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Bands We Like Because they Like the Embarrassment
Love the Embarrassment? Do you have a band that likes the Embarrassment? Would you, your label, or the band be interested in a participating in an Embarrassment Tribute album project? Do you know of a band doing an Embarrassment cover you can tell us about? Send us mail: mailto:wall@cmu.edu, we'll get you listed on this page and on our Heroes of Embarrassment list.
We'd like to build grassroots to get the Tribute Album started. This page is a list of bands and artists we might include in such a hypothetical endeavour, but can also just serve as an "if you like...you might like..." guide (put the Embarrassment into one of the dot dot dots, and one of the bands below in the other). Frankly, our goal is both to promote the songs and works of the Embarrassment to a wider audience, but also to help promote any band with the good taste to include the Embarrassment in its repertoire and list of influences.
Freedy and his old backup band did a concert on June 25, 1996 at Coney Island High School in New York City, under the name the "Don Juans", which was an Embarrassment Tribute band -- the show was entirely Embarrassment covers.
(The concert was a benefit for the then-striking Village Voice writers.)
Freedy's an acclaimed singer-songwriter dude, originally on Bar/None, and since then breaking through to the bigtime major label thing. The promotional quote on the "Heyday" sticker from Freedy says: "The Embarrassment was my first favorite band."
We don't know of any covers of Embarrassment Songs by Laurie Geltman, but she's a singer/songwriter with a great loyal following, and Brent Giessman plays drums in the band. In our book, that's recommendation enough, and the debut CD was pretty good at that.
The Ass Ponys are an angstful, twangy, pretty original band from Ohio with a string of Indy releases behind them and another major label contract. We've discovered that "Two Week Vacation" has been covered on a promo EP called "Earth to Grandma" -- hey Ass Ponys, please send us a copy!! We love you!!
Killcreek is a Lawrence band with a national following. Scott Born of Killcreek has contributed an occasional note to the Embarrassment website, and lists
Heyday among his favorite albums, which is enough for us. We'd give them one of the Heavy songs on the tribute album.
VTOL's members include unabashed Embarrassment fans, who cover "Elizabeth Montgomery's Face" and "Man With the Extra Special Eyes". They're from Atlanta, and they have a website, and you can even hear one of their Embarrassment covers there.
The Micronotz
The Mortal Micronauts, aka the Mortal Micronotz, aka the Micronotz, were a punk band from Lawrence that made their debut at a concert headlined by the Embarrassment. The Micronotz are also defunct now, (as seems to be their web page maintainer, but here's their Trouser Press link) but came as close as any of the Embarrassment-era Kansas bands to making a breakthrough nationally. The Micronotz continue to have a cult following, and there was even a tribute album done for the 'Notz a while back.
We don't know much about this band, other than that they cover "Sex Drive" and on the evidence of their web page, clearly have the right attitude.
Franklin Bruno, another pop genius, was reported (third hand, we never actually saw this) to have mentioned the Embarrassment as an influence, and even to have visited the web site. Frankly, we were ecstatic to hear that, since we'd already known Franklin's songwriting as among the best in Indy pop. The song "Career Day" on the "Placeholders" album by Nothing Painted Blue would sound right at home with Nichols on vocals and Goffrier on guitar.
Shonen Knife is a pop/rock trio from Japan, goddesses of the snappy sound and a generally wonderful band. They're internationally famous, as befits the fact that they have so many fan websites, they've got a whole Yahoo category to themselves.
Shonen Knife covered "Faith Healer", based on the Big Dipper Boo Boo EP, in all likelihood never knowing that this was originally an Embarrassment song, or even that the Embarrassment ever existed.
Big Dipper were Indy darlings from Boston, featuring former members of The Volcano Suns and Dumptruck and a future member of Shoemaker (Bill guested on the Shoemaker CD), who managed to last long enough for a major label release on Epic. As you may expect from the pedigree, their sound ranged from delightful pop to noisy punk with Boston angst as a side course. Bill's later band, Big Dipper, did "Faith Healer" on its first EP and might as well be in on our tribute album project. As might...
Brent's band after the Embarrassment, who as far as we know never did a single Embarrassment song, but does reunite from time to time (including at Brent's wedding in 1996). The Del Fuegos were a hot bar/rock band from the early 80s in Boston, who picked up Brent, aka Woody, in mid-stream, and who got picked up on a major label but never quite clicked in the studio the way their legendary early live shows did.
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