Toxic Heart: Riding High

Get ready to party when Ride Your Life by Toxic Heart make their way into your CD player. Based out of Slovenia, the dudes in Toxic Heart are ready to break out all over the world with their wildly infectious tunes. Here is a recent interview we conducted with this fun loving collective…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Toxic Heart, and how long the band has been together.
Toxic Heart is a young band, formed only 2 years ago with a current line up with Axl on vocals, Rider on bass guitar, GG on drums and me beating up those Kramer guitars. We play what we like the most and really enjoy it – Toxic Heart is pure – no bullshit here.

What is the music scene like in Slovenia and how does Toxic Heart fit into the scheme of things?
I would say there’s not so many hard rock bands although you need to know that Slovenia is a very small country – only a 2mil population. Thrash metal and hardcore is kinda taking place but our style has a bigger following day by day, so I would say things are going in the right direction. We’re the first in the last years and the band is what you hear and that’s what people like I guess.

Is there any story or concept behind the CD title Ride Your Life?
Of course it is. All the songs are taken from the last two years of our lives. What you hear and read – it all happened in the last two years, the way we lived them and the stuff that happened to us. We simply enjoy the ride and always have a good time and we just put that in music. Of course there are some funny facts but you also have some deeper meaning here and there. Ride Your Life is like a book, only in music…

Describe your music to an elderly relative who thinks it’s so “hip” that you are in a band.
Something you would recommend to your young daughter to listen hahaha. We’re not a bunch of “tough” guys with dragons coming out of the PA, we’re a hard rock band that play fine hard rock that you will love for sure! Good guys in disguise hahaha.

Your Big Time video looked like a lot of fun to do. How long did it take to shoot and where did you find the motorcycle stunt riders?
One day we just receive a call from our sponsor, Red Bull and they told us they have a great idea for us with their party bus and some riders. We only had 3 days to come up with a scenario and it all happened really quick, so we were busting our balls about the ideas. We only shoot the video for few hours since there was not a lot of time on our hands. The freestyler was Primoz Pavsic, the rising star of Slovenian MX freestyle and we just gave him a call if he would like to do a video with us. He’s a great guy and set the date and off we went. It was really good doing this video since when Primoz first jumped over us we were all scared, cause we had no idea how he’s going to land or what kind of trick will he do hahha.

What is a live Toxic Heart show like for those of us who have yet to see you play?
It’s a great party! It is different than listening to our album, since we like to spice up things in songs – some crazy parts, more solos. It’s like you were with us on a party and just have a good time and laughed your ass off since we always do something funny or act stupid to have the party going.

Have you ever played here in the States or plan to do in the future?
So far we haven’t, but I guess like every other band we would love to visit US of AJ We have several plans on touring US next year but we need to get it all down on paper to confirm it. We would really love to rock your country!

Are there any groupies wandering the provinces of Slovenia or beyond?
Of course they are hahaha. I’m not the right guy to ask since I’m more of a one-girl man but feel free to ask Rider or Axl who changes girlfriends like underwear. I know they pick them up almost after every show hahaha.

If you guys were invited to contribute one song to a Guns N Roses tribute compilation, what song would you want to do by GNR and why?
Huh, that’s a tough question. We’re all fans of GNR and it would be hard to pick. I would say that Estranged would be my favorite cause of all the emotions this song has. In my opinion, it is a beautiful tune with excellent parts and sound –and the video OMG! This is something that went down in history in my book of music.

What would you like a listener to remember the most after hearing the Toxic Heart CD for the very first time?
The positive energy! The smile on his or her face when they hear the tunes. We’re not here to sell anything else but a good time. We do understand the situation in life, but life is here to enjoy it, not to waste it. And of course we would like them to buy our album haha. Go to www.myspace.com/toxicheartofficial to check us out and leave a message!

Is there any beer from Slovenia that you could recommend?
I’m more of a Jack fan myself but when it comes to Slovenian beer – The one and only is LASKO PIVO (pivo is a Slovenian word for beer) and it’s the best! If you want we can send some over hahaha. Try it, you’ll love it!

Any final words of wisdom for the rockers here in the Los Angeles area?
You got to check us out! Don’t be afraid we’re not what you think about us and Slovenia is not in Russia hahaha. We’re here in central Europe rocking it out and would love to play in the States soon! Get a copy of our album and you’ll hear what we’re talking about!

Toxic Heart Myspace