That Handsome Devil
That Handsome Devil |
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That Handsome Devil is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts.
The band obtains an innovative swing style and has been difficult to categorize, utilizing an electric mix of genres such as rock, funk, jazz, jive,[2] blues, surf, R&B, reggae[3], rockabilly, rap, even psychedelic. Their sound has also been described as "equal parts Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, bizarre electronica, creepy hip hop and in-your-face gonzo rock".[4] Gypsy jazz has been used in description of the band, while Godforbid himself describes the band's music as "fringe pop".[5]
Frontman Godforbid has been compared to Mike Patton,[6] Tom Waits, and Mick Jagger, with his unique vocals described as a "three way car crash between Louis Armstrong, Kurt Cobain, and Eminem."[7]
History
The band was founded in Boston by Godforbid and Jeremy Page, both members of the hip hop group Alaskan Fishermen.
In late 2004, That Handsome Devil released their first single, "Dating Tips" featuring three songs, "Dating Tips", "How to Get Money", and "Don't Go"[1], which received mostly mediocre scores from magazines and other reviewers. July 23, 2006, saw the release of their first eponymous EP That Handsome Devil, which included the single "Dating Tips" from 2004. "Elephant Bones", the fourth track on the album, was featured as a bonus song in Guitar Hero II.
Their first studio album, A City Dressed in Dynamite, was released on August 5, 2008 to scores of positive reviews, being praised as "profoundly entertaining", "bizarre in a beautiful way" and "a madcap musical frenzy as dizzying as it is dazzling".[8] Although the music continued to be as stylistically varied as their last release, the album expanded on the band's prevalent themes of emptiness, drug addiction, materialism, and death, and continued to feature their trademark of dated soundbites from the 1950s.
A portion of "Mexico" was featured in the seventh episode of season four of Weeds, "Yes I Can", before A City Dressed in Dynamite was released, though they are mistakenly credited as The Handsome Devils (Another band called The Handsome Devils had produced a song titled "Mexico" though this is a coincidence).[9] "Squares" was later heard in the episode "Rebellion" of Reaper.[10]
"Rob the Prez-O-Dent" was featured as the fourth track on Good Riddance, George W. Bush, released in December 2008, a compilation album of anti-George W. Bush songs, even though, despite its premise, "Rob the Prez-O-Dent" doesn't refer to George W. Bush or his policies at all; though "Viva Discordia" contains overt references to the Iraq War and the Bush administration, referring to the latter as "a bunch of mobsters looking for Osama".
"Rob the Prez-O-Dent" was also featured as a playable track in Rock Band 2. This, along with the appearance of "Elephant Bones" in Guitar Hero II, has greatly increased their visibility.
Their next EP, Enlightenment's For Suckers was released on August 25th. [11]
Band Members
- Godforbid - vocals, songwriter
- Jeremy Page - guitar, bass, keyboard, banjo, pedal steel, glockenspiel, percussion, accordion, synthesizer, kazoo, background vocals, songwriter[12]
- Naoko Takamoto - backing vocals
- Evan Sanders - keyboard, trumpet, trombone
- Jeremy Siegel - bass
- Sam Merrick - drums
- Deflon Salaar - backing vocals
- Andy Bauer - drums, percussion, accordion, guitar, backing vocals
Discography
Studio Albums
- A City Dressed in Dynamite (2008)
EPs
That Handsome Devil EP (2006) Stardust/Traffic
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Standing Room in Heaven" | 5:30 |
| 2. | "Yada Yada" | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Sleep It Off" | 3:04 |
| 4. | "Elephant Bones" | 3:45 |
| 5. | "Dating Tips" | 4:05 |
| 6. | "Miss America" | 4:34 |
| 7. | "James Dean" | 4:51 |
Enlightenment's For Suckers
(2009)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bullet Math" | 3:16 |
| 2. | "Stockholm Syndrome" | 2:45 |
| 3. | "Disco City" | 3:02 |
| 4. | "Eristocrats (Discordia pt. II)" | 2:48 |
| 5. | "Johnny Wouldn't Die" | 3:02 |
Singles
- "Steady and Slow" (2007)
- "Hey White Boy" (2007)
- "Lucky Me" (2008)
- "Mr. Grinch" (2008)
- "Chicken Claw" (2009)
- "Marilyn Loves Heroin" (2009)
- "Disco City" (2009)
- "The Most Awesome Pizza Ever" (2010)
Trivia
- The Muppets' cover of "Mah Na Mah Na" was sampled heavily for their track "Hey White Boy"
- They covered "Mr. Grinch" as a 2008 Christmas single.
- The band performed a live cover of "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" by Dr. Dre.
References
- ^ http://www.brainsturbator.com/articles/our_interview_with_godforbid_lead_singer_of_that_handsome_devil/
- ^ Zimmerman, Lee (2006) "That Handsome Devil - That Handsome Devil" (review), Amplifier
- ^ Greene, Jo-Ann "That Handsome Devil That Handsome Devil Review", Allmusic, Macroviison Corporation
- ^ Mills, William (2008) "Le Diamant Brut: That Handsome Devil & WinoVino", Austinist, September 17, 2008
- ^ Porter, Bill (2008) "That Handsome Devil - A City Dressed in Dynamite", Static Multimedia, August 18, 2008
- ^ http://www.perfectporridge.com/2008/07/16/that-handsome-devil-a-city-dressed-in-dynamite/
- ^ http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=15051864
- ^ http://www.myspace.com/thathandsomedevil
- ^ http://www.sho.com/site/video/brightcove/audio/home.do?bcpid=1329229918
- ^ http://www.forum.musicsite.it/viewtopic.php?t=77888
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JDM374/ref=dm_sp_alb?ie=UTF8&qid=1249765162&sr=8-5
- ^ http://www.rockband.com/songs/robtheprezodent
External links
- MacNeil, Jason (2008) "That Handsome Devil A City Dressed In Dynamite", PopMatters