Biography
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Years Active
1987 – present (37 years)
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Founded In
Austin, Travis County, Texas, United States
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Members
- Danny Aaron (1989 – 1992)
- Jason McMaster (1987 – present)
- Kevin Fowler (1992 – 1994)
- Mark Geary (1987 – present)
- Michael Hannon (1994 – 1995)
Dangerous Toys was a hard rock band with southern rock undertones from Austin, Texas, achieving a short but sweet burst of success in the midst of the 80s glam metal boom. Formed in 1987, the band released four studio albums and a live album before officially disbanding in 1999. Notable for their comical 'monster clown' iconography, they have reunited a few times over the years for one off shows but have no official touring or recording plans.
Over the years, the group has become perhaps best known for their 1989 tune "Scared", an Alice Cooper inspired track featuring the refrain of "I think I like being scared". Parent album 'Dangerous Toys', the band's first full release, notably received some positive critical reviews and reached the #65 slot on the Billboard 200 chart. Lead vocalist Jason McMaster currently sings for hard rock band Broken Teeth.
In 1999 Dangerous Toys released a live album, 'Vitamins and Crash Helmets Tour - Greatest Hits Live' (Deadline/Cleopatra). After that, band activity slowed.
Singer Jason McMaster performs in various Austin-based rock-bands, including Sad Wings, Capricorn USA, and Broken Teeth a band formed in 1999 with Dangerous Toys guitarist Paul Lidel. Lidel left Broken Teeth in 2006 and now writes and performs with Adrenaline Factor, Jokerville, and 99 Crimes. Lidel is also a music instructor who trains future would-be guitar rockstars. Drummer Mark Geary and bassist Mike Watson record and perform in an Austin-based heavy metal band called Proof Of Life.
In 2001, they played a few shows in their hometown of Austin, Texas and in Tokyo, Japan, rejoined by their original bassist, Mike Watson. They reunited for another set of live shows in Austin and Tokyo during February 2003, Austin in May 2005, and at Bat Fest (an annual Austin event) with Rhino Bucket in September 2006. Portions of the 2006 show were recorded and initially intended for release as XX, a 20-year career retrospective CD/DVD. The XX project was postponed indefinitely in mid-2007. The band was also rumored to be working on a new album during this period, but nothing has come out of it.
In 2006, "Teas'n, Pleas'n" was covered by Shadows Fall on their compilation album Fallout from the War, featuring guest vocals from Toys' vocalist Jason McMaster.
In 2007, Dangerous Toys recorded a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's hit song Simple Man for An All Star Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd, (Deadline/Cleopatra). Also in 2007, they performed an unannounced short set at the end of a show featuring the member's current bands (Adrenaline Factor, Proof of Life and Broken Teeth).
In 2008 they performed a handful of shows. Most notable was a 20th Anniversary show in Austin, TX, on November 8, with all original band members.
In 2017, it was announced that Dangerous Toys had signed a deal with EMP Label Group, the label of Megadeth bassist David Ellefson to reissue remastered versions of several of the band's catalog releases including Pissed, The R*tist 4*merly Known as Dangerous Toys, and XX: Live. Pissed was re-released on September 8, 2017 on Vinyl LP, Picture Disc, and CD.
Though not a full-time ongoing band, Dangerous Toys is still active as of 2020, performing at least one live show every year. McMaster had stated in interviews there would be no new material under the Dangerous Toys name, but would never rule it out. Despite McMaster's previous statements, Dangerous Toys guitarist Scott Dalhover revealed on his Facebook page in September 2018 that he was working on demos with him for what will be the band's fifth studio album. During their performance at the Rocklanta festival in Atlanta on March 30, 2019, they performed their first song in 24 years "Hold Your Horses".
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