Sweet Justice formed in Los Angeles, CA in 2002 out of the ashes of the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs and the ADZ, with a little help from the Bellrays. Drenched in the sound of '70s classic rock and '60s soul, with some punk swagger and hard rock crunch thrown in for good measure, Sweet Justice blends song craftsmanship with tight musicianship and sloppy bar band ethos, making their sound the bizarre meeting ground of the Jeff Beck Group and the Heartbreakers (Johnny Thunders or Tom Pettys bunch, you pick).
While on hiatus with the Streetwalkin Cheetahs, frontman Frank Meyer hooked up with longtime pal Bruce Duff -- formerly of ADZ, 45 Grave, Jeff Dahl and the gent who had the good taste to sign the Cheetahs to Triple X Records during his tenure -- to record music for an indie film Frank co-wrote called Fat Cats. The mission was to record a handful of '70s-sounding instrumental jams. They enlisted former Bellrays drummer Todd Westover (who plays with '60s biker legend Simon Stokes with Duff) on skins and tracked a dozen songs in Todds living room. These jams morphed into Sweet Justice, with fellow former Bellrays drummer Chris Markwood (the Cheetahs, Bellrays and Duff go way back, ya see) eventually stepping in for Westover as the band became fulltime. Within months, Sweet Justice had an entire set of original songs (now with vocals) and were playing gigs around Hollywood, flexing their musical muscle on tunes veering from blues and country to Hendrix-y-style jams and Stonesy rock.
Were a modern day soul band, laughs Meyer. We are rootsy but hard rockin. Its all rock n roll but we arent afraid to play a blues tune, a ballad or even a dub number. Were basically playing every style of music our old bands didnt do. Zappas Rueben and the Jets, the Stones Exile on Main Street, Aerosmith Rocks, thats the sort of the territory were covering here. Classic rock but with a punky twist.
In 2003 the band recorded a 17-song demo album that fell into the hands of Philadelphia based label Real O Mind -- home of Detroit Scott Morgan and Australias Celibate Rifles -- who signed the band to record a their debut album. Sweet Justice also hit the road and played in and out of Los Angeles, sharing bills with the likes of Zeke, Rocket from the Tombs, Lazy Cowgirls, the Weaklings, Legal Weapon, the B-Movie Rats, Texas Terri and others, and recorded tune for a split 7" single with Scott Morgan (on American Ruse Records) and several songs for compilation albums.
Sweet Justice's self-titled 2004 debut leads off with the 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' sounding "Guns of Navarone," the album's glam-drenched first single, a lament against tired punk rock and Sunset Strip phonies. "Sold Me Out" is a sleazy, horn drenched soul rocker (honkin courtesy of Mike Watts Vince Meghrouni) whose lyrics are a venomous attack on a former business associate, while "Last Night" finds Duff taking over lead vocals duties for Frank on a Cheap Trick-esque popper. Save Ferris singer Monique Powell joins Duff in a duet on the funky "If You look Like A Star," and Frank croons the blues on the smokey ballads True To You and "Don't Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder." Be it the Aero-boogie of "Slide," the Cheetahs-style punk n roll of "Blood and Alcohol," or the Motown blast of "Outta Site," Sweet Justice prove they are boundary-free when it comes to songwriting and style. The boys even smoke the proverbial doobie on the lengthy reggae cut "Hey Christina." All in all, a major departure for these former punks and a hook-laden affair too boot.
We wanted this album to be unique, Duff notes. Every band these days finds one thing they do well and sticks ferociously to it. We can do lots of things, so we decided to use this band and this album to show off how much fun we can have trying out different styles and genres. There is one unifying theme though, one common ground. They are all strong songs. We wanted every song to be a winner.
By the time they finished the record (yes, it came out on vinyl, so we can say that officially), Frank and Duff formed the production team Messiaz and have been producing rock and hip hop for the likes of New York rappers Freddie Foxxx, Hell-Razah, Necro, and Freestyle, Houston heavyweights K-Rino (South Park Coalition) and Dope E (The Terrorists), L.A. indie vets Insane Poetry and Lord G, and rockers Eddie Spaghetti (Supersuckers), Ladykillers, Thor the Rock Warrior, Prima Donna, and Ze Auto Parts. Meanwhile, Frank has been keeping busy with the occational Cheetahs reunion show, re-releases of the Cheetahs early albums, and much freelance writing for the likes of G4tv, Variety, AVN, KNAC.com LA Weekly, and many others. He also has his debut book published, On the Road with the Ramones.
Dig Frank and Bruce's other band
ANGUS KHAN
Check out Franks other MySpace sites here:
The Streetwalkin Cheetahs
Frank Meyer
Messiaz
Video Game Theater
And go to his other websites here:
The Streetwalkin Cheetahs
Video Game Theater
Buy Sweet Justice's debut CD here via Paypal:
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