Flying Like Wilma… Geek Out With Your Freak Out

Posted on March 24, 2011 by admin

I played with Tony Goldmark at a show in LA recently and, since I particularly enjoyed his Scrooge McDuck impersonation, we swapped CDs after the show.

Apparently Tony is big in the Dementia community. If you’re new to all this comedy music stuff, Dementia is the comedy and novelty songs that you would hear on the Dr Demento show. A little googling showed me that Tony has a few other solo records out, but I’ve not heard them just yet, so can’t discuss them. More on those when I get my hands on them. It looks like his first CD came out when he was just 13 years old. Damn overachievers.

However, his new group with his wife Marissa, Flying Like Wilma, is very entertaining. There’s a solid geek element with songs about Chewbacca, Severus Snape (singing the blues yet!), anime, and comic books. Some good loopy novelty stuff with a song about Target that lambasts brand based culture, The Ghost Of Mother Teresa in which Mo T comes back to haunt people for some reason, and Snoopy the P.O.W. in which the WWI Flying Ace ends up in a predicament that Charles Shultz never considered.

The musicianship and recording quality are above par for this kind of stuff. Tony and Marissa won’t be mistaken for American Idol finalists anytime soon, but they are both comfortable and know what their voices can handle. And I do like the little bits of social commentary and levels of meaning in a few of the tunes.

A little tricky finding websites for Tony, but here ya go:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flying-Like-Wilma
http://flyinglikewilma.livejournal.com/

Take it away YouTube…

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Mike Phirman is Quirky and Eclectic and Likes Chickens

Posted on March 17, 2011 by admin

Last weekend in LA I had the pleasure of working with Mike Phirman on the B.O.R.E.D. Tour show in Los Angeles.

Mike is better known for his work with Chris Hardwick (of Nerdist fame) in their duo Hard n’ Phirm.  But last year Mike released his first solo album titled “The Very Last Songs I Will Ever Record (Part 1)”.

Mike’s got a background in working in visual effects and music for TV and podcasts.  Ok, just music for the podcasts.  Those gigs mean versatility and he shows off plenty of that on “Very Last Songs…”  Acapella, dance, indie rock, and more.  Usually, the downfall of comedy music is the production values, but those problems don’t exist on this album.

I particularly like the song “Clear The Floor” in which Mike, as a cheesy dance pop singer a la Justin Timberlake, laments the lameness of the current beat and he’s just “not feelin’ it”.

Visit Mike Phirman at his official website.
Name your own price on his latest album “Very Last Songs”

… and roll the clip, Jim…

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Evan Wecksell – Comedy, Melody, Stupidity

Posted on March 3, 2011 by admin

Evan Wecksell is a Long Island native now making his way in the LA comedy scene. And you’ve probably seen him on that bread and butter gig for LA comics, Vh1′s “I Love The 70′s” or 80′s or whatever it is they love these days.

But we’re interested in Evan’s music. Strangely enough, Evan counts Bon Jovi and Hulk Hogan among his influences… so you see where we’re going. Yeah, me neither.

But far from soaring power ballads about life on the road or growling at people about his “guns”, Evan does a lot of smart, clean comedy songs that are a hit on the college market. One of my favorites is “Real Emo” in which he tells those depressed little emo kids that if they think life sucks now, it’s about to get worse.

Evan’s also great picking up on pop culture with songs like “FMyLife.com” in which he has the great line “My fiancee is pregnant… and I’m still a virgin.”

Evan also created the show College: The Musical that he’s been touring across the country to tons of schools. I’m guessing it’s about college stuff. :)

Let’s get the video on here and then you can go visit Evan at his official website.

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Ray Stevens – From The Streak To The Capital

Posted on February 3, 2011 by admin

Ray Stevens is a 50 year veteran of the music business and it’s his novelty stuff that he’s best known for. With over 25 million albums sold, he’s drastically outsold Lady Gaga. Let’s see where she is in 50 years.

Though he started in the 1950′s, his first hit topped the charts in 1962 – Ahab The Arab – And yep, that’s pronounced “a-rab”. Ah, the old days.

It’s an Arabian love story in which the heroine has a taste for many things American, and Ahab gets himself in trouble with the Sultan. As would be expected of the time, there’s lots of jibberish-like “Arabic” spoken in the song.

In the early 1970′s there was a fad of “streaking” – Running through public places naked. If anyone ever tells you the 70′s sucked, counter with, “Yeah, but naked people ran through the streets.”

And so in 1974 Ray Stevens immortalized the trend in his song “The Streak”. A number 1 record in both the US and the UK.

These days, Ray Stevens is taking a decidedly more political stance in his work. And a very conservative one at that. He’s been appearing very publicly at Tea Party rallies. And his YouTube videos about government and politicians (‘Throw The Bums Out’, ‘Caribou Barbie’, ‘Come To The USA’) have garnered him over 10 million views and a whole new audience… presumably of conservatives.

Which of course leads to a month long gig in Branson, MO which he did last year.

He’s a multi-platinum selling artist that’s used humor to get there. He’s also a Tea Party member and has been inducted into the Christian Music hall of fame (something I’m never in danger of). So, check out a vid and you can read more about Ray Stevens on his official website and substantial wikipedia page.

Official Site: http://www.raystevens.com
Wikipedia Page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Stevens

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Weird Al Yankovic – King Of All Parodies

Posted on January 27, 2011 by admin

There’s a reason I don’t write parody songs.  I’m quite sure I couldn’t do it better than Weird Al.  Others will try and more power to them.  But I know my limits.  And I can’t even begin to count how many Weird Al imitators I’ve heard over the years.

Weird Al Yankovic, born Alfred Matthew Yankovic met his destiny in 1976 when Dr. Demento, famed novelty music radio DJ, spoke at his school.  Al gave him a tape of some of his original and parody work.  Dr. Demento immediately played “Belvedere Cruisin’” on his show as well as tons of other Al stuff over the years, launching his career.

Ah, remember when enough play on a single radio show could launch a career? The good ‘ol days…

Weird Al is best known for his parody work.  Many artists have been happily skewered by his wit and talent for mimicry.  From his early work on songs like “I Love Rocky Road” to more contemporary hits like “Amish Paradise”, he’s shown a great versatility in performance and studio chops to turn any style to his devious whims.

Besides the standard song parodies, Al also does style parodies like “Genius In France”, which parodies Frank Zappa’s complicated compositions.  No doubt Al and his band have serious chops to pull off a trick like that.

Al’s original songs are sadly overlooked.  They’re often accordion based which could be why.  But check out the zydeco flavored “My Baby’s In Love With Eddie Vedder”.  Like the rest of Al’s work it’s musically solid with great, funny word play.

And nearly 30 years into his career he scored his first Billboard chart topper with “Straight Outta Lynnwood”.  The rest of us can only hope to be that prolific.

For more on Weird Al Yankovik, check out http://www.weirdal.com/ His Wikipedia page also has a substantial amount of info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weird_al

Can’t leave without a video…

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