We are a revolving door of musicians that love to improvise. Live settings have consisted of between three and eight of us, but lately there has been a consistency of maybe eight.
7.6.07 - Here's where we mix together three songs.
10.10.08 - A great show of ours at Silvie's
Moby Dick
During performances, Animal is usually chained to the drum set, as his musical outbursts are extremely violent. He usually speaks in grunts and monosyllables, and has a violent temper. Animal bowls overhand. He has been depicted as a literal skirt-chaser (in The Muppets Take Manhattan, he chases a female co-ed out of the auditorium, chanting "Woo-maaaan!" after her). He also chases cars. Animal is performed and voiced by Frank Oz while his drumming is performed by Ronnie Verrell. Fans of The Who's drummer Keith Moon claim that the character of Animal was based on Moon, who was known for his wild antics. However, there is no evidence in the original sketches for the character that suggest that he was based on anybody in particular. Three of the other members of the Electric Mayhem were created by Muppet designer Michael K. Frith,[1] and the sketches reproduced in the book Of Muppets and Men[2] show that they were based on famous musicians. Dr. Teeth is a cross between Dr. John and Elton John; Sgt. Floyd Pepper is based on the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album and Pink Floyd, and the original concept for Janice was a skinny, long-haired male character based on Mick Jagger. Animal, on the other hand, was designed by Jim Henson, and the rough sketch (also seen in Of Muppets and Men), but does bear a strange resembelance to the drummer Mick Fleetwood of the band Fleetwood Mac. A regular shtick is that when someone says a figure of speech to him, Animal turns to the audience, his eyes go wide and then he goes berserk taking it literally. For instance, Jim Nabors once gave the traditional theatrical good luck wish to Animal, "Break a leg," and Animal decided to indulge him by trying to break Nabors' leg. In the movie The Great Muppet Caper, it is revealed that Animal has a passion for impressionist paintings, especially those of Pierre-Auguste Renoir. To get into the Gallery, Kermit asks if Animal can quietly eat through the iron bars. Animal responds by saying "eat through bars ahhhhhhh" and then ripping the bars apart, making as much noise as possible. Ty Pennington commented that Animal had ADHD, when the character was appearing on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. This fact is disputable, as the appearance can easily be considered not part of the Muppets canon. Animal recently revealed a talent for Jazz, by appearing in a television advert for the Renault Clio car with French footballer Thierry Henry. Finally, due to an Electric Mayhem Performance on Star Search the bands drummer Animal had to be put down for a vicious attack on Ed McMahon after McMahon made fun of him.
Here is our complete discography
9.22.06 - Origin of Animal Debuts @ Elbo Room
Dave Keller - Cello
Dave Hirsch - Keyboards
Steve Keller - Drums, Vocals
Ryan Fletcher - Guitar
John Gran - Bass
3.28.07 - The Final Act @ The Muse Cafe
Dan Travaglio - Recording, Engineering
Dave Hirsch - Keyboards
Nick Thompson - Saxophones
Sam Krahn - Guitar
Steve Keller - Drums
4.20.07 - 420 @ Savemore Lounge
Sam Krahn - Guitar
Brandon Kruse - Vocals
Nick Thompson - Saxophones
Patrick Driscoll - Drums
Patrick Dinnen - Bass
Dave Keller - Cello
Dave Hirsch - Keyboards
Steve Keller - Drums
Dan Travaglio - Recording, Engineering
5.22.07 - Day of the Cicada @ Elbo Room
Dan Travaglio - Recording, Engineering
Steve Keller - Drums
Dave Keller - Cello
Sam Krahn - Guitar
Nick Thompson - Saxophones
4.27.08 - Christian Orthodox Easter @ The Orphanage
Charlie Otto - Guitar, Vocals
Justin Leckband - Guitar, Vocals
Steve Keller - Drums, Vocals
Patrick Dinnen - Bass
8.27.08 - A Bowl Full of Meatdawgs @ WNUR 89.3FM
Dave Keller - Cello
Ian Maksin - Cello
Nick Thompson - Saxophones
Brandon Kruse - Fly Girl
Patrick Dinnen - Bass
Dave Holloway - Keyboards
Steve Maxwell - Drums
Steve Keller - Drums
We are very excited about playing at such an awesome jazz club. We have some great sets lined up for you, so don't miss it. Friday and Saturday November 20th and 21st, 5:00-8:30p at Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago
Aaron Koppel -Guitar, Matt Nelson; (Lupe Fiasco, Matthew Santos) -Keyboard, Graham Czach; (Chicago Afrobeat Project) -bass, Robert Tucker (Matthew Santos) -drums
FGC's got two hometown area shows this weekend! Friday is an all ages extravaganza at the House Cafe in Dekalb, and Saturday is a hometown throwdown at the Abbey Pub in Chicago (Ages 18+). Fans that attend both shows can pick up a FREE FGC album of their choice at Saturday's show (just grab the Free Album Coupon at the House Cafe and redeem it at the Abbey Pub)!
In other news, FGC is also excited to announce that the band will be celebrating New Year's Eve 2009 at the Redstone Room in Davenport, IA. Our third New Year's in a row at this incredible venue, we will once again be pulling out all the stops! Stay tuned for more information on this year's theme, advance tickets, and other details.
And finally, don't forget to check out the band's new Video Blog, a weekly series featuring a behind the scenes look at FGC performances and touring. Check out the YouTube playlist for the last few editions, and stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!
FGC's got a great weekend coming up! On Saturday, we open up for Umphrey's McGee at Exposition Gardens in Peoria (FGC @ 7pm), and Sunday, we head over to the Riverview Music and Arts Festival in South Elgin (FGC @ 6pm). The Riverview Fest goes on all weekend, and Sunday's lineup features FGC, as well as The Everyone Orchestra (with Michael Kang from SCI, Brendan and Andy from Umphrey's, Jordan and Janis from FGC, Allie from Cornmeal, and many more!). Visit www.riverviewmusicfest.com for full lineup and tickets!
Looking beyond, FGC's fall schedule thus far hits tons of our favorite Midwest spots, kicking off with the annual Halloween Masquerade Ball at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, where FGC will be sporting the musical costume of Green Day!
10/17 - Halloween Masquerade Ball, Chillicothe, IL (All Ages) 10/23 - Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines, IA (Ages 21+) 10/29 - Miramar Theater, Milwaukee, WI (All Ages) 10/31 - City Nights Theater, Springfield, IL (Ages 21+) 11/6 - The House Cafe, Dekalb, IL (All Ages) 11/7 - The Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL (Ages 18+) 11/9 - WIU, Macomb, IL (All Ages) 11/13 - Canopy Club, Urbana, IL (Ages 18+) 11/14 - Yacht Club, Iowa City, IA (Ages 19+)
Hey Game Core is in 2 weeks on Saturday September 12th! Its gonna be a nerd party. Come out and play games see MC Lars, Celebrate the Dreamcasts Birthday and more!
FGC’s only Chicago appearance of the summer is coming up on Friday July 17th at the Abbey Pub. This will be an Ages 18+ show with special supporting acts: Lobster Newberg and The Rubblebucket Orchestra. This Hometown Throwdown is a show not to be missed…hope to see you there!!
In the meantime, check out all three of our Summer Camp Festival sets on the Live Music Archive for free stream/download! Visit our MySpace blog for the links.
We also want to invite our Myspace friends to connect with us on Facebook. Click the links for the FGC Group and FGC Page, both great ways to stay in touch with the band and link up with other fans.
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