April 14, 2007
awesome cool dudes
Not just funny guys in track suits.
Comedy bands. I love them, I love anything that's fabulously ridiculous. But there's two words here: comedy. band. It's not enough to just be funny (in my almighty opinion), you've gotta be decent musicians too. Enter the Awesome Cool Dudes.
These guys come from a scene that's a bit like an orgy: where everyone has played with everyone else and in the end the crowd always goes home happy. Each of the four (sometimes five) members brings something different to the table, and it shows on their recent release, Maxin and Relaxin. The record is a little schizophrenic, but in (pardon me) an awesome way. It kept me on my toes the whole drive home, waiting anxiously to see what kind of stuff was coming up on the next track, and with each new song I smiled. There's a little something for everyone here: synth-pop, disco, whiteboy rap, country, techno...ok so that's not really selling it. But whether you love or hate it, it's completely infectious. There's "Clap Clap" for those of us who look back with nostalgia at the dance-rap of the early nineties. "Paved the Tracks" feels like a Buffalo Tom cover, and you can get your gay on to "Rainbow Cattle Company". "Coral and Devonian" throws back to post-punk, and "Beachy Boise" is laden with keyboard and vocal harmonies true to its name. Even I, in all my monkey wisdom, was forced to do a little dance. And trust me, it wasn't pretty.
If you can catch the Dudes live, I highly suggest you do. Seeing four grown men in matching sweatpant/jersey combos dance to a keyboard solo and drink till they don't remember the words really gives you the full effect. Hell, you may feel inspired to bust out some moves yourself, and you won't be the only one.
For more info, check out www.awesomecooldudes.com or www.myspace.com/awesomecooldudes
These guys come from a scene that's a bit like an orgy: where everyone has played with everyone else and in the end the crowd always goes home happy. Each of the four (sometimes five) members brings something different to the table, and it shows on their recent release, Maxin and Relaxin. The record is a little schizophrenic, but in (pardon me) an awesome way. It kept me on my toes the whole drive home, waiting anxiously to see what kind of stuff was coming up on the next track, and with each new song I smiled. There's a little something for everyone here: synth-pop, disco, whiteboy rap, country, techno...ok so that's not really selling it. But whether you love or hate it, it's completely infectious. There's "Clap Clap" for those of us who look back with nostalgia at the dance-rap of the early nineties. "Paved the Tracks" feels like a Buffalo Tom cover, and you can get your gay on to "Rainbow Cattle Company". "Coral and Devonian" throws back to post-punk, and "Beachy Boise" is laden with keyboard and vocal harmonies true to its name. Even I, in all my monkey wisdom, was forced to do a little dance. And trust me, it wasn't pretty. If you can catch the Dudes live, I highly suggest you do. Seeing four grown men in matching sweatpant/jersey combos dance to a keyboard solo and drink till they don't remember the words really gives you the full effect. Hell, you may feel inspired to bust out some moves yourself, and you won't be the only one.
For more info, check out www.awesomecooldudes.com or www.myspace.com/awesomecooldudes