Tokyo Dragons

Biography

Steve Lomax - guitar/vocals. Mal Bruk - guitar/vocals. Mathias Stady � bass. Phil Martini - drums/vocals.

"This is how I'm living, baby � My life's a show..!!" 'Let It Go', Tokyo Dragons

As the second millennium came to an end the men who would make up Tokyo Dragons had a problem. They knew Rock, they loved Rock, but they simply were not hearing Rock. Their lives might have appeared Rock - without fellas like them supplying Rock's accoutrements there simply would be no Rock. But having a job just ain't Rock, whatever way you dress it up. As singer Steve Lomax once observed, "It gets in the way of Rocking and that's no good."

Steve Lomax, fellow guitarist Mal Bruk and drummer Phil Martini are old friends. Steve and Phil have known each other since they were old enough to crank out their first powerchord or fumble through their own tentative version of a Klassic Kiss anthem (six), while Lomax and Bruk became rock buddies before reaching their teens. They went through the usual set of no-hope line-ups, a period enlivened only by the occasional presence of one Evan Dando as an erstwhile roadie, before realising that the way forward was to relight the spark of rock'n'roll.

But the Dragons line-up was only completed when Ade Easily helped them produce some early demos (and if those names don't quite sound real, why should they? That's the difference being inventing yourself and being manufactured by someone else). Picking up on the tension created by the obvious fact that neither Mal nor Steve wanted to play bass, he offered up himself for the job. Which meant twin lead guitars, which meant that the spirit of Thin Lizzy could be more easily evoked. (To this day, Phil Lynott remains the definitive Rock-star-with-a-tache in the hirsute Lomax's eyes)

Though their shows at the shabbiest of rockholes saw them perform with the joie de vivre you might expect from a band headlining their first stadium, the Dragons' initial progress was slow. Those who witnessed it knew and understood, but in a musical climate dominated by supposedly cool boy bands, many on the arm-up, their opportunities were limited. Yet they simply didn't care - playing with everyone from The Datsuns, Winnebago Deal, Mooney Suzuki, and Do Me Bad Things, the Dragons have not only ignored that little sad voice in everyone's head which warns 'Be cool', but stepped onto the stage and posed the question 'Why be cool?' at raging volume. They've shown that the best way to become a Rock star is to be a Rock star.

Gradually it's come to pass. They've been stalked around suburban supermarkets by an MTV camera crew, been described on TV by their own A and R man as making 'The Darkness sound like Radiohead' (Wrong! That's Muse, dagnamit) and once unexpectedly headlined in a Belfast karaoke chip shop, where Lomax's rendition of the great Neil Diamond's great 'Sweet Caroline' brought down the house and resulted in a reward of double chips and curry sauce. (But they could have had fish, if they'd wanted it). They've topped the bill at Britain's greatest semi-organised musical event, the Tapestry Festival, where a few hundred chemically altered souls gather at a Wild West theme park in Cornwall and party like it's 1899.

This band were made to play rock'n'roll. Lomax was born with an extra, vestigial digit on his left hand, sadly removed, which could have resulted in flashier hammer-on-ons than any rival plank spanker. (He also plays the French horn, trumpet, euphonium, trombone and the piano, badly. Mal is the son of a principal pianist with the Royal Philharmonic who'd already led his men at the Royal Albert Hall. (He also plays the violin, and the piano badly). Phil, a fan of vintage cars and the ladies who drive them, (he drives a perfect 1974 metallic blue 'coke bottle' Ford Cortina 2000E) always liked to hit things. As he says "I always preferred Top of the Pops to Star Wars. You could twiddle your sticks on Top of the Pops.' (He also plays the guitar and the piano, badly). Ade is the son of a chess grandmaster, so who knows what he's really thinking behind his ever present shades (or if he can play piano).

And they've done it all with English charm and good manners, for even gentlemen can Rock. The Tokyo Dragons are happy to please you. As Lomax announced, "You'll find it a life-enriching experience and you'll feel better about yourself. That can only be a good thing." Why take the chance of missing out?

"As soon as we get on stage the pedal is down, the foot's on it and the monster that is the Tokyo Dragons is careering out of control," Lomax told his first interviewer. As their astounding debut album 'Give Me The Fear' proves, the foot has spoken. read less

Biography

Features

News Articles

CDs

Live Apperances