photo by Bob Hoeksema for MK ULTRA Magazine
On a recent episode of the “Talk Louder” podcast, hosted by veteran music journalist “Metal Dave” Glessner and lifelong hard rock/metal vocalist Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS), FASTER PUSSYCAT singer Taime Downe confirmed that he is working on a book with Rare Bird, the Los Angeles–based publishing company founded in 2010 by Tyson Cornell, former marketing and publicity director of Book Soup, a legendary independent bookstore on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. “They’ve done a bunch of books,” Taime said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “They did [John] Corabi‘s book and they did one of Matt‘s [Sorum] books and Sami Yaffa. The guy really fucking cool. And these guys [Leif Eriksson and Martin Svensson] that are writing it, they did Matt‘s book. They’re from Sweden. So we met last summer, at the end of summer, here to just meet. And then we went through the process of, ‘Okay, yeah, those guys are cool,’ and then we dealt with shit. And then in January we hooked up — I think it was January — and then we hooked up for, like, three or four meetings here in Los Angeles. And I’ve been gathering shit and trying to timeline stuff, ’cause it’s not just [going to be about] FASTER; it’s my life.”
The 58-year-old Downe, whose real name is Gustave Molvik, went on to say that he is going through his personal archives to gather material and to prompt autobiographical memory through discovery.
“There’s a lot of shit to remember, and a lot of shit happened fast,” he explained. “All the stuff that happened, happened fast — coming to L.A. and then putting FASTER together and then being signed and being on tour and then being over. And then the next thing, and then the next thing — it’s all quick. So it’s a fucking blur. And just trying to gather shit, you know what I mean? Those weren’t the days of cell phones and photos and that shit. Going through boxes of old shit.”
Last November, FASTER PUSSYCAT released double A-side singles “Like A Ghost” and “Pirate Love” digitally via Golden Robot Records. It was the band’s first release under the Golden Robot umbrella.
Originally formed during the mid-1980s glam rock era, FASTER PUSSYCAT has gone on to have a triumph of success, with over two million albums sold worldwide, and has accompanied some of rocks most distinguished names on tour, such as ALICE COOPER, OZZY OSBOURNE, MÖTLEY CRÜE, GUNS N’ ROSES and KISS.
FASTER PUSSYCAT, consisting of Downe, Sam “Bam” Koltun (guitar),Danny Nordahl (bass),Chad Stewart (drums) and latest addition to the band, Ronnie Simmons (guitar),has over 215,000 monthly listeners on Spotify alone, proving that they not only are still a prominent force but they have also been able to successfully mold to the digital age and maintain stamina.
Back in 2019, Taime told AL.com about the camaraderie between all the hard rock bands in the 1980s: “We were all friends. We were all like incestual, L.A. GUNS, GUNS N’ ROSES. GUNS N’ ROSES basically got a record right when we were putting FASTER together, so they helped us out tons for us getting our shit going. I was friends with [L.A. GUNS guitarist] Tracii Guns [GN’R drummer] Steven Adler. So, all this was just a melting pot.
“I remember going and seeing GUNS N’ ROSES‘ first show, and it’s so funny too because originally when we were putting FASTER with Mick Cripps (who would soon join L.A. GUNS) and we answered an ad in the Music Connection for a ‘loud glam guitar player available,’ and it was fucking Slash. We went and checked him out at the first GN’R show he did after Tracii [left GN’R]. I thought he was great. Mick said, ‘He looks stupid.’ [Laughs] I was like, ‘Whatever.’ And then I sold Slash his fucking hat. … He said he stole it. He’s so full of shit. I gave it to him. [Laughs] But he can say he stole it; it’s tougher. But we’ve been friends ever since.”