Tyrants in Therapy | en

The Tyrants formed after a chance meeting by Michael J and Abbe Kanter in a Hollywood acting class. The tyranny began in local punk and new wave clubs with songs like “3 People Nude Below the Waist” and "In the Shadow of Hitler." But in 1986, they released "Too Tuff to Cry," an ultra sincere disco track that blew up into a club smash from East L.A. to Mexico City.

TIT still was still unsatisfied. "We had evolved beyond Dance into strange new territory…even for us," says AbbeAbbe, the female Tyrant. "After shows, fans were asking where they could buy our new stuff, so it seemed natural to form a label and release a full length disc."

They named the label Emotional Coathanger Records, and their new songs morphed into something they dubbed "Punk Cabaret," a freewheeling style that gives full rein to the Tyrants' multiple personalities.


A slew of originals included the glistening “Om Shanti Om,” written with Trans-X's Pascal “Living on Video” Languirand, “Down In Flames Together,” the epic “Twisted Life, “and the fashionista cool of “Sex Is Back.”

TIT also covered some of the songs they loved growing up. They had fun deconstructing Serge Gainsbourg's heavy breathing classic “Je T'aime (Moi Non Plus),“ bending the gender in Arthur Alexander's “Anna,” and Rolfing Slade's skinhead anthem “Them Kinda Monkeys Can't Swing” into a Rocky Horror Show romp.

To help out on the disc, the Tyrants corralled a crew of talented session aces including Bobby Robles and Romeo Prado (Thee Midniters), Stuart Woods and Duncan Faure (Bay City Rollers), Marc Mann (Oingo Boingo, E L O), Kevin Jarvis (John Wesley Harding), David Kaffinetti (Spinal Tap), Pascal Languirand (Trans-X), and writer/producer Guy Roche (Selena, Exposé).

The result is a 14-cut opus that entertains, enlightens...and just might horrify anyone burdened with overly delicate sensibilities.

Since the summer of 2001, TIT has infiltrated the TV airwaves with their deliciously subversive take on male/female relations. A growing legion of guerilla TV addicts tune in late at night to watch as these glamorous gladiators confront, cajole, and seduce each other. (FYI, many TIT sketches and short films are also posted on popular video sites like YouTube.)

Drenched in sophistication, dripping with acerbic wit, tumble dried in absurdity, the TIT live show is a kaleidoscope of social commentary, dance beats, a lick of kick-ass country, a healthy dollop of New Wave, and a decadent dose of Cabaret. It’s a one-of a-kind performance so mind-bending you'll forget how to get home, even if you're sitting in your own living room.

But what else would you expect from a couple who call themselves the Tyrants in Therapy?

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