Sybil glam-punk band

Sybil was a San Francisco-based American rock band from 1985-1987. They achieved success on the California club circuit before disbanding in little over a year, but not before recording their debut LP, Every Parent's Dream.

History

Sybil was formed in San Mateo in 1985 by Michael Marqueson (Roxy, vocals, guitar), Mark McLeod (Syd Tybil, bass) and Bill Dellara (Pat Pend, drums). The original members rehearsed as trio before enlisting former Head On rhythm guitarist James Ray (Cookie Chunks) and Los Angeles-based lead guitarist Billy Wood (Willie Orwonee), who briefly played with members of Hollywood Rose. Together they formed an artistic vision consisting of high-energy pop rock combined with raunchy and at times X-rated stage antics.

The band rose quickly through the San Francisco club scene, mainly due to their provocative stage show, which included cross-dressing, smoke bombs, inflatable sex toys, exposing themselves onstage and pelting the audience with dogfood. Their antics led to confrontations with other artists as well as being banned from Bay Area venues, including Wolfgangs.

An excerpt from the liner notes of the 2007 Retrospect release of Every Parent's Dream details Sybil's origins:

   "The creative core of Head On was their sinister rhythm guitarist James Ray, and after Head On he quietly assembled a new group of merry men. But these guys were much meaner, nastier, sexier and greasier than Head On ever was, they mixed junkie-chic and dead-whore make-up with Rocky Horror lingerie. So with a batch of kickass power-pop songs to die for, they tossed their glam-goth hats into the ring. James called his new band Sybil."

An excerpt from Sybil's 2025 press release summarizes their immediate impact on the San Francisco rock circuit:

"It was a colorful spectacle starring five gorgeous boys wearing trashy ladies' lingerie and more make-up than their girlfriends. They stumbled over each other, occasionally fell off the stage and threw dog food at the audience. They also insisted on using aliases like Willie Orwonee, Syd Tybil and Pat. Pend."

In early 1986, Sybil released a self-titled three-song cassette which made its way to Europe, with the song "She Said" generating a small amount of interest. Based on this interest, the band funded and recorded their own independent LP, Every Parent's Dream, while searching for a record deal. This unconventional approach led to their music being unreleased for over two decades, when it was finally released on compact disc in 2007 by Retrospect Records. A single featuring a cover of the Stiv Bators song "I Wanna Forget You (Just The Way You Are)" was released in 2019 on Renown Records to coincide with the debut of the biopic Stiv: No Compromise, No Regrets.

In October 2025, a 40th anniversary reissue of Every Parent's Dream was announced for a December 2025 release on Fervor Records. Fully titled Every Parent's Dream: The James Ray Remaster, this release features modern sound remastering from the band's guitarist/songwriter as well as all-new artwork.

Influences

The band drew musical inspiration from several hard rock and punk acts of the '70s and '80s, including the New York Dolls, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. Their musical style is defined as power pop with hard rock, punk and goth influences. While stylistically similar to hair metal, Sybil distanced themselves from their contemporaries by adopting a lo-fi punk aesthetic and writing darker material such as "Murder On My Mind" and "I Need A Gun."

Fashion

Along with Jetboy, Sybil were at the forefront of Bay Area glam rock fashion, drawing crowds to the Keystone San Francisco, Mabuhay Gardens and Rock On Broadway. Glam bands of the era wore heavy makeup and teased hair, but Sybil took it a step further by performing in full drag for most of their career before eventually ditching the cross-dressing in favor of traditional hard rock attire.

Discography

   Every Parent's Dream (2007 [orig. 1986], Retrospect Records)
   Every Parent's Dream: The James Ray Remaster (2025 [orig. 1986], Fervor Records)
   I Wanna Forget You (Just The Way You Are) (single) (2019 [orig. 1986], Renown Records)
   The Bitter End: Live at the Stone (1986 bootleg, unreleased)

References

Rave-Up interview with Roxy (Devorah Ostrov, 1986): https://devorahostrov.blogspot.com/2017/09/sybil-boys-ditch-their-trashy-lingerie.html

Metal Sludge "Every Parent's Dream" press release (Stevie Rachelle, 2025): https://metalsludge.tv/calling-1986-glam-punk-rockers-sybil-about-to-drop-their-debut-album-every-parents-dream-40-years-late/

Sleaze Roxx "Every Parent's Dream" press release (Olivier Sleazeroxx, 2025): https://sleazeroxx.com/sybils-debut-album-remastered-and-to-finally-get-issued-40-years-later-on-december-19th/

Sleaze Roxx "Every Parent's Dream" track listing and "She's A Machine" press release (Olivier Sleazeroxx, 2025): https://sleazeroxx.com/sybil-drop-video-for-new-single-shes-a-machine-from-remastered-album-every-parents-dream/