A Hometown story on Toxxic Toyz singer David McBee about the new album coming soon on Nightmare.
By SCOTT POWELL
Ledger Staff Writer
spowell@gaffneyledger.com
A castle sits high in the forest overlooking the studio where David McBee is working on new songs in the south of France.
This is the view the Gaffney singer often sees on the weekends this month while working on new songs for the French heavy metal Toxxic Toyz. He is living in a band member's home in a small village called Le Rouret, located in the mountains about an hour from Nice.
Toxxic Toyz was formed in 2003 by guitarist Fred Burst and drummer Ric Prade in Nice. The band has performed close to 100 shows and released the CD "F.E.A.R." in 2007.
McBee first heard about Toxxic Toyz when he found the band's Myspace page while surfing on the Internet. The band had posted a message on their Web site for several months in hopes of finding a new singer with good English-speaking skills.
"David sent an e-mail and told us he wanted to sing for Toxxic Toyz," Burst said. "We were surprised to hear from someone in the United States. We wrote him back and said, "Do you realize we are in France and speak only French?"
"David was still interested. Now he is here in France, and it is really cool," Burst said. "The songs on the new Toxxic Toyz CD are really strong. David has a really powerful voice. It is a good fit with the songs."
Toxxic Toyz guitarist and songwriter Arvi Kaint sent an email inviting McBee to fly out to Nice for six weeks in October of 2009 to record vocals for the band's new CD "Mutation." He came back to France in February for six months to perform in concert with Toxxic Toyz. The band has played several outdoor festivals and is preparing for two concerts in Paris in early August.
Nightmare Records will release "Mutation" by Toxxic Toyz on September 21 in the United States and September 24 in Europe.
Nightmare Records will distribute the record online through CD Baby, Amazon, The End and Laser. The record label plans to distribute the record in countries in Europe such as the Netherlands, France, Germany, Portugal, and Italy.
McBee is excited about the release of the new CD and can't wait for people to hear it in the United States.
"I have always wanted to come to Europe. I did a couple concerts in Germany with another band in the late 1980s, but I never really got to go anywhere," McBee said. "Metal is a way of life for me. All I've ever wanted to do is go sing with a good band and make music for a living. I'm really thankful to Toxxic Toyz for letting me come here to France."
New friends and band members have helped McBee overcome his inability to speak French. He has learned to love the pasta, meat, wine and cheeses in the two hour evening meals which are a standard part of the French dining experience.
He works part-time for a bed and breakfast across the road from where he stays and shops for food in the local village market.
Evening meals are often spent at the home of Toxxic Toyz drummer Ric Prade. They spend time going over songs from the band's two CDs "Mutation" and the band's debut "F.E.A.R."
Toxxic Toyz plans to have McBee record vocals from songs such as "Killing Dreams" and "Magic Kingdom" off their first CD before he returns to Gaffney on August 30.
McBee is looking forward to bringing Toxxic Toyz over for an American tour following the release of "Mutation." The band already has 10 songs written for a new CD.
"Mutation is a great CD. I can't wait for people to hear these songs for the first time," McBee said. "I'm really thankful to Lance King at Nightmare Records for helping us get this CD out. I think this is only the beginning for Toxxic Toyz."
By SCOTT POWELL
Ledger Staff Writer
spowell@gaffneyledger.com
A castle sits high in the forest overlooking the studio where David McBee is working on new songs in the south of France.
This is the view the Gaffney singer often sees on the weekends this month while working on new songs for the French heavy metal Toxxic Toyz. He is living in a band member's home in a small village called Le Rouret, located in the mountains about an hour from Nice.
Toxxic Toyz was formed in 2003 by guitarist Fred Burst and drummer Ric Prade in Nice. The band has performed close to 100 shows and released the CD "F.E.A.R." in 2007.
McBee first heard about Toxxic Toyz when he found the band's Myspace page while surfing on the Internet. The band had posted a message on their Web site for several months in hopes of finding a new singer with good English-speaking skills.
"David sent an e-mail and told us he wanted to sing for Toxxic Toyz," Burst said. "We were surprised to hear from someone in the United States. We wrote him back and said, "Do you realize we are in France and speak only French?"
"David was still interested. Now he is here in France, and it is really cool," Burst said. "The songs on the new Toxxic Toyz CD are really strong. David has a really powerful voice. It is a good fit with the songs."
Toxxic Toyz guitarist and songwriter Arvi Kaint sent an email inviting McBee to fly out to Nice for six weeks in October of 2009 to record vocals for the band's new CD "Mutation." He came back to France in February for six months to perform in concert with Toxxic Toyz. The band has played several outdoor festivals and is preparing for two concerts in Paris in early August.
Nightmare Records will release "Mutation" by Toxxic Toyz on September 21 in the United States and September 24 in Europe.
Nightmare Records will distribute the record online through CD Baby, Amazon, The End and Laser. The record label plans to distribute the record in countries in Europe such as the Netherlands, France, Germany, Portugal, and Italy.
McBee is excited about the release of the new CD and can't wait for people to hear it in the United States.
"I have always wanted to come to Europe. I did a couple concerts in Germany with another band in the late 1980s, but I never really got to go anywhere," McBee said. "Metal is a way of life for me. All I've ever wanted to do is go sing with a good band and make music for a living. I'm really thankful to Toxxic Toyz for letting me come here to France."
New friends and band members have helped McBee overcome his inability to speak French. He has learned to love the pasta, meat, wine and cheeses in the two hour evening meals which are a standard part of the French dining experience.
He works part-time for a bed and breakfast across the road from where he stays and shops for food in the local village market.
Evening meals are often spent at the home of Toxxic Toyz drummer Ric Prade. They spend time going over songs from the band's two CDs "Mutation" and the band's debut "F.E.A.R."
Toxxic Toyz plans to have McBee record vocals from songs such as "Killing Dreams" and "Magic Kingdom" off their first CD before he returns to Gaffney on August 30.
McBee is looking forward to bringing Toxxic Toyz over for an American tour following the release of "Mutation." The band already has 10 songs written for a new CD.
"Mutation is a great CD. I can't wait for people to hear these songs for the first time," McBee said. "I'm really thankful to Lance King at Nightmare Records for helping us get this CD out. I think this is only the beginning for Toxxic Toyz."
