First flush of fame: glam rock lives again in New York band the Toilet Boys, adored by Debbie Harry, fronted by the fierce Miss Guy. (music).

When the Toilet Boys' video for their single "Another Day in the Life" first cracked MTV2's rock top 20 in February 2002, the lead vocalist for the band, Miss Guy, saw folks embracing the infectious "kids are all right" anthem as a triumph of old school rock and roll. "Rock has been dead for a long time, but it's coming back strong," says the ultraglam platinum blond, known for his flawless makeup, skimpy rags, and prominent package. "It's fun and a spectacle again, and we're a part of that."

Apparently the kids are also all right with Guy's androgynous stage persona, which is at once pretty, slutty, and menacingly macho. The duality comes naturally to Guy: "I'm a Gemini, so I guess I'm always working both sides, but I'm not up there trying to con anyone into thinking I'm a girl."

Deborah Harry, who chose the Toilet Boys to open for Blondie's New York shows on their 2000 No Exit tour and has sung with the band onstage, offers high praise: "Guy's sexual crossover persona is something I was always trying to get at. He has appeal to a wide range of men and women for every different reason, and it's quite an accomplishment."

The Toilet Boys got their start in 1996 at the queer New York City rock venue SqueezeBox. Though Guy made his stage debut in the early '90s at the drag club Boy Bar--and first sang live at Wigstock 1992 with his creative partner and fellow queer rocker DJ Jojo Americo--the Toilet Boys represented the fulfillment of his life's dream to have a rock band.

"I grew up in a rock family with four brothers," he explains. "They took me to see Kiss when I was 7 years old, and it was thrilling and quite scary in a good way." With four willing, eager, and suspiciously good-looking friends who won't admit to last names--guitarists Sean and Rocket, drummer Eddie, and a diminutive bass player named Adam (who has since left the band and was recently replaced with a cute Brit named Chris), Guy set out to re-create those formative shocks to the system with a voraciously omnisexual, slaves-to-rock band that was equal parts New York Dolls, Bowie, Blondie, Kiss, and the Ramones.

"The Toilet Boys want to turn everyone on; we don't want to turn anyone off," Guy says, "and there's really something for everyone, `cause if I don't do it for ya, there are four hot guys abusing their instruments onstage too."

The sparks really fly now that the scrappy fab five have put in some long hours of practice, as opposed to their early days when enthusiasm and raw ambition made up for lack of musical skill. The Toilet Boys remain independent and unsigned, but their new self-released, self-titled disc has garnered favorable reviews.

These days, having just concluded a cross-country tour, the Toilet Boys have been quite literally on fire, with an ever-expanding pyrotechnic stage show that has more than once gotten the boys kicked out of clubs.

Their pyrotechnics are so daringly low-budget, in fact, that until eight months ago the Toilet Boys performed with their own New York City fireman--Johnny Heff, a close friend--at side stage. Tragically, Heft was lost on September 11 when he reported for duty at the World Trade Center. Heft does appear in the video for "Another Day in the Life," sharing the band's success along with other friends and characters from the New York rock scene.

As Guy says, "That song, like a lot of our music, is really about struggling in New York, having highs and lows and living the rock-and-roll life. Anyone could disappear or hit it big anytime. We plan to take it as far as we can."

Che is a contributing editor at Time Out New York.