Jetboy, ‘Off Your Rocker’ — New Album

"It's almost like a salute to our heroes," Jetboy guitarist Billy Rowe tells Noisecreep of his band's new album. When Jetboy started as a baby band nearly 30 years ago, the pieces of the puzzle all started to "fit." The band was signed early in the second wave of Sunset Strip glam and all signs pointed to a future headlining stadium shows. Instead of rivaling Poison in the '80s metal fame department, the members of Jetboy faced one setback after another, the biggest being the death of bassist Todd Crew before the release of their debut 'Feel the Shake.'

Now, the future is bright for Jetboy as the band celebrates the release of a new EP called 'Off Your Rocker,' their first album of new material in 20 years. The new album means plans for a summer tour, and that includes a stop at the M3 rock festival in Columbia, Md. this June. M3 has earned considerable buzz among fans of '80s metal and Rowe says he can't wait to get back to the east coast to try out some new songs on the big crowd.

"It's refreshing to do new stuff, and I look forward to having a set of more current Jetboy than the old which I think isn't easy to do. A lot of bands haven't done that," Rowe admits.

Quite frankly, a lot of bands can't just play all new stuff, but the members of Jetboy find themselves in a unique position: They have a branded name, but many music fans have never heard of them. This gives them the freedom to pretty much do whatever they want, including continually adding new music to their live set, allowing them to build a base of new fans while keeping the old ones happy.

There were issues with former bassist Michael Butler and drummer Doug Hovan, and neither guy is in the band anymore, although both are featured on the new album. When pressed on new members, all Rowe would tell Noisecreep is that both the new bassist and drummer are each named "Jesse." Neither guy is a so-called 'name' musician, but Rowe knows he and the other original members made the right choices when filling the open slots.

"The way these two new guys came about was a friend of a friend. I knew the drummer for years. He played with a friend of mine, and he knew the bass player. It kind of organically happened."

One of the new members is just 28, considerably younger than the other members. For Jetboy, it all sort of makes sense since the band defies traditional musical categorization anyway.

"With Jetboy, it's been a never-ending puzzle. We all scratch our heads. We're kind of a band that doesn't change, we just play stripped down, old fashioned rock 'n' roll and that's always been popular through decades. When we went in to do the new stuff, we said we're gonna go in and do what Jetboy is known for. And that's rock 'n' roll. It seems like time caught up with us: like we were ahead of ourselves back then."

Jetboy will play the Viper Room in Los Angeles in April. The band hopes to hit the road for a summer tour as well.