Theo Kogan and Miss Guy, backstage on Saturday night.
The true story of the East
Village’s Miss Guy and Theo
BY BOB KRASNER
Some of the details are lost in the
haze, but one thing is for sure –
Miss Guy of the Toilet Boys and
Theo Kogan of the Lunachicks formed
a bond in the early ’90s that was the
beginning of a truly beautiful friendship.
They actually met in the late ’80s in
Los Angeles, when Guy was briefl y living
there and 19 year-old Theo was on her
fi rst tour with the Lunachicks, a band
she formed in NYC when she was 16
with friends from the LaGuardia High
School. She happened to be staying in a
friend’s apartment across the hall from
Guy who, dressed to the nines to hit the
Sunset Strip glam scene, walked in to
fi nd “fi ve girls lounging all around the
living room.”
Theo clearly remembers his entrance.
“It was our fi rst time in LA,” she recalls.
“I was blown away by him. He was so
sweet and so beautiful. I had never met
a beautiful drag queen before – I was
confused! I didn’t know if he was male
or female.”
Guy had caught the tail end of the LA
glam movement but nothing came of it.
“I loved music and I was really into
the scene there in the 1980’s, but I was a
little late. I knew Motley Crue a little and
I tried to get something going in LA, but
I was too intimidated to talk to anyone
about a band,” Guy notes. “Then I met
Malcolm McLaren, who told me I should
really be in New York.”
Which brought him back to the East
Village, where he met up with Theo
again. He remembers seeing “a gorgeous
girl with orange dyed hair” on the street;
she recounts that their reunion happened
at Webster Hall.
Either way, they became “fast friends,”
according to them both. Guy began to
infl uence Theo’s style, helping with her
hair and makeup, as well as lending her
clothes and shoes (“We were the same
size,” Theo confi rms ) and pushing the
band into a more fabulous direction.
“She was my muse,” Guy explains. “I
saw this beautiful, glamorous creature in
the rough. The band was going onstage in
their street clothes and I wanted to push
them in a more glamorous direction. I
even made her custom false eyelashes.”
“He infl uenced my whole style,” Theo
confi rms. “My look onstage grew and
refi ned due to Guy.”
Not only did he influence her
PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER
wardrobe, he had something to do with
her personal life as well.
“I had been through a breakup and
Guy and Kembra Pfahler were both telling
me that I had to meet this guy, Sean
Pierce,” says Theo. “Now we’re married
with an 11-year-old daughter.”
For her part, Theo encouraged Guy to
start the Toilet Boys and convinced Pierce
to join the group, a partnership that has
lasted since 1995. She also encouraged
Guy to take vocal lessons and learn to
take care of his voice. Guy had been
performing in drag shows, although his
goal was “not necessarily to be a drag performer”
and was singing live to recorded
tracks with JoJo America, as well as with
the house band at Squeezebox, where he
was also a DJ.
“The band name was supposed to be
a one-off,” he admits. “I didn’t want to
be called ‘Miss Guy’ either, but the two
names I didn’t want just stuck.”
Putting aside a promising career as
a makeup artist despite the encouragement
of his mentor Kevyn Aucoin, Guy
went with his love for music and played
all over downtown, criss crossing paths
with the Lunachicks and sometimes sharing
a stage. The roll call of venues they
both played is a walk down memory lane
for anyone who was lucky enough to be
around at the time. CBGB’s, Continental,
Pyramid, Coney Island High, the Ritz,
Roseland, Don Hill’s, Brownies, Limelight,
Meow Mix………..the list goes on.
Eventually, both bands found themselves
opening for Rancid, where Guy
was a bit frightened to go on in front of ”
a very testosterone crowd of 5000 boys in
baseball caps,” but Theo gave him some
advice that he has never forgotten.
“Just go out there and pretend you’re
at Squeezebox,” she said, advice that
Guy also found helpful when opening
for 20,000 Red Hot Chili Pepper fans
in Milan.
Guy, who still does makeup gigs when
he feels like it for the likes of Debbie
Harry and makes a good living as a DJ,
wouldn’t mind seeing the two glam/punk
bands do a tour together, something they
have never done.
“It’s a no – brainer,” he says. Theo, a
prominent makeup artist herself as well
as an actress and a model, relishes the
time they spend together. “I call him my
brother/sister,” she says. “We’ve experienced
so many years cracking each other
up. He’s just family.”
Guy concurs, saying that “We are
relatives! I adore her, she’s an amazing
creature. I’m really thankful for our long
friendship. Friends become family.”
Theo Kogan rises to the occasion
at their return to the stage after 17
years.
For further adventures, check out
the new Lunachicks memoir “Fallopian
Rhapsody” , their siteLunachicks.com
and Instagram @lunachicksoffi cial. Toilet
Boys can be found on Instagram @toiletboysnyc,
online at toiletboys.netand merch
atanother-riff-raff-label.myshopify.com
12 DDeecceemmbbeerr 22,, 22002211 SScchhnneeppss Meeddiiaa
/siteLunachicks.com
/toiletboys.net
/atanother-riff-raff-label.myshopify.com
