I was hanging out at the Big Fish Pub the other night with some friends and was chatting up Cash, a friendly bartender who encouraged us to check out his band Weird is the New Cool. Mention you write for the New Times and you get CD's, MySpace pages and band fliers thrown at you like crazy. I try and check out most of them, however some get lost in the shuffle.
"You should check us out," the guitarist, whose band recently opened for Authority Zero at the Marquee Theatre last weekend, said. "We do a lot of 80s high-kicks."
When I called him on it, he demonstrated behind the bar, which let's face it, is pretty fun to see. But it wasn't the high-kick that had me. He mentioned a song called "Beer Pong" and I was intrigued.
After pulling up the band's MySpace, the song didn't disappoint. I also recommend "Just Wanna Be Heard" and "Freak or an Outcast."
Weird is the New Cool is Gym Class Heroes meets Sublime, which is pretty damn rad. They remind me of a lot of the local music I grew up on - Cousins of the Wize, Fred Green, Drunken Immortals and Dislocated Styles (R.I.P., Dislo). I encourage you to check 'em out and give their jams a listen on MySpace. Their style of music is exactly what ignited my interest in the AZ scene to begin with. The guys have a show on April 17 at Dobson High and May 8 at the Clubhouse Music Venue if you want to see them rock out live, 80s' high-kicks and all.
