It is 9:30 on a Saturday night; the line outside the door of New York City's rock club Brownies is growing quickly. The first fan walks through the door ready to light up and order a beer; he notices what seems to be a matchbook on the bar. "Perfect," he thinks. Observing its cool chrome color, flames, and its logo. Suddenly he notices the bar, the tables, and the walls are covered as well, and not only by matchbooks, but by CDs, stickers, and posters. The club packs to its limit and the lights go out. The singer in his ruffled tuxedo appears on stage and the band kicks in with "Apple Jack Brandy." Incredibly energetic, he thought, but big deal most bands have at least one good song. He was utterly surprised when it continued throughout the show. It was his first Amazing Mustang Boy show and he has been a fan since.
Flash Back to 1996, The Amazing Mustang Boy was formed by five best friends set out to form what they call Chrome and Flames, "the powerful form of music that would put The Stray Cats to shame," as quoted in the Long Island local publication Good Times. "With influences such as The Beatles and Miles Davis to Black Sabbath and Jane's Addiction, they have been quite successful. The wonderful blend of jazz influenced sloppy guitars and bass, hard hitting drums, topped with the vocals of Frank Sinatra meets Scott Weiland, sort of makes you wonder what would've happened if Brian Setzer discovered acid instead of Jack Daniel's."
Fed up by the music scene, Jimmy and Charlie and fellow musician Scottyrock were ready to quit and strictly play for leisure. Nevertheless, they decided to go out on a limb and give it one more shot. They made some arrangements for a rehearsal with their high school buddies and former band mates Jim and Silv. Silv lived in Florida at the time, but that was no obstacle. He arrived in days. This was a rehearsal long over due. Within minutes, they had written their first song "God Enough." The next two weeks were very prolific for a group of musicians that hadn't played together in over five years. Anxiously awaiting to play their fresh material to a new audience, they booked their first show.
Names such as "The Lucy Schmidt Band," "Window Pane," and "Saliiva" were tossed around, however, they didn't express "Chrome and Flames." They needed the name that did not say serious, but rather fun, laughable, straight up rock and roll. At the time, the band was employed at a car wash and as most towns have their eccentrics, they had the Mustang Boy. He was a 6 foot, 7 inch cross-eyed guy with a big, frizzy, blonde afro. He was the weirdest guy they knew and washed his car everyday, sometimes twice. Somehow the Amazing Mustang Boy written down on a piece of paper looked really cool, thus, the birth of the band's name.
Currently the band plays venues all over the northeast including shows opening for Epic recording artists Nine Days and Phantom Planet. They perform for crowds of more than 2000 people and tour the Eastern Seaboard. They have released six independent EP's on their own label called Cars O'Charlie Records. They have distributed over 5000 copies in twenty-six stores throughout New York. They still continue to blanket the clubs with CDs, T-shirts, stickers, and just about everything they can make chrome. They are fully prepared to take on any obstacle and to share and spread the music of what they call "Chrome and Flames" with the world.
