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Dark's Corner
natty bughead
Ska, rock, punk, reggae with a dash of metal thrown in, diced and pureed in such a manner that the elements offer themselves like a well- organized sushi platter. There's plenty to find in the music of Bughead, due in part to colorful histories and a rollicking sense of humor about themselves and their songs. The original trio of lead singer/guitarist Nathan Adams,, bassist Jason Powell and drummer Pat Jones was recently expanded to a quartet with the addition of trombonist/pianist John Gnuechtel, formerly of the SLOWLY RUBBINGS. After managing to organize all of them in one place outside of Will's Pub, the interview began. There was a sense of impending hilarity in the air and everyone stifled their giggles. Energies were racing, as it was just a few minutes till showtime. Theme parks was the subject as Jones related a story of being hungover at Islands Of Adventure. The discussion blossomed into a round table forum on how, in Florida, the hospitality industry is one of the key sources of income for musicians and Adams chimed in with "All I know is hospitality!" Jones and Powell both work at Wild Bill's, a western themed dining experience on the fringe of Walt Disney World. "The best white-trash cheesy joint, two hours of free beer ," remarks Jones. Mandaddy of GARGAMEL! works there also. Adams, looking a little like a pirate, shows variety in his vocations. "I've been a bathroom valet at a titty bar, worked in several kitchens and I been an actor on Terror On Church Street," he says with a faux redneck accent. When the joking stops, a rare occasion, his eyes are direct in line with yours, his voice level. "I'm not looking for Ferrari's and hookers and cocaine, I'm just lookin to pay the bills and have a good time and just play music. If we do nothing else but play music, then what's wrong with that?"
Bughead debuted at the Ft. Meyers-based Drafthouse in October of 1992. Adams and Powell were working with "Brophy" on drums while Jones did his thing. "I started out in a punk band with Ens from the Copper Rocket, called Walking Cliche and I played with him in a couple of bands and then I joined a funk band called Motherfunker and was playin' with them for a few years," says the drummer whose first encounter with his future bandmates was a double gig. Secretly, he coveted the idea of playing with the crazy nutty band with the cool ska feel. It took a strange series of phone calls to make the transition. "We lost our drummer and Pat was in Motherfunker and unbeknownst to Pat they wanted to get rid of him and have another drummer," explains Adams. "His guitar player called me and said, 'hey do you guys know of any drummers looking for a band to jam with?' and about two hours later, Pat called me and said, 'hey you guys know any bands looking for drummers?' and he didn't know that his guitar player from the other band had called and asked me about drummers--so it was kinda weird." The guitarist and bassist got together with Jones and he was invited to join the band on February 12th , 1994--his birthday. Adams adds the cherry: "He had this airbrushed topless chick on the drumhead and we said, 'that's the guy'" and the band dissolves into laughter. "Luckily he could play pretty well."
The band's debut CD "Whole Lotta Puddin'" was released on Davey Schweizer's Richter Records label and is soon to be re-released. The follow-up, "Big Baby", perked up the ears of industry folks with its crazy moshing reggae-punk mix. Songs like "Wrong Side Of Town" and "Why Me Love?" are lovingly crafted reggae beats fattened up with brash rock chords and speedy tempo changes while sharp, melodic fuzz inspires the blue-collar anthem "City Worker". But even in the most frenzied of shredding riffs, the pace seems to always find time for a mellow skank pulse with Powell's lopey bass lines playing hopscotch over the brittle afterbeat of Adams' guitar. Jones breaks a few reggae basic rules and creates variations on a four that keep the caribbean bounce lively and snappy.
"Jason won't let us play anything else," Jones says about the trend towards reggae.
You don't see anybody playing reggae," offers the stocky Powell, whose hard appearance gives way to a soft-spoken eloquence. "Especially three white guys--you don't really see it."
The ringleader is certainly Adams, wearer of kilts and derbies, proffering Scottish accents and quick with a yarn, he explains his musical influences. "My daddy was a sailor, so I was raised around a lot of caribbean beats. " The other band members look at each other and inquire, "a sailor?" in unison. "Not a navy sailor, he was an independent sailor, had his own-- had a sailboat, he used to traffic marijuana back and forth from Jamaica ." The other band members sit and watch Adams, mouths agape--they clearly know when he is joking, and he's dead serious as he speaks about his father. "He was in a band with Kurt Loder, in Jersey, it was like a Beach Boys type cover band, they were called Preacher Bill and the Prophets--my dad played bass, he played violin, he was an orchestra conductor at a high school in Ft. Meyers." His love of reggae music was shared and that bond helped fuel Bughead's sound with the dancehall shuffles and dub beats that are notorious for invoking the party gods where ever they play.
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Their music is now bridging the multi-media gaps through licensing agreements with the MTV series "Road Rules" and an upcoming project that is shrouded in some amount of secrecy. "We're taking over the video game establishment," says Jones. "We're doing a soundtrack for a very popular sports video game." A new CD is in the works and the group's official website is being designed by Gnuechtel and will offer up music and merchandise. Though admittedly still broke, Bughead continues along in the spirit of things--chugging along on a lazy, crazy tide of melodious mirth. They hope to beat the music industry at its own game and against all odds. "We weren't born cute, we weren't born rich, we weren't born in an established community with lots of culture, we weren't born talented, and we're not very smart." says Adams. He's speaking from the heart here. Then, a twinkle in the corner of those eyes.
"I'd like to find 10 million dollars in my bathtub when I wake up," he adds with a straight face. The band seconds and thirds the notion.
A native of Los Angeles, Bing Futch moved to central Florida in 1993 and immediately began performing. Since then, he's been actively involved in the local scene both as an artist and as a member of the media. Currently, he can be seen and heard playing Appalachian mountain dulcimer around the state with the band Mohave. Send flames and fondles to www.darkstudios.com or bing@ink19.com and you can also subscribe to The Dark's Corner Mailing List which is the official mailing list for this column. Send press kits, music and legal drugs to: J.O.B. Entertainment Inc. P.O. Box 560727 Orlando, Florida 32856
