When speaking about his punk troupe The Strays, Toby Marriott cites the usual musical influences: the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Clash.
It may be out of family obligation that Marriott adds the Small Faces and Humble Pie, two classic rock outfits fronted by his father, Steve, because there’s nary a hint of either band on The Strays’ debut “Le Futur Noir,” due out Sept. 12.
Toby Marriott was only 13 years old when Steve Marriott died in an Essex, England, house fire on April 20, 1991.
“It’s a shame he died before he could see me perform,” said Marriott, now 28. He said their relationship was ship-shape at the time, although before his dad and mom broke up, his dad “was always on tour, and when he was home, he was recuperating from tour.”
It wasn’t until after his parents’ divorce that he considered making music for a living. His vocals intensify the estrangement, suggesting he waded in Joe Strummer’s, not Steve Marriott’s, gene pool.
Marriott and his band mates–Greece-born bassist Dimitris Koutsiouris and Californian guitarist Jeff Saenz and drummer Johnny Upton–are on a three-week tour supporting seminal punk-pop group the Buzzcocks.
“I may have been 1 or 2 when they first came out,” said Marriott about the Buzzcocks. “I think it’ll be a good experience for us. I heard they’re real good live, so all the better.”
Check out The Strays on Saturday at the Double Door, and stream their music at myspace.com/thestrays.
