I’m a sucker for heavy guitar riffs, punk rock attitudes and balls to the wall rock ’n’ roll.  So when I was summoned to write an article on Brick Pistol I was delighted as they possess all three of those elements plus a whole lot more. 



Taking their cue from bad boy rockers Motley Crüe coupled with the dark metal of Black Sabbath, brothers Jimmy and Johnny Tyrant formed Brick Pistol in 1999.  The Los Angeles rockers quickly won accolades from critics and fans alike and were nominated best band in their hometown four years in a row.  Despite the praise, the Tyrant twins were unsatisfied with the local scene and headed north, basing themselves in Tacoma.



“When we first arrived we had a drummer that lived in North Seattle; I live in Shelton, and my bro lives in Tacoma. We did not want to be just a Tacoma band or Seattle. This way we’re kind of in the middle for the whole Puget Sound thing,” says Johnny Tyrant.  The group was cemented with the arrival of their rhythm section of Ian G. and D. Jakkyl, and they hit the club circuit running.



The self-described “psycho rockers” mix it up to include many different and deadly flavors for a volatile cocktail of sound.



“Our sound does incorporate all our influences so you get punk, metal, and pure rock. We like to have something for everyone, and if a band played the same kind of music you get cast into a stereotype like Superman,” explains Tyrant.



Lyrically honest, the group tells candid stories of living the rock ‘n’ roll life, which at times can be dark.



“Yes, some of our lyrics are a little dark, but rock ‘n’ roll is not bright and shiny, and besides we are not Bon Jovi. We write lyrics based on true, actual events, and rockers such as ourselves are a little mental.”



An example of this would be the song “Neon Princess.”



“Again based on true events, it was in Hollywood at a famous strip club, and there was Jimmy rubbing oil on some hot blonde, and me drunk standing on one of those tall ass bar tables rooting for him, so neon princess is a stripper who took all his money,” he explains.



If you check these unruly boys out live, be prepared. “We put on an arena show in clubs; we have everything from me serenading a cardboard cutout of Betty Paige dressed as a pimp to straight jackets,” warns Tyrant.



And like Spinal Tap, their amps go to 11.



[4th Ave Tavern, with Metal Church, Sunday, Feb. 25, 9:30 p.m., $8, 210 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia 360.786.1444]