That Beat In Time

Local Bands Unforgotten

Time Toy

originally published September 27, 2006

With a musical sensibility that was philosophically close to bands such as Half Japanese, Pere Ubu and Eugene Chadbourne, Time Toy was a solid regular on the Athens music scene. A product of immersion into the then-burgeoning scene, rather than a case of seasoned musicians coming together, the group was highly creative and would play shows at the drop of a hat.

“I moved to Athens in 1980 as a freshman," says vocalist Bryan Cook. "I lived in Myers Hall and Tom Cheek [of the Kilkenny Cats] lived there and a bunch of other people lived in the other dorms. We all kind of converged on the fledgling rock clubs like the 11:11 Koffee Klub and 40 Watt.”

Before Time Toy took form, its members had already done time in a few other bands. Cook had played with Is/Ought Gap, Oh-OK, Club Gaga and, around the date of Time Toy’s inception, was in the first lineup of Hindu Love Gods. Guitarist-bassist Danny Cottar was in Toy Boat. The group's other guitarist-bassist, Paul Hammond, had done time with Little Tigers and Raisin Touchers. Drummer Robby McMahan rounded out the band.

At The Time

Although there are certain parallels, the Athens scene that Time Toy existed in was substantially different from that of today. As Cook recalls, “There were only four or five places you could even go in Athens at the time, and there was always one place that was 'the place to be,' and that would change depending on the night.”

Discussing the band's reception among local crowds, he says, “Well, the thing about that is I always thought the town was receptive as long as you could get out there and [play a show] just once.” He recalls a certain point that still rings true in Athens, though, saying, “People would, if they liked you, go out and spread the word, and so the dilemma was always whether to go see a band that you already knew was great or to go see a new band that was just getting together.”

Time Toy’s creativity didn’t stop with its songwriting, however, as the band was fortunate enough to exist during a time when, if the guys had a night booked at a club, they were given carte blanche to fill the time as they wanted. “We opened for ourselves a few times," Cook says. "It was like a club would need someone to play at 10 p.m. and then 11 p.m., and who the hell goes out at 10 p.m.? So at least once, we just ate breakfast onstage, just cereal with beer poured over it, and read the paper and chatted. Then Time Toy would play the later set.”

The group was featured in the 1987 movie Athens, Ga.: Inside/Out after the film's producers caught the band playing one of its Monday night gigs at the Uptown Lounge. Time Toy recorded unreleased-up-until-now tracks that would become the album Fly Swatter / Ice Water with producer John Keane. Cook recalls Keane was deserving of his stellar reputation even then. “It was an 8-track studio, so we had to be somewhat creative with so few tracks," he says. "But we never really had any pretensions over what we sounded like live. John, even back then, was magic. He could make anything you wanted to do sound good.”

The band, which had made its live debut at the 40 Watt Uptown (the Broad Street building currently inhabited by the University of Georgia's Office of University Architects) opening for Dreams So Real. Time Toy started its set with a cover of Foreigner’s execrable “Hot Blooded,” and would continue on to play memorable gigs with The Replacements, Guadalcanal Diary, Bar-B-Que Killers and a killer three-band bill at UGA’s Tate Center featuring Time Toy, Club Gaga and Kilkenny Cats where Cook found himself playing in all three groups. By the beginning of the 1990s, however, it was simply time for Time Toy’s members to move on to other things.

These Days…

These days, the members of Time Toy are pretty busy leading regular lives and, though they have plans to promote the new release of Fly Swatter / Ice Water in Athens and Atlanta, the group that resurrected to rock the crowd during this past summer’s AthFest has no grand scheme. Although after Time Toy’s split in 1991, he spent several years with a new project called Thumb (later called Thumb Attack), Cook - who had said in Athens, Ga.: Inside Out, “I’d rather do anything than bake pizzas for a living” - currently works with the local Italian eatery DePalma’s. Paul Hammond and Danny Cottar work full-time in commercial/ residential painting, though Hammond shows up from time to time downtown in his new band BRGR TRSH, and Cottar has performed at Flicker a handful of times in the past year. Robby McMahan is a stay-at-home dad.

Time Toy is reuniting one more time for a show at the 40 Watt Club on Saturday, Sept. 30. The release of the new CD is a real treat, considering it was recorded approximately 20 years ago and has sat on the shelf ever since. One track, “Window Sill,” was physically cut from the master tape and loaned out to Mercyland bassist David Barbe for inclusion on the Athens compilation Some, and it sat in a cardboard box in Barbe’s possession ever since. The piece was found and is now included on the new disc. Fly Swatter / Ice Water will be the first release from the new local label Iron Horse Records, founded by Jeff Montgomery and Troy Aubrey of Athensmusic.net. “They wanted to start a label that concentrated on stuff that was out of print or stuff that had never been out," says Cook. "They approached me about putting some 'from-the-vaults' stuff out and Troy had talked to Keane and he mentioned us. It’s good, because over the years, people have asked about wanting to get a copy of stuff.”

As far as the band, now reunited with all four original members, is concerned, Cook says, “We’ve all devolved back into our old roles.”

Gordon Lamb

That Beat In Time is a new biweekly feature examining dearly departed local acts worth digging up. Next up: Porn Orchard. Is there a band you'd like to see covered? Email music editor Chris Hassiotis at music@flagpole.com.