"Chicks and Money and Drugs": The Fuzzheads Live the 1980s Rock-and-Roll Lifestyle

The Fuzzheads only formed a couple of years ago, but members of the ’80s-cock-rock-obsessed band have been rocking since birth, according to enigmatic frontman Ethan Michael.

“Rock and roll has basically been our life since the day we were born," explains Michael, who's known as Captain Fuzz once he's on stage. "But as far as this configuration, we’ve been playing together, ripping up the state, for about two years now.”

Since then, a steady diet of cocaine and booze has put the Fuzzheads on the fast track to become “the best cover band in the world,” a title Michael proudly claims while the band fuels up at a Kum & Go truck stop in Glenwood Springs. With sights set on Aspen that particular night, the Denver rockers were still reveling in the newfound spotlight that helped them land a show at infamous Mile High strip club Shotgun Willie’s.

“At Shotgun Willie’s, there were chicks and money and drugs. We’ve always wanted to play the strip club, and we knew we belonged there, so when we got asked to play Shotgun Willie’s, we couldn’t pass it up,” says guitarist Grayson Dayne. “We really brought it. If we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it big. It was huge, man.”

The rock-and-roll lifestyle isn’t for everyone, he adds, but three things keep him and the Fuzzheads going.

“Mostly the chicks, then the money, then probably the drugs. In that order,” Dayne explains, adding that it’s been “pretty great” so far.

Armed with an arsenal of ’80s anthems, the Fuzzheads are ready to open for legendary Ratt singer Stephen Pearcy on Thursday, February 23, at Parker’s Wild Goose Saloon. Poison'D, another 1980s glam-metal cover band that pays homage to Poison, is also on the bill.

“Normally, we play the first three [Ratt] albums front to back, but we can’t do that, because we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes,” Michael says of the upcoming gig.

“[Pearcy] probably does it best. We don’t want to show him up at all,” Dayne adds. “But rock stars have a like mind. We all kind of act like we are one. It was only natural for us to come together. We all have the same interests and goals in life, which is to rock and get chicks. It’s been, dare I say, our destiny since we’ve been rocking in the womb.”

Speaking of that, Dayne suggests there might be more of a paternal connection with Pearcy, as well.

“My mom has never admitted it, but I’m pretty sure he might be my estranged father. I don’t want to turn over any stones and rub anybody the wrong way, but it’s definitely been a long time coming to play with Stephen ‘My Dad’ Pearcy,” he jokes.

The Fuzzheads have no plans to write any original music, let alone spend any time in a studio recording and making an album. It’s really all about having a good time live.

“The greatest songs have already been written, and they’re all rock songs, so why mess with a good thing? In Eastern religion, they do a lot of chanting, right? We’re basically chanting in the name of rock and roll. And Satan, but mostly rock and roll,” Michael says. “We love excess, and there was maximum excess in glam rock.”

The band’s Steel Panther-esque shtick has resonated with Front Range fans who remember those simpler times, when men didn’t think twice about wearing leather chaps and lipstick in public.

“We figured that people were at their peak happiness in the ’80s, and life was never better and the drugs were never better and the chicks were never hotter, so why not try to re-create that time period forever?” Dayne says. “No one likes the world where it is right now, so we bring the spirit of those classic times to life today.”

In that sense, the Fuzzheads are the “time travelers of rock,” Michael adds.

“It’s really a lifestyle at this point. I like to say we’re not really covering the music; we’re covering the lifestyle of rock and roll. It’s the easiest life there is, man. It’s money for nothing,” he says. “Whatever we get paid, we just spend it all on the party.”

The Fuzzheads, 7 p.m. Thursday, February 23, Wild Goose Saloon, 11160 Pikes Peak Drive, Parker. Tickets are $35-$375.