HAL: When I first moved to LA I thought I was going to walk up and down the strip and find one phenomenal rock and roll band after another. I imagined GNR, the Doors. I thought there'd be a whole scene, a whole LA sound happening. Needless to say I was sadly disappointed. So I kicked around for a few years trying to put my perfect band together. Auditioned one fuck up/junkie/poser after another. Then I ended up in a short lived band called “The Beautiful Spiral”. That's where I met Tom Domaracki, frankly the most talented lead guitar player in the universe. The band didn't last but I stayed in touch with Tom. I went off to NY and North Carolina for a few months and said “fuck it” I'm going to write a perfect rock album on my own to be performed by the imaginary band in my head. A sort of “if you build it they will come” kind of philosophy. On a cheap plastic 4-track, I composed a total of 30 songs, almost all of which were to become the Poets and Pornstars repertoire. They were exactly what I had wanted to hear. I came back to LA, and put together a couple cats from the “Beautiful Spiral” and started “Poets and Pornstars”. It took off massively. Within a couple months we had a residency at The Viper Room and were packing the house. A few months later we got picked up by the Firm. Ultimately however the lineup wasn't right. So I put together a new line up. It was mind-blowing how quickly it came together. I had spent years getting to that point, and then about a MONTH getting the new band together, I wanted Tom. I called him, and he had just spent a year trying to find a singer for his project. He had auditioned 70 singers. NONE of them worked.

TOM: I realized, the reason why none of them ever seemed to fit, is because all along, I was just looking for another Hal Ozsan. After playing with him, few people can really compare.

HAL: Tom and I went out to the Viper Room one night to check out a bass player in another band and saw Sally Hope, playing guitar in a chick-band called “Titsofrenix” out of Santa Barbara. The moment she walked in the club, we couldn't take our eyes off her, there was just something about her. Then she plugged in, rocked out and completely blew our minds.

TOM: She was a total fucking rockstar. We had to have her in Poets and Pornstars; it’s where she belonged, it was as simple as that.

SALLY: Yea. They actually walked right up to the singer in my old band and were like “Hi we wanna meet Sally”. Anyway, they got me a CD. I loved it. We played. I loved it. A couple months later I had moved down to LA from SB and played my first gig. What can I say, I Love my band.

HAL: Randy, had been engineering tracks on what ended up becoming the Poets record. He was a killer keys player and had a voice like no-ones business. I asked him if he wanted in and he didn't hesitate. Then Dave, had been playing drums in our rehearsal room and listening to Poets for ever. He jumped at the chance, and now the family's complete.

HAL: Our mangers at the time, The Firm, encouraged us to make the record on our own, so I recruited my bud Ric Alien from “Standing in The Sun” and we produced the record together, the way we wanted it, note for note, without anyone else fucking up the process. On the downside, we had to learn Protools and figure out how to actually record an album on our own. It took longer to record than it did to write, nine fucking months. But it sounds like I dreamed it would. So I'm a happy bitch. We tracked about 20 songs. We whittled it down to 11.

RANDY: After recording and mixing "Get Your Kicks", the last song recorded on the album, we went up and stood on the roof of Captiol Records in L.A. where it was recorded, bottle of champagne in hand, and toasted to our soon to be World Domination as we looked out over the city we would conquer first! That was an inspiring moment I'll never forget!

HAL: Okay, so right at the end of the record we got into Capitol Studios to track a new song, “Get Your Kicks”. There I was Capitol records. I had tracked in the same room as Frank Sinatra. It’s the last day of the whole album, we’re listening back and everyone, the band, the engineers, the Capitol studios people, just knows this song is going to be a fucking classic, it sounds FUCKING AMAZING. I’m thinking, this is perfect. Then my girlfriend at the time turns to me and says. “Capitol, Records, Studio A, Poets and Pornstars, Get your kicks…hmmmm…there’s just one thing missing...so she took me to the bathroom and blew my mind to the soundtrack of my own song playing over the speakers. Doesn't get better than that...

HAL: Until recently I wrote almost everything. But lately Tom and Randy, who are both so talented, are writing more riffs than we know what to do with. We're backlogged on half-finished songs to the tune of about an albums worth of material. This band has so much chemistry, we just jam a song into existence, every time we rehearse.

TOM: Each song is different but generally, somebody brings in an idea or accidentally plays something that sounds cool and if we all dig the vibe it ends up a new song.

HAL: Yea, there's something about the songS that come out of that energy that is undeniable. But like Tom said every songs got a different story. “Earthman” was the quickest song I've ever written. The whole thing happened in about 10 intense and blistering minutes. It's really hard to explain what I was going through, and if I told you in depth, you probably wouldn't believe me. But basically I had an epiphany. I was crying and laughing and holding my jaw in awe, and smoking furiously. I wrote down these lyrics and picked up the guitar and threw it in the middle of the night...it was some divine moment of Bodhi. I sort of understood man, wholly for just a split second, and had to take dictation before it disappeared. It was one of the most thrilling and bizarre experiences of my life.

