched, glammy, gender-bending style of rock & roll". The band formed in 2005 by members Davis LeDuke, Ryan Wallengren, Dashiell LeFrancis and Jess Calcaterra. The band was managed by Blue Cave Entertainment Group, LLC (BCEG). In 2007, LeFrancis left the band & was replaced by guitarist Gregory West. After writing and recording with producer Chris Sorensen and songwriter Michael Gurley, and engineers Big Stu Brantley and Doug Messenger--- BCEG began shopping the band, and they were subsequently signed by
Kiefer Sutherland and
Jude Cole of
Ironworks Music. In 2009, bass player Julian Borrego left Billy Boy on Poison, and after a rotating cast of bass players, the band settled with Jacob Pillot in December 2010.
At the same time the line-up was settled, Paul Lester at ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' featured them as a ''New Band of the Day''. His summation, from April 30, 2009, said: "Every so often a band come along and promise, threaten even, to bring scuzzy glamour and outlaw allure back to rock'n'roll, to restore it to first principles". They made their first television appearance on ''
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' on May 21, 2009, publicizing the upcoming album release. On July 7, 2009, their debut album, ''Drama Junkie Queen'', was released to critical acclaim. Their single "On My Way" has been featured in promos for television shows including ''
Gossip Girl
''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...
'' and ''
Entourage
An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...
'', along with spots in several commercials,
and finally on the soundtrack for the 2011 video game ''
Driver: San Francisco''. In addition, the group opened for
Jet,
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kr ...
, and
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...
.
Their name originates from a mis-quote in the novel and film ''
A Clockwork Orange''. The actual quote refers to a gang led by a man named Billy Joe, to whom Alex, the protagonist, refers to collectively as "Billy Boy and Poison".
On March 13, 2011, the band announced via their Twitter account that they had officially broken up and would no longer play together.
Line-up
* Davis LeDuke (lead vocals)
* Ryan Wallengren (guitar, keys, vocals)
* Jess Calcaterra (drums)
* Greg West (guitar, vocals)
* Jacob Pillot (bass)
Discography
Albums
* ''Sweet Mess EP'' (2008, Ironworks)
* ''Drama Junkie Queen'' (2009, Ironworks)
Singles
* "On My Way" (2009)
* "Angry Young Man" (2009)
* "4 Leaf Clover" (2010)
References
External links
Myspace
Rock music groups from California
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Alternative rock groups from California
Glam punk groups
Ironworks (record label) artists
{{US-rock-band-stub