Josh Taylor plays in a band in Los Angeles and coaches another one.
The Josh Taylor's Friends Forever keyboard-guitar-drums trio has bikini-clad women armed with fireworks and torches.
They perform 8 p.m. Wednesday at The Stove at 114 Morningside Drive N.E. between Central and Copper avenues along with Kevin Shields, Death Convention Singers and Gunsafe.
"I'm the coach at this point," Taylor said. "We switched out all the dudes from the original line-up and replaced them with female counterparts. I've always been a huge fan of pop music - Spice Girls, Madonna, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera - all that great stuff. And I wanted to bring that into the world of noise rock."
He also plays in a drum quartet called Foot Village.
"We try not to have any hippie doink-off," he said. "We try to write metal songs, but play them through drums. We have some screaming that goes into it."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Foot Village has big aspirations.
"They're four drummers that are trying to start their own country," Taylor said. "So, they're bringing these drum essays to teach the citizens of the world about the new country they're trying to start."
He said they've searched the U.S. and Mexico to find the right borders for their country but haven't found the right area yet.
"We just have to make a whole country the border," he said. "No matter how big it is, it's going to be the border of the country, except for there is a tiny center where there is going to be a topless coffee shop."
He got the idea from a failed trip, when his friends told him there was a topless coffee shop in Boise, Idaho.
"We searched all over for it. And it turns out, our friends were lying to us," Taylor said. "Once we found it, we found out it was just a bikini coffee shop."
Sara T, drummer for Josh Taylor's Friends Forever, said the band usually plays out of a van.
"There are fireworks, and it's really loud," she said. "We wear boots to protect our legs. We don't care about our hair. Except Josh - he really cares about his hair. He brushes it more than Marcia (from "The Brady Bunch"). She does it 100 times a day, but he does it more. He's the one who's all concerned about image."
She said people are often surprised at the women's talent when they attend a Josh Taylor's Friends Forever show.
"They're like, 'Oh, listen to her. She can play an instrument. I can't believe she can keep time,'" she said. "People are amazed women can function."
She said the band members make their own bikinis. Her bandmate wears a fur one, and T has one made of sequins for this tour.
"There's lights coming out of the tops and bottom," she said. "There's battery packs on our backs."
Taylor said despite the gimmicks, Josh Taylor's Friends Forever writes fully composed songs.
"They practice their hearts out," he said. "I don't do any of the performing. If anything, I'm just lighting fireworks or throwing stuffed animals. Sometimes they're soaked with water, and they hit you in the face. Or they're these little fluffy pillows flying through the air, lightly touching your head."
Josh Taylor's Friends Forever
Wednesday
8 p.m.
The Stove
114 Morningside Drive N.E.
$5
