Wikkid Starr

Rockin’ Upon A Wikkid Starr

Interview by Ken Morton

Wikkid Starr is back and ready to launch into the stratosphere with the arrival of Return To Glory - their new album on Lion’s Pride Music. Upcoming shows include direct support for the likes of Jefferson Starship and Quiet Riot! Highwire Daze recently interviewed front man Toney Richards to find out more about the very amazing Wikkid Starr! Read on...

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in WIKKID STARR and how long has been together?

Howdy, I’m Toney Richards the Lead Vocalist, Lyricist, P.R. Guy, Booking Agent, Producer and co/founder of WIKKID STARR. The band was originally formed in 2006 by myself and guitarist Ashlyn Childs (Black Star Sinners). Ashlyn had to abandon the project, due to some personal issues and our engineer, Bill Krodel (Gilby

Clarke, Great White, Ratt, Don Dokken, Bul-

let Boys, etc.) - passed away from cancer which complicated matters even further. I thought about aborting the whole project and putting together something new but after playing songs like Karma, Zombie TV and Feed Me to musician friends of mine, they encouraged me to go balls out and make it happen - so I did. In 2015, I hired a publicist and went on a promotional tour of South America - Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay and passed out 800 CDs of our first album Collision Course - (if you have one, keep it- it’s a collector’s item). The highlight of the trip was definitely connecting strongly with the Hard Rock/Metal community in Buenos Aires. In 2016, I came back out to Argentina and headlined two shows in Buenos Aires- La Roca (The Rock) and Red Bell. Both shows were sell-outs but the highlight of the trip was without a doubt playing the Roxy in Buenos Aires and opening up for fellow American Jeff Scott Soto. I appeared on the biggest Rock Station in Argentina- Vorterix Radio and also appeared on the biggest music channel in Buenos Aires (Canal Musica). All in all, it was a great experience and that’s how I was able to restart my music career. We’ve had several line-up changes through the years but I’m proud of everyone that has been a part of this band. I’ve been lucky that I have managed to improve our line-up with every change and feel like the current line-up, is the best one yet!!

Is there any overall story or concept behind the Return To

Glory album title? The concept behind the album is symbolic and the album cover says it all. The dragon symbolizes China and the East and the Arch Angel Michael symbolizes the U.S. and the West. The Arch Angel is chopping off the dragon’s head meaning we are victorious, thus remaining the number one super power in the world and doing our best to keep the planet safe from any sort of aggression from negative forces. WE can never allow a foreign adversary to divide us. WE must stay united as Americans and learn to agree to disagree. WE are the last vestige of hope for the free world. If we fall, our whole way of life will fall with it and the world will become a much different place. On a personal level, Return To Glory is about empowering ourselves. It’s about overcoming our own fears, deficiencies and mental limitations. It’s about having a deep understanding of who we are and believing in ourselves and our ability, to manifest whatever reality we create- through intention, focus and actions. It’s our own personal triumph in the physical world- it’s our personal Return To Glory- victory is ours and it’s there for the taking.

Select two songs from Return To Glory - what inspired the lyrics?

It’s hard for me to select two songs off this album. All 10 songs kick ass!! I’m dead serious when I say that. Return To Glory is a damn good album and I know that it’s going to launch us to new heights of success. If I had two songs to pick that were inspirational, I would pick Never Fear The Unknown and Unleash The Fury. Most of the lyrics on this album were inspired by my wife and her devotion and commitment to her dying parents- my mother-in-law and father-in-law. One has passed and the other is not in good shape right now. Although our relationship was severely tested, we somehow managed to work through it and our relationship is now stronger because of it. Never Fear The Unknown was inspired by my wife’s devotion to her parents. The compassion, empathy and love. However, it can also apply to all of the people out there in everyday life who go out there and help those in need - like a firefighter, doctor, nurse, ambulance driver, bus driver, school teacher, mental health therapist, policeman, lawyer, air traffic controller, a commercial airline pilot, military soldier in combat, etc. Stepping up and doing your part to help someone in need by lifting their spirits, by offering moral support and encouragement, after they are completely depleted of their own kinetic energy because they’ve given so much of themselves- to help others, is what this song is all about. It’s also about not fearing death itself and being fearless when it comes to the after-life. This can apply to all of the brave, courageous people in Ukraine - who are protecting their homeland. Looking at it deeper, it’s a song that all of humanity can relate to.

Unleash The Fury was inspired by the division that our country faces at the present time and how democracy and the free world are under attack, both on the home front and on all social media platforms. There is misinformation that is being manufactured by ignorant people who have no clue how our country works. The lyrics are about self-empowerment and fighting for what you believe in, as long as it’s positive - with no harm to self or others. Here is a verse from the song - “Right is wrong and wrong is right. I’ll just tune out and live my life. Mind control from the world elites. Must slay the dragon to set us free. Divide and conquer is their one technique, never surrender to those evil creeps. The sword of justice will lay down the law.” Good Stuff!!

What are you looking forward to the most about opening up for Quiet Riot at the Whisky on June 4th?

I’m just looking forward to having a good show and being able to win over some new fans. It is NAMM weekend, so you never know who is going to be in the audience. I’m also using it as a measuring stick in terms of how we stack up against the band like Quiet Riot. It’ll be fun..!!

You also have a show coming up opening up for the legendary Starship. What are you looking forward to the most about that show at the Libbey Bowl on September 4th?

I’m a huge Starship fan and I love Mickey Thomas and Grace Slick, when Grace was in the band. The chemistry that they had together was awesome. I love songs like Stranger, No Way Out, We Built This City” and so many other hits that they have. Being able to share the stage with such an iconic band will be an honor for me. It’s going to be a memorable show. I know in my heart that we will deliver a great performance and will be laser focused by the time this show comes around. I am really looking forward to this one.

