Diabolical Danny Shorago on vocals and mayhem, with...
LA: Righteous Ryan Brown on the drums, almighty Alex Budman on saxes, stunning Stephen Charouhas on bass and keyboards, and wicked Wes Styles on guitar. Plus occasional help from juicy Jesse Berent on guitar and killer Kevin Stevens on drums.
And...
SF: Wallopin' Wes Anderson on drums, awe-inspiring Alex DeSoria on bass, mighty Matt Lebofsky on guitar and keyboards, and jumpin' Jamison Reed on saxes and toys.
Influences
Frank Zappa, John Zorn, Dead Kennedys, Tom Waits, the Residents, Burt Bacharach, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Mark Leyner, Bach, Steve Lew, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Andy Kaufman, Idiot Flesh.
Sounds Like
A demented, criminal pack of extraterrestrials sexually assaulting a game show host in a giant vat of goat spleen pudding, somewhere in the 11th dimension.
Photo/digital chicanery by Paul Zollo (on-stage at Safari Sam's, LA):
Live at Safari Sam's (photos by Josh Burian-Mohr):
THE FUXEDOS are America's favorite apocalyptic lounge-punk-comedy-rock and roll-free jazz-storytelling-freakout-cinematic-what-the-hell? band, complete with costumes, props, and bizarrely humorous theatrics.
Members' credits include such innovative bands and acts as Les Claypool, Stolen Babies, Faun Fables, Coheed & Cambria, Charming Hostess, Idiot Flesh, and Cirque du Soleil.
The Fuxedos have shared stages with everyone from Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh to L7's Donita Sparks to industrial pioneers Nitzer Ebb to comedian Neil Hamburger. Past shows include Safari Sam's, Spaceland, and the Echo in Los Angeles; Tonic in Manhattan; Toronto's the Now Lounge; the Hemlock Tavern and Elbo Room in San Francisco; and Karla LaVey's Black X-Mass show in San Francisco.
The band's sound and stage show are unique and defy easy categorization. Lately, they've been telling people that they sound like a cross between the Mothers of Invention, the Dead Kennedys, and John Zorn's Naked City, with the theatrics of Andy Kaufman and Alice Cooper and the surrealist, comedic storytelling of Mark Leyner thrown in for good measure.
Although The Fuxedos are still at work on their debut record, they've been rapidly gaining notice through the power of their unique live performances. The band puts on a completely unusual, high-energy, theatrical, and hilarious show, underscored by creative, eclectic, and freakishly tight musicianship.
"Public School" live at the CIA in N. Hollywood, 2/10/07 (camera - Leanne Tursi):
"The Cowboy" live at the CIA, 9/8/06 (camera - Noah Korda):
"One of the most amazing, entertaining, enthralling, unique, hilarious and inspirational bands I have ever seen...[vocalist] Danny was a musical maniac onstage, donning masks, using crazy props, dancing up an astounding storm, singing dynamically, stomping, prancing, being riotously funny and crazed and mindblowing."
-- Paul Zollo, Sr. Editor, "American Songwriter" magazine; author, "Conversations with Tom Petty" and "Songwriters on Songwriting"
“The band incorporates free jazz, comedy, lounge, freakout rock, punk and everything under the sun
in its hysterical live act.”
-- Los Angeles Times
"The best frontman I've ever seen."
-- Rob Schrock (Music Director, Burt Bacharach)
"...The tremendously talented and insane band, The Fuxedos...their live shows combine brilliance and chaos with almost hallucinatory visual stimulation...always an adventure..."
-- Keyboard Magazine
"Thank you for one of the most engaging and completely wrongly fantastic shows I can remember...You're my new favorite band in LA!"
-- Shana Nys Dambrot (Editor, Flavorpill LA)
"You guys were great! You brought the house down." -- Neil Hamburger
"The Fuxedos are out of this world and are unlike any other L.A. band. Ever. Go see them. You'll be happy you did."
-- Blue Railroad magazine
"If Bertolt Brecht had a jam session with John Philip Sousa, Einsturzende Neubaten, and Howdy Doody on 'Saturday Night Live' back in '75, it might sound like The Fuxedos' 'Jellybean.'"
-- East Bay Express (Oakland, CA)
"I loved the Fuxedos show...tight music, and you were really in fine form. Congratulations on a truly unforgettable show!
-- Myles Boisen, guitarist/producer/engineer (Tom Waits, John Zorn, David Lynch, Nina Hagen, Fred Frith)
“The freshest, craziest thing I've seen in ages.”
-- Reverend Al Ridenour (Founder, L.A. Cacophony Society)
"The Fuxedos combine theatrical insanity with wonderfully addictive melodies!" -- Rock N Roll TV
"I'm a huge fan of you guys!"
-- Jai Young Kim (Secret Chiefs 3)
"Stunning acrobatics...so much energy that I spent several hours contemplating just what specific proteins the man was chomping on...There was not a single part of his body that did not move...He undulated his ass in a way that even I, a male heterosexual, had to admire...filled me with such joie de vivre that I found myself running up to the stage, jumping up with a raised hand and a mighty roar..."
-- Ed Champion, the lit-blog co-op
Live at Safari Sam's, LA, 2/28/07 (shot/edited by GB Young):
Excerpt from "Mimsy", the new Fuxedos short (featuring "The Jellybean Song"):
YYYAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!! SUPERSONIC CHIHUAHUA ROAR OF PERIL!!!!!
Hi. How are you? You know, killing baby rats isn't as fun as it's cracked up to be. will you sing "we are the world" with me to make me feel better? okay. thanks. the liberty bell.
I know, right! But it's NOT a robot vampire wombat... it's an Aye-aye, or Daubentonia madagascariensis, which is a strepsirrhine native to Madagascar and happens to be the world's largest nocturnal primate. You can't tell from the photo (it's scared and not smiling) but it has rodent-like teeth, and in combination with it's long, thin middle finger (which fills the same ecological niche as a woodpecker.) it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood and inserts its elongated middle finger to pull the grubs out.
Wombats, as we all know, look like fucked up koala pig gophers.
Thank you for a ridiculously awesome show at The Starry Plough. We are relocating to Portland, Oregon in May 2008. Stay in touch. We gotta do another show together soon.
Just droppin in to see what's new on ur page. Also wanted to tell everyone I've got some new songs posted and pix posted. Come give a listen and let me know what you think! Take care, Drac.
thanks for a great show at the Mutant transmissions Festival and for coming out at all other days to support/see all the other bands. We would work with you guys anytime!
If you think about me while you sing that song about public school, then I'll come to your show, but please don't ask me wear a whistle or carry a gradebook because I won't. - Andrea
