 Danger Bob
by Jason Meier
At 7:00 Saturday evening, Lawrence's Danger Bob hit the
stage with a lot of energy and played a solid show in typical Danger Bob fashion. This set
was just the first of two that Danger Bob would be playing that day, because as soon as
they were finished at the Spirit Fest, they were off to the Bottleneck in Lawrence to play
a show later that night, opposite the dark sounds of The Black Water.
They play a good mix of pop alternative and punk rock with
very humorous lyrics to form a very unique sound. They remind me of a garage band that has
hit the big time, but still play like there's no tomorrow.
The members of Danger Bob are as follows: Karl - lead
vocals and rhythm guitar; Andy - lead guitar and vocals; (Dr. Love) Jason - bass and
vocals; and Kenny G - drums and vocals.
These guys have a couple of very good CDs out and I highly
recommend that you pick both of them up. Their first one, Le Pop Shoppe, and the newest
one entitled "MegaVega$" are both released on Maine Records and can be found in
any local record store.
This particular set was a good mix of the old and new. The band played new songs like
"Skinny Valentine," "Biltmoore East (Estate)," "Kicked in the
Ride," and "Whatever Dude," as well as classics like "Sick and Tired
of Sex," "Diheretics," and my personal favorite, "Top of the
World."
| The later featured a cameo
appearance by fellow rock star, Ultimate Fakebook's Nick Colby, who ran onstage to sing
backup vocals just for the heck of it. "It's not
everyday that you get to see a bald-headed dude in a black t-shirt run up on stage and
sing with us," Andy announced to the crowd at the end of the song. |
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The lyrics for Danger Bob's music tend to be
mostly non-fiction.
"We tend to write on non-fiction topics," said
Karl. "Most everything we cover is public knowledge."
Andy seems to have a more unique way of looking at it:
"The plan is that by the time our next class reunions roll around, we want to have a
song about all the people we hated. That way most of what they did to us becomes public
knowledge."
Upon hearing Andy tell me that, their lyrics began to make
a little bit more sense.
The band has some definite plans for the future. They are planning on recording not one,
but two new items for release. The first one is a new CD and cassette, and the second item
is a cassette-only concept album entitled "Since When Do Cheerleaders Live in the
Woods." There's something to think about...
The band also wants to try to focus more on playing
regional shows.
"The hardest thing we have had [to do] in the six
years we have been together is booking lots of shows out of the region," said Karl.
"In fact, if anyone reading this thinks that they can help us, let us know and it
would be greatly appreciated."
One of the other things that comes with being around for
six years, is that they have already played with many of the best local bands. But, there
are a few that they would like to play with who have as yet to do so. Those bands include
Exit 159, O'Phil, Flick, and The Black Water.
"We would be here all day if we wanted to list all the
national acts that we wanted to play with, 'cause there are way too many," said
Andy. "We do like to play with Possum Dixon, Too Much Joy, and the Rugburns."
"We would even play with They Might Be Giants again,
if they would just dump the band and go back to just two guys," adds Karl. "They
were an influence early on, but when they added the band, that all changed."
The band is also gonna keep trying to get signed. In the spring of 1997, the band sent out
about 100 promotional packs to various record labels in a effort to get signed, but
unfortunately they received very little response.
However, that has not stopped the band's motivation in the
least. In fact, it will probably end up making them stronger in the long run.
Andy did have a good idea about how the band could get
signed to Hollywood Records, since they are affiliated with Disney.
"All we have to do is book a tour where we play
amusement parks and play for the kids. We would also sell the two CDs that we have out now
as part of it. Once Hollywood Records saw how well we did in that setting, we have very
little doubt that they wouldn't sign us. If the idea was feasible, I think it would be
great cause I'm willing to bet the house that it would work."
Future gigs for Danger Bob include an opening spot for Possum Dixon on September 18th at
the Bottleneck, October 24th at the Hurricane with Ultimate Fakebook, and also on
Halloween in Ames, Iowa with Ultimate Fakebook.
The band will be booking more shows very soon so keep an
eye on our calendars. Also make sure to pay a visit to both of the web sites dedicated to
this unique band: www.dangerbob.net and http://home.earthlink.net/~jsbeach/.
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