DAVE: As members of Poets & Pornstars we enjoy the best of both worlds: Not only do we write from our potent jam sessions but we've also created an atmosphere where every band member is encouraged to bring ideas, have them heard without judgement, and then have them collaborated on by the band.

HAL: Like Sex in Vegas.

DAVE: Poets & Pornstars combines hard, high-energy, 70's-influenced guitar riffs with a pounding, driving rhythm section, percussive and melodic keys, and an electrifying vocal presence. Exemplified by such songs as "Monkey," "Get Your Kicks," and the brand new "Secret of My Success," Poets & Pornstars creates a sense of urgency not previously felt and much-needed in the genre. We also contemplate a different side of life with the beautifully harmonized ballad "Inflatable Girl" and the epic dramatic build of "Earthman." In our music I hear everything from the Kinks to The Who, to Radiohead and Oasis, and the ass-kick of AC/DC throughout.

TOM: The Verve, AC/DC, the Stones, The Kinks, early Aerosmith, GnR, Primal Sceam.

SALLY: AC/DC, GNR, Rock and Frikkin roll god damn it.

HAL: Poets is, the natural heir, the rightful successor, to the great rock and roll tradition, before it was derailed and continually pissed on by crap like New Wave, and bands like Creed, Its on the royal blood line, from Robert Johnson, to Chuck Berry, the Kinks, The Stones, Aerosmith, ACDC, The Clash, GNR and then of course yours truly, Poets and Pornstars.

HAL: Like I said. When I first moved to LA, I thought I was going to walk up and down the strip and find one phenomenal rock and roll band after another. I imagined walking into The Whiskey and seeing the next GNR, and the next Doors. There weren't. So I started Poets and Pornstars. We’re now that band. We’re saving LA from her long sad lonely period of shame. And its happening man. Come to a show, and you'll see what I mean…if you're not in LA, despair not, we’re gonna come save your town too.

TOM: I think the scene is recovering from a long drawn out lull where great live bands have been hard to come by. Poets are first hand first aid in that recovery cause we give every show all we have to give and do everything we can to kick as much ass as possible. Which is a LOT of ass.

DAVE: I have no concept of the LA Music Scene as a whole and therefore no opinion on it. But that's a good thing. Because it means that LA's music scene is far too large and diverse to be quantified. LA remains the music capitol of the world and therefore the oasis and refuge for all musicians and music styles. Anyone should be able to find the best band in the world in their favorite genre here. For Rock, there's no question, it's Poets & Pornstars. Our mere presence on the LA scene has been enough to shake things up. The fans already know it, and now it's time for the suits to catch up.

TOM: Aerosmith, AC/DC, the Stones, U2, QOSTA, Velvet Revolver, Smashing Pumpkins(if they reunite), Oasis, The Foo Fighters.

HAL: I’d tour with Velvet Revolver in a heartbeat. Duff and Slash, c’mon…And I think touring with U2 would be laugh. Those cats seem cool as fuck. But ultimately I imagine a day when we’re touring with the Stones and they just say, hey guys, here’s the torch, keep up the good work.

DAVE: Whoever digs what we're doing and is playing to Sold-Out arenas.

TOM: No, I think its useless letting the industry get to you. I believe in this band, these songs, and the shows with every ounce and that's enough for me.

DAVE: Only if I get to bother them back.

HAL: Some days it pisses me off. The record labels particularly. Get your shit together. You morons, there's a scene now, there's actually GREAT fucking bands in this town now, stop signing and pumping so much cash into so much crap. But most days I could give a fuck. We don't need a license to exist from a bunch of cats who can’t even play an instrument. Everyday we get emails from kids as far a field as Rhode Island and Oregon, thanking us for making this music. They're hungry for rock and roll. And the labels with all their blind, self-absorbed idiocy are missing the boat. Between that and the Internet, they’ll probably become obsolete.

RANDY: Goals? Only one. Be the best Rock & Roll band in the world! How do we achieve it? Do what we do best--kick everyone's ass with our music and our show and find the right "family" of people to help us get it out there to everyone, everywhere.

HAL: Make great music. Play great shows. And conquer the hearts and minds of America one lick at a time.

SALLY: Its already happening.

DAVE: To have all of my dreams come true. Everyone has to realize that Poets & Pornstars is their favorite band.

HAL: Originally we just put it up on CDbaby and iTunes, but now its appearing all over the place. We just saw it on Towerrecords.com. Which we had nothing to do with…short answer, online, you're all good.

DAVE: I have an extra copy or two I'm carrying around in my bag. Otherwise, I think the aforementioned online outlets will suffice.

DAVE: All Access is LA's Best Music Magazine and The Atomic Chaser and The Rocker are Men of Exquisite Taste.