In 1988, at the Limelight in NYC, Toronto native Ronnie Sweetheart met bassist Danny Nordahl, and under the slurring serenade of Johnny Thunders they drank to the beginnings of a great rock n roll heartbreak. Drunk on dreams and champagne from the Titanic - The Throbs set sail. Without missing a beat, drummer Ronnie Magri joined the line-up with Swedish born guitarist Roger Ericson sharpening the rough edges.

They had all they needed, but mastering the art of unnecessary excess, ex-Quireboys Guitarist Ginger was brought in for a stint. Shortly after, the now ex-Throb was escorted to the airport, crying in his beer, back to London. He just didn't fit the bill.

The Throbs had a vision and the masses were gathering. The buzz spread through the backstreets like a social disease. Like the Warriors in search of Cyrus - what do you know about the Throbs? They're the ones. What do you know about the Throbs? Pure magic. They were everything New York needed in a rock n roll band. The kids donned their colors, and paid their tokens, but where were the Throbs?

This is the deal. Do three shows, and with no demo, no press kit, not even a fuckin snapshot and get signed to Geffen Records. Get huge advances, and wait to become rock stars like... rock stars. Keep in mind, they still didn't have a producer, so they didn't have a record. No manager, so no one helping them find a producer. And a record company that really wanted nothing to do with them, going so far as to ban them from the building. The Throbs ran thru the city like NY Street drugs - everybody loved 'em then ended up feelin dirty the next day.

After a long hard road of what began to feel more like a deal with the devil than a teenage rock n roll dream, the record company tells them that Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper/Kiss) not only wants to produce them, but get this, will lower his fee to do it. From the get go Ezrin warned the boys that he was a blackbelt, and would have no problem literally kicking their asses out of the studio. With Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed) riding shotgun in the control booth Ezrin said "Let's make a record!" The boys were on their best behavior. It's one thing telling some A&R person, whose favorite fuckin band is the Monkees, to go fuck themselves, but Toronto Bob is a legend. He was making his bones in rock n roll when these guys were still fuckin cheerleaders. With the producer's pedigree, and rock and roll legend Little Richard on piano the whole experience, as Mr.Penniman says, was "a blessin and a lesson." In January 1991, the Throbs released their first album on Geffen Records: The Language of Thieves and Vagabonds. LTV was immediately met with the critical acclaim from the fans and press. The Throbs were ready to tour. Almost.The reputation of the Throbs preceded them wherever they went, and damaged property and feelings were always left in the wake. Delays and dysfunction's were definitely taking their toll inside and out of the band. Attitudes and addictions that took years to cultivate needed to be dealt with before a tour could begin. Volumes have been written on the hardships and heartaches of touring, and starting with the A's, Aerosmith have always led the pack. Who better to do an intervention on the guys than Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. Convincing a drug addict to enter rehab is tricky business. Promises far beyond the laurels of good living must be made. The instant gratification nerve must be touched in such a way that even Dee-Dee Ramone would be enticed by the idea of all the candy you can eat. Only Danny was willing to take that ride.

To keep an extra pair of eyes on the boys during their US/UK tour, Richard Cole, evil genius behind Led Zeppelin, was called in like Lee Marvin to wrangle this dirty foursome. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come.

As soon as the Throbs exploded on foreign soil, there were bombs over Baghdad. Two dates into the tour the Gulf War had begun. On the music front, a new underground sound was tracking the hearts of a new generation. Pulsating out of the Northwest, the Throbs began to palpitate as the flannel Mafia came down like rain. Shortly after the release of LTV, Geffen released Nevermind by Nirvana. The days of stealing your mom's clothes to go to a rock show were replaced with borrowing your uncle's work pants.

Completing their tour with LTV steadily climbing the charts in the US, Japan, and Europe, The Throbs headed back to the states. The video for their single "Come Down Sister" shot at NY's Palladium was in heavy rotation on MTV's Headbangers Ball in the US and UK, and the fans were making themselves known. The kids were learning the language the people of Geffen would never speak, seeing only the fork in their tongue. Before maximum life could be generated into this monster - Geffen Records pulled the plug, and dropped the band from the label. That's that.

Down but not out, The Throbs still had some fight in 'em. Where this road could take them was anybody's guess. What was up around the bend came with the flashing red light of their "riot" house room phone. The operator told Ronnie "Andy called, JT's dead." The Throbs had come full circle. From that fateful night at the Limelight in 88, to being asked to perform at the Johnny Thunders Memorial show at NY's Marquee in 91. Now, for (the real) reasons only they know, the red light was flashing for them as a band. It was the last show the bad four would do. Shortly after, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, over coffee and pirogies, The Throbs became a memory.

There's plenty of speculation from different factions on the how's and why's of the bands demise, but at this point, after a decade of dust has settled down, we have a chance to just listen to the fuckin music instead of gettin caught up in all that shit. So, twelve years after the split, the Throbs get back together to show, their inherent flair only makes 'em more potent over time. In a one night only reunion show, The Throbs will once again give NYC a good kick in the crotch.

The Throbs
(via Don Hill's Message Board)