ONE OF TONI'S FIRST BANDS "JUST BORN"

whom had recently broken up and he called the boys in the early spring and asked if they needed a singer...good timing, except a bass player was needed, not a singer. Ricky asked him if he could play bass- which he couldn't-but it was decided that his attitude & image were perfect for the band, so who was to let a small thing like "playing" get in the way huh? Having just 5 practices w/ the band, the Trash Brats as a 4-piece made their debut at the legendary BOOKIES club in Detroit. The band played a few shows under the new and much better name after changing it from BRAT earlier in the year, but the band became the real TRASH BRATS as we know and love them when they went 4-piece with Brian singing out front and Toni on bass. Some of the early Brats' songs were hung over from the last year or so of BRAT. With these and a half dozen or so new songs, they quickly went into Perfect Sound Studio; an 8 -track basement studio and recorded their first album. Recorded in as little time with as much of a budget that they could afford, which was very, very little, was what became known as "the pink tape". Toni joined the band as the album was already in the process of being recorded and it was finished up in time for the shows of the late-summer, early fall. In the truest definition of d.i.y (do it yourself) style & spirit, the guys dubbed the tapes, made stickers for labels and pink cardstock covers- (thus the name attached to it later by fans) printed out little lyric sheets, put them all together themselves and started selling them immediately at shows and sending them to the press for reviews -pretty much just spreading their music around everywhere. Now considered something of a "lost classic" by ' brats fans & collectors alike, the "pink tape" (actually just self-titled) was a good, honest, solid representation of that first year or so of the brats' music. So many of the songs stand so well up to the test of time, that you'll still see the band doing them in their live sets today. Some songs were re-recorded for later releases, but songs such as: SUICIDE DEADICATION, LATE NIGHT THRILLER, BUBBLEGUM GIRL, CUB SCOUT DROPOUT, I WANNA BE IN CARTOONS, all had their first appearance on the "pink tape". SLAP HAPPY was a left over from the BRAT days and had its first appearance on the Detroit punk-garage comp, IT CAME FROM THE GARAGE (Wanghead With Lips Records, 1986). That marked the only official release from BRAT. An interesting side note to the comp is that Toni's old band, Just Born was also a part of it, doing a song that the Brats would later redo, the very popular-crowd favorite, "TEENAGE SUICIDE STORY, which, of course, Toni still takes over the mic for. Right from the beginning, so many were confused by the brats' sound and look. They were not easy to pigeon-hole....glam? punk? metal? pop? and these were the days before the big “pop-punk” explosion of the mid 90’s. So to many this was a “new” sound but bands like the RAMONES, BUZZCOCKS, DICKIES, DESCENDENTS (all of whom the brats got compared to at one time or another) had been playing a similar style of “punk-pop” for many years. This along with a more dressy-up image and more trashy-rock & roll elements mixed in with their overall ATTITUDE and you had quite a strange marriage of sights and sounds, one that most punks, metal-heads, college music geeks, etc. where not quite ready for. Early shows in Detroit that summer were somewhat well attended considering the band was so new. The guys all having played the bar scene for a few years now, knew enough people to enable the band to have a nice buzz to it right from the start. The stage-bound bottle missiles, spits of disgust and confusion, macho grunts of F**K YOU! and immediate reactions were in place from the get-go that first night at BOOKIES. Too punk for metal-heads, too glam for the punks, not glam enough in sappy way for the hair-crowd- the brats were a band without an audience or fan base. So what do they do? Form their own; a little bit of something for all the misfits, weirdo‘s & outcasts everywhere. The band for those who had no band to turn to. ------------------------------------------------------------

SEPT, 1987 ---------------- ROCK FOR NO REASON ------------------------------------
The very first TRASH BRATS live performance outside of the Detroit area, came in early September of that year at the weekend-long punk rock festival, ROCK FOR NO REASON, outside of Bloomington, IN.

"ROCK FOR NO REASON" INDIANA

Piling a bunch of the closest Brats' friend into their first band van - (the ole black ford econoline with the white camper-tralier on top). It was a long drive down, a short time for play and fun before a long late-night drive back home to Detroit in order to deliver a few people back in time for work that next morning. A truly classic performance in front of a HUGE field of dirty, drunk, crusty punks, freaks, weirdo’s and sight-seers, no one stood out like the Brats! And despite the first stares and comments, the crowd cheered and loved 'em and many people still to this day come up to the boys and tell them that they very first time they ever saw and heard them was at ROCK FOR NO REASON. The fun and excitement of the performance, (which included a cover of Alice Cooper Band's, "Be My Lover” and was featured on the video that was later released) stuck with many people and they never forgot the Brats after that. With the longest hair, flashiest clothes & punk pop Detroit Rock & Roll sound, the Brats truly stuck out amongst the dozens of bands that played the 3 day festival, which included bands such as: THE FREEZE, TOXIC REASONS, SCREECHING WEASEL, CHRIST ON A CRUTCH and many more. Their first out- of- Detroit experience being such a good one, it was decided to take it on the road further and more frequently. --------------------------------------------------------------

FALL-WINTER 1987 ----------------------------
More Midwest shows followed that fall, including first appearances in cities like Ft. Wayne, IN (anybody in the Midwest remember the 7th Level??) and Cincinnati, OH. Pushing freshly dubbed copies of the "pink tape", a big batch of T-shirts, stickers, buttons etc., they holed up in their van and played anywhere in the Midwest that would have them. Back home in Detroit, they continued to play odd shows in metal, punk & rock clubs to yet more confused (and later pissed off!) crowds. They had their first experience of being "banned from a club” later in the fall when the big Detroit Rock club, the Ritz, pulled the plug on them just 4 songs into their set opening for "THE BIG" (a long since forgotten hair-metal band) and the bouncers forced them to get their gear off of the stage and outta the club AT ONCE! Their "outrageous behavior" and "shitty punk music" were cited as reasons for them being given the boot. It would be almost a year before they were grace the Ritz stage again.

SHOW THAT GOT THE BRATS BANNED FROM THE RITZ

Just a small set back anyway as Detroit's club scene was indeed very healthy at the time with no shortage of places for them to play. With six already-exciting months as a band together, the Trash Brats closed out the year playing a show with several other bands at a New Years Eve house party on the campus of Wayne State University. Toni & Ricky took over vocal duties as Brian had to cancel due to a death in the family. A drunken, sloppy, FUN show even minus their frontman, gave the band high hopes and much to look forward to in 1988, and all was happy in the brats' camp as 1987 stumbled on out. -------

1987 era *FUN FACTS*! ---------------------------------
*The name "THE TRASH BRATS" comes from a series of sticker-cards that were rip off's of the "Garbage Pail Kid" series. Big Bill, an old pal from the Marlborough St. days("3873 Marlborough St."..) showed the band a few cards that he had gotten out of a gumball machine at a local K-Mart. The name stuck immediately and was a much needed improvement from the old, very dull name, BRAT. ------------------

*Prior to being a singer for JUST BORN, Toni played drums for skinhead-hardcore band, H.E.D. (Which stood for hedonistic enjoyment destroyers..) Starting out as a more "straightedge" band, then going into a Misfits stage, they finally ended up going in a more "white power" direction, thus Toni knew it was time to split! (and yes he still wore makeup and earrings in those days..) -------------------

* Brian & Ricky started playing together when they were just 13. Their first band ASYLUM became BRAT which of course became TRASH BRATS. They have been best buddies since junior high science class in 1980. -------------------

* The master tapes of the "pink tape" are long since lost forever! Yes, permanently gone, so any tape copies are all that remain...

MATT SMASH PHOTO SHOOT

FLYER