Monroe Entertainment Records Group

Call it edgy, retro or pretense-free; just don’t call it punk. “Most people associate punk with California hardcore and the screaming and the playing fast,” sighs Eddie Star. “People would say to me, ‘You’re not punk. You’re rock-influenced punk.’ God, what a definition. So now I just say I’m rock ‘n’ roll. Call it whatever you want that floats your boat.”

After the dissolution of legendary Sunset Strip rockers Eddie Star & The Zero Effect, the vocalist/guitarist teamed with drummer Bob Mars (Tom Morello, Church of Mars, Invisible Humans). The pair initially met in 1999 at the Fortress rehearsal space in L.A. and bonded over a shared love of The Stooges, Iggy Pop, Billy Idol and The Ramones, as well as over a shared love of smoking Star’s cigarettes. Both had similarly experienced more than their fair of music-business broken promises, but neither had yet to throw in the towel, compromise their integrity or – most unthinkable of all – veer from their artistic vision. Though Star first approached Mars about merely producing his next album, they clicked as collaborators from day one, ultimately co-writing more than 30 songs in Star’s Hollywood apartment within a four-month span before recording in New York. In the process, much like the pair’s beloved Ramones, Mars ended up assuming the title of Joybox’s official drummer.

“Since I have a bigger part in the writing, I feel a deeper connection to this band, like it’s really mine, and I’m sure Eddie feels the same way,” Mars enthuses. “It’s kind of like your baby, you know?” Counters Star, “Bob is probably the most underrated musician on the scene. He really does know how to write great songs, and he’s a great producer. He knows how to play every instrument, and he understands where I'm coming from. I’m more a go-with-your-instinct type in terms of being a writer, where he’s really good at taking a song that I bring to him that’s raw, and he’ll say, ‘Oh, this is a great part. Put a bridge in here. Sing high on this part and sing low on this part, and we'll combine it and make it one voice.’ He’s really taken me to a different level.”

Suddenly, what was originally supposed to be a rough set of demos turned into something else altogether. “We played them for people, and they were like, ‘Well, we think this should just be the record because it came out so great,” Star recalls. “It just sort of took on a life of its own.” Instead of starting over on the same old club scene, he relocated to New York and focused on a new philosophy: “I really wanted to bring the right resources and get the music right. I wanted to come back in a way that would make a statement. I wanted to up the ante.”

Up the ante Joybox does, with thirteen East Village-approved, black-leather-clad tracks worth of a wake-up call to those too sequestered within their personal comfort zones. Containing absolutely zero filler, Informal Deviance emphasizes the theme of constantly questioning. While fuzzed-out guitars take center stage and a deceptive, lo-fi languidness pervades, the lyrics reflect anything but. Tracks like “Wrong Is Right” address the prevalence of political malfeasance; “Sexsation,” “Sex Toys” and “S&M” evoke a walk on the seedier side, one partially inspired by such glam-industrial masters as Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. And wrapping up the whole gritty, ever-evolving package is “Meltdown,” a song inspired by a spat between Mars and his girlfriend.

Through all the ups and downs, the core duo has maintained faith in themselves, their fans and above all, their band. In fact, Star’s belief in Joybox is so steadfast, he makes no qualms about making a promise of his own, one he had no intentions of breaking: “The goal is to keep rocking and make sure people have a good time. I can’t wait to bring it live to the people because that’s what I really live to do. That’s what I enjoy more than anything else.”