Derek Smout
WebcamCash head account executive Derek Smout also got an early introduction to music.
"When I was 4, my dad, a professional jazz musician, said to me, 'Music or sports — what's it going to be?'" Smout says. "I'm not into sports to this day, and I said music. Being a punk kid, I wanted the loudest possible instrument — drums. My dad smiled and got me my first set, and in the 18 years since, he never once told me to be quiet."
Smout accompanied his father to gigs, learning everything from organizing equipment to pocketing ample portions from the food buffets.
His admiration for his dad didn't stem Smout's rebellious streak, however, and he chose metal over jazz. "He brought me to all these shows, and there I am playing AC/DC," Smout says.
After hundreds of live gigs in Canadian clubs, Smout vowed never to play again until his chops were better. Smout's ultimate goal is teaching drums, during the day only, he stresses. "I love to party too much," he says.
Regardless of what Smout is doing, though, his drumsticks are always within reach: "If I don't play I get weird," he says. "Like masturbation, you always find a time and place."
Monica Mayhem
Australian-born superstar Monica Mayhem has performed in more than 200 adult films since hitting U.S. shores in 2000. Her interest in singing, though, long predates that.
"I started my own band when I was 6 and wrote and recorded songs onto tape players," she says. "I was also in the school choir. But I was a rebel and had no self-esteem, no family to encourage me."
With influences such as System of a Down, Metallica and Slipknot, Mayhem prefers a sound with a rough edge, or as she describes it: "hard rock with a punk/metal influence." She also loves the more pop-oriented No Doubt.
"Gwen Stefani is a huge inspiration for me," she says. "I've written hundreds of songs. I just can't stop writing." Mayhem notes that the lyrics to her song "Take This Away" are "very meaningful to me, as it is about people holding me down my whole life, but look how far I've come." The song rises to an emotional climax with Mayhem's searing vocal, "So what ya think, what ya think of me now? Look at me .... Well, do you like what you see?"
Besides singing and songwriting, Mayhem is learning guitar on her Fender Stratocaster.
"I mostly know power chords, which of course is great for playing metal," she says.
As a busy starlet, Mayhem says it's not always easy to work on her music: "I can sit alone in my little studio in my bedroom and write and record. But jamming with the band is hard with everyone's schedules in L.A."
Any doubts about Mayhem's determination can be cleared up with a look at her MySpace page, where she writes: "All I wanna do really is sing with a sick band, record an album, go on tour and make music for the rest of my life. I'm still working my ass off trying to get by in this town and slowly getting the music career started."
Kurt Lockwood
Kurt Lockwood might not be a household name as a musician, but his Jon Bon Jovi good looks have helped him become one of adult's leading men. His first love, though, remains music.
Lockwood came to the adult business via rock. He'd been touring as a guitarist with former Ramones bassist Dee Dee Ramone when the latter overdosed on heroin and Lockwood found himself without a job. An adult director invited Lockwood and his dancer girlfriend to do a scene, and the rest is porn history. Lockwood has since emerged both as a top screen stud and an acclaimed director of such films as "The Decline of Western Civilization Part 69: The Porno Years."
"Decline" also let him demonstrate his music chops to the adult community. "I played in front of 800 screaming porn stars for the film's premiere party," he says. Lockwood's current band is Porn City Punx, which he calls "balls-to-the-wall stripper-rock."
A trumpet player in his middle-school band, Lockwood branched out at 15 to start his first punk band. His musical tastes are diverse. Lockwood's favorite piece of all time is Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."
"It brings me to tears with every single listen," he says. His rock influences include Nirvana and Radiohead.
Lockwood has little trouble fitting music into his schedule. "I'm one of those people who's constantly hearing music in my head," he says. "I couldn't shut it off if I wanted to, so I just pick up the guitar and let it flow. I make time by incorporating my music into whatever project I am working on."
Lockwood has done soundtracks for the feature films that he directs for Sex Z Pictures, including the upcoming "Real Boogie Nights."
Over the years, Lockwood has hung out with many rock notables. He recalls being backstage at a Ramones tribute concert when one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers noticed his distinctive dragon and phoenix tattoos.
"He grabs my arms, turns them over and looks carefully at each one before calling over the other Chili Peppers," he says. "The other Chili Pepper looks at my arms and says, 'Holy shit! You're Kurt Lockwood!'" The band joked with Lockwood about having "a great penis," telling him, "We watch porn on the tour bus all the time. We've seen you fuck a million chicks. You rock!"
The bottom line, Lockwood says, is that "rock stars love porn stars. Period."
