In January 1998, guitarist / vocalist, Phil Johansen called his friend, drummer Tommy Dai and explained his idea of forming a new band. The band members, Dai was told, would be comprised of the two of them…and a shop-Vac as the bass player. Tommy told Phil that he was crazy.
None-the-less, the two (plus Shop-Vac) got together to jam. Phil recalls, “The first day we were together, we wrote three songs and we liked how they sounded.” Bon Fuhrer was born!
OK so why the Shop-Vac? How did this rather obtrusive cleaning implement become a band member? Phil explains, “Well, we had it running in the basement because it was sitting there and we needed something to fill in our sound while we were jamming. But, it didn't sound good enough until we put a microphone on it through the PA., that's when we got that real low end and our new bass player.” Another mechanical member includes a Hamilton Beach 5-speed mixer!
Describing Bon Fuhrer’s music genre is interesting! It’s rather like a combination between Mel Brooks Broadway hit, "The Producers," The Ramones, and sounds a bit like AC/DC mixed with some raw punk! But don’t take my word for it, go see for yourself! This is an act that has to be seen and heard to be believed…and it’s well worth it if you like originality!
The biggest challenge that Phil and Tommy faced with Bon Fuhrer was to create an act that was different from the rest. "We decided that the best way to stimulate people was to appeal to all of their senses," Johansen stated. "Music affects the hearing and, for the smell, we use a fog machine that emits a vanilla scent."
Highly influenced by the History Channel, Phil cross-patterned his look from prominent WWII figure Adolf Hitler and comedy legend, Groucho Marx - (a real scream!). Tommy created his look after 70’s musician, Alice Cooper, using a similar makeup design that Alice used when he first began his career.
Bon Fuhrer is 100% original, playing all their own material with no covers whatsoever. In fact, it’s guaranteed that everyone who goes to see them will be entertained!
Amongst Bon Fuhrer’s favourites include, "Rank Hath Its Privileges," with "Rank" being, in the words of some, their strongest release. It's simply a solid effort from beginning to end. The other three releases, "The True Future Of Music," "The Sound & The Fuhrer" and "The Whole Nine Yards" all have some great tunes. When you download these releases, be sure to check out "Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em," "Eva Was A Tramp," "Ten Seconds," "Is The Fish Fresh," "The True Future Of Music," "The Best Candy" and "Rank Hath Its Privileges." On the "Rank" album, it's hard to pick a favourite track because I like 'em all. But, if I had to pick, I'd probably go with "Way Too Many Cocktails," "Disputin' Rasputin" and "Knock Knock."
So, check out the videos and listen to the line-up! Better still, go see them perform live at a venue closest to you, or, you can always book them to play for your function! Phil and Tommy appreciate hearing from listeners so be sure to leave plenty of comments for this amazing, original band!
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