Birthed in Brooklyn, "with no regard for potential audiences" and the intent of "doing everything on its own terms," GAY FOR JOHNNY DEPP (or GFJD) has met to every response but indifference since the release of its debut EP Erotically Charged Dance Songs for the Desperate (2004). The debut showcased the band's machine gun rat-a-tat fire of short, sharp songs delivered in a frantic, relentless style featuring "a very well hidden yet deeply intellectual core" and lead singer Marty Leopard's vocals that "straddled the line between Johnny Rotten and a hyena." In 2005, GFJD released Blood: The Natural Lubricant (An Apocalyptic Adventure Beyond Sodom and Gomorrah) and supported the EP with a tour of Britain, which initiated such a rousing response that the band headlined a stage at the 2006 Download Festival. GAY FOR JOHNNY DEPP's debut album The Politics of Cruelty (2007) became the rare example of a hardcore band receiving positive reviews in publications such as New Music Express, Q, The Guardian and Uncut and hard rock / metal mags (such as Rock Sound, Terrorizer and Kerrang!) while also receiving airplay on every major UK rock radio station (!!). Advances of the debut sent to the media contained a highly explicit fan letter to actor Johnny Depp, written by someone simply known as 'Brad'. The album appeared in the NME Chart's Top 10 for a full month and GFJD front man Marty Leopard was invited to take part in the NME's annual Christmas Pub Golf. However, the singer subsequently referred to NME and other British music journals as "the enemy," and when asked to comment for a press blurb, he screamed, "We don't want to be in fucking NME!" GAY FOR JOHNNY DEPP's sophomore album What Doesn't Kill You, Eventually Kills You will be released on February 15 (or just in time for Valentine's Day).
http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_MS12831
