While the signature sound of the New England Metal scene has been dominant in the heavy music world lately, the raw, Los Angeles Glam Rock sound has taken a backseat. But new Metal Blade band Starwood is here to bring back the spirit of Kiss, Motley Crue and Guns 'n Roses with If It Ain't Broke, Break It - their debut album. This brand of sex, drugs and Rock 'n Roll party music is not something that most people would expect from the label that recently brought us the new album from Cattle Decapitation, but Starwood is perfectly happy to be an anomaly on Metal Blade. FMQB recently exchanged e-mails with singer Lizzy and guitarist Joe Steals to find out what it's like to be a Guitar Rock fish in a Death Metal pond.

Tell me a little about your background. How did the band get together? Steals: We were all in a previous band together called Diamond Dogs so when we had an opportunity to work together again it all just fell into place. Lizzy: We all had the desire to make a great rock record. It's in our blood and as we've come to find out, now was perfect timing. We had no idea the world was ready to rock again, all we knew is that we wanted to. So we just did it not knowing if anyone would like it. It's been an overwhelmingly positive response. What goals did you have when recording your debut album? Steals: Short songs that rock with great melodies and strong choruses. Lizzy: All we knew was we wanted to make a record that just rocked! We wanted to incorporate all of our influences and be the kind of band that was in our CD collections. Did you grow up on bands like Kiss and Motley Crue, or did you listen to more extreme stuff too?

Steals: I myself grew up on all types of music but I fell hard for all the great songs from the '70s.
Lizzy: Kiss is probably the common denominator between the four of us. We all are very open-minded musically, and in our minds the hard rock of the '70s is blasting out through our Marshall stacks and is an integral part of our music.

Steals: We weren't trying to do anything except what comes naturally: rock n' roll our asses off!
Lizzy: Not concisely, but fun enters into almost everything we do. You only live once and we want to have as much fun as we can. A lot of the bands out today don't look like they're having too much fun. The energy of our music is not built on negativity and I think that's the difference. I think the world is ready for some fun though, and we're just the band to bring it.

What's it like being a Garage Rock band on a historic Metal label with Six Feet Under and The Crown? Steals: It's great! And I certainly like all the attention that comes with it. Lizzy: I don't consider us a Garage band. But we are a one-of-a-kind on a label that caters to a certain type of music. We wanna be the band that is set apart from the rest. Blending in is not what we're about. Do you have tour plans? Steals: Yes, it's in the works; we'll post the dates on our Web site as they become available. Lizzy: Things are coming in everyday. It's down to picking and choosing what's right for us. We should have some idea of when and where very soon. What else is in the future for Starwood? Steals: World Domination! Rock n' Roll style. Lizzy: Record, tour, record, tour, record, tour, have an affair with a super model, tour, record, blow all our money on wild parties, tour! I can't think of a better way to live life!