Toys That Kill

Toys That Kill, a San Pedro, California band, emerged from the city’s unique culture, where bullets fell on the Fourth of July and Mike Watt’s hometown name adorned his bass, earning him the moniker “Pedro.” Despite Todd Congelliere’s genre and personality, Toys crafted timeless music with a blend of old and new. Congelliere formed F.Y.P in 1989 with a low-budget setup, inspired by punk music introduced to him by skaters. Initially hardcore, F.Y.P incorporated Minutemen-style wordplay, Descendents-esque melodies, and pitch-dark humor. By 2000, the band evolved, playing their final show and debuting their new sound, the very next day, at a demolished punk club. If you were there, you could tell this band was everything ex-F.Y.P.ers Congelliere and Sean Cole had been saving up for. These were gigantic songs with choruses as heart-stopping as the Clash, and a rhythm section—bassist Chachi Ferrara and drummer Jimmy Felix—so heavy it sank further into the stage with each drum beat. (Congelliere calls this the “TTK thump.”) Toys had pop songs broken at the edges, rock ’n’ roll songs with pose and pretension dissolved, and punk songs that wouldn’t burn out. Toys That Kill revealed themselves as a band that could translate Thin Lizzy, the Buzzcocks, Cheap Trick, the Descendents, the Replacements, the Who, and the Ramones all down to the same simple things: energy, guitar, and heart.