If WIKKID STARR could open for any band from either now or from the past, who would it be and why?

I would have loved to open up for the original Van Halen with David Lee Roth singing @ Perkins Palace with my friend Gina Zamparelli promoting it. RIP Gina. To me, Van Halen revolutionized Rock N’ Roll in the States. The 80’s would have not had so many guitar heroes, if it wasn’t for Eddie Van Halen. The fact that they are from Pasadena and I live in Pasadena, gives me a sense of pride that I sort of live on “Holy Ground”. Victor Gordo the Mayor of Pasadena, is a huge Van Halen Fan. I hope that a statue of Eddie is erected in the new future- he definitely deserves it. KISS would also be a dream come true if we could be able to open up for them. I did call McGhee Entertainment recently and left a message for Doc, letting him know we would love to play the KISS Cruise. It was worth a shot putting it out there but I have no idea if Doc will ever call back?

How did esteemed keyboardist Eric Ragno become involved

with WIKKID STARR ? His credits are epic!

I called Eric Ragno up and asked him back a few years ago if he could do some live shows with us and in typical Eric fashion, he said: “I don’t hear any keyboards on these songs. Do you want me to create some keyboard parts?” He was right though - Sudden Impact (our second album) did not have any keys and was not as melodic as Return To Glory. It would have been cool to have him create some keys but we didn’t have that much time because we were committed to do some shows. Eric is a Jersey guy and right, wrong or indifferent- he will speak his mind. That’s what I like about him. He speaks my language. I like to be upfront about stuff and have everyone be on the same page. His credits speak for themselves. He has played with many big-name acts on several album releases and done many live shows with some heavy hitters in the music industry. Eric is a great talent to have. He gives the song what it needs and will not over play. I consider him a friend, who I can trust and depend on. I’m looking forward to playing with him for these upcoming shows.

Since we also have Sunset Strip Rockers Cherry St. in this issue, what are your recollection of the Sunset Strip circa 1990-1994 and the oncoming grunge movement? And what bands were you involved in at the time?

WOW- Cherry St.!! I remember Roxy Dahl when we were kids playing on the Strip. I attended a few of their shows and I believe he attended a couple of our shows when I played in a band called Firestarr. I know he ended up playing in an Aerosmith Tribute band and then I lost track of what he did. I know he was originally from Michigan. Tom Mathers, who was also in Cherry St. moved to Texas and started Perris Records. My recollection of 1990-1994 was that there were still lots of good bands in Hollywood at the time. The 2nd Wave of Hair Metal started in 1992 and lasted until 2002. It was known as the Hollywood Underground Movement with bands like: Gutter Sluts, Revlon Red, everything that Lesli Sanders did was impactful, Heart Throb Mob, Suicide Alley, Dead Girl, Mother Mercy, Spiders & Snakes (Lizzy Grey’s band) RIP Lizzy and so many more. The movement became the anti-grunge movement and kept the Hair Metal/Glam scene alive in L.A. before it switched over to Stockholm, Sweden in 2002 and they kept it going. I was in a band called Pistol Whip and we were putting out some good hard blues-based rock. The problem was that in 1992, the scene in Hollywood was over and the whole Seattle grunge stuff took over. It was surreal because it all happened so fast. When KNAC went off the air, I knew it was over. In 1992, I left Pistol Whip and moved the San Franciso. I needed to get away from Hollywood. I came back to L.A. in 1993 and joined a band called Road Angel. In late 1995, I started D-ZIRE and we became part of the underground Hair Metal movement. We were together until 2003. We put out a 15-song album called: The Awakening on September 16, 2002 and had our record release party at Paladino’s opening up for Rik Emmet of Triumph.

Back to the present, what’s up next for WIKKID STARR?

We have a new album coming out called Return To Glory on June 27th that we are all excited about. It will be available for purchase on the Lions Pride Music label based out of Denmark, both as a digital download and there will be actual CDs as well. WE know that 2023 will be a BIG year for us. WE are looking at the playing the Blizzard Festival in Hamburg, Germany as well as planning a small tour of Europe where we will play Paris, London, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Berlin and Copenhagen. It will be a lot of fun. This will take place July of 2023 but we are already in the planning stages right now. As far as 2022 goes, we will be filming a lot of music videos for our label and will end up doing some more shows once the new album is released so stay tuned we will post everything as it starts materializing. WE will be at The NAMM Show on Friday June 3rd @ 1pm at the Highwire Daze booth signing autographs, taking pictures and promoting our show with Quiet Riot at the Whisky on Saturday June 4th. Our guitar player Rafa Souza will probably play for about 30 minutes, demonstrating some of his skills. Come on out and be one of the lucky ones that will win a pair of tickets to the Whisky show on Saturday June 4th. See You All @ The NAMM Show. A BIG Thanks to Ken Morton for making it all happen.

Any final words of wisdom?

I just want to say that we need to support the original music scene here in the States and give newer bands the opportunity to get some consistent airplay on the radio, invites to some of the BIG ROCK Festivals, etc. The older generation of bands are retiring and dying out, so it’s important to let the bands that are ready to take over and kick ass, have the opportunity to do so. WIKKID STARR is the real deal. WE live it, eat it and breathe it..!! WE are ready to ROCK and we hope that you give us your support and come check us out when you have the opportunity to do so. Check out our new album Return To Glory, on the Lion’s Pride Music Label. It comes out on June 27th. You will not be disappointed!! NEVER STOP ROCKIN’..!!

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