by Chris True
Formed in 2004, Gay for Johnny Depp was a New York based hardcore/metal band that not only took the famous actor as muse for a name but for lyrical and promotional inspiration. Formed by the members of bands such as Garrison and Instruction -- Sig Jagger (guitar and vocals), Marty Leopard (vocals), Chelsea Piers (bass), and JJ Samanen (drums)) -- Gay for Johnny Depp released their first EP, Erotically Charged Dance Songs for the Desperate, in the summer of 2004. A second EP followed -- Blood: The Natural Lubricant (An Apocalyptic Adventure Beyond Sodom and Gomorrah) -- in the autumn of 2005. Scoring big with the UK music press, the band appeared at the 2006 Download Festival at Donington Park. 2007 would see the release of the bands' first full length effort -- The Politics of Cruelty -- which included a press release that resembled a made up pornographic fan letter to Johnny Depp as opposed to band information, which of course worked like a charm, scoring the band just a little bit of extra press. 2008, at least the early part, was to be spent touring the UK, where the band had built up quite a following.