embalmed ones

Benny Lava

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By popular demand – and by popular, I mean Riley wants to hear it – here are The Viper and His Famous Orchestra, live at Mike ‘N’ Molly’s in Champaign, Illinois closing out their show of August 7, 2009 with “Benny Lava.” Newly home-mastered.

(right click to download)

The song proved controversial because it raised two questions: 1) whether or not in performing it we were really just doing someone else’s joke and 2) who the joke is on. We comport, you decide.

Ron Henn, Summer 2009 (not at Mike ‘N’ Molly’s), mulls over the
question of whether he can fully commit to singing “Benny Lava”

those that tremble as if they were mad

Fat finger

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Fat finger, indeed. Here’s some video I discovered on YouTube yesterday from the show that The Viper & His Second String did back in May, 2010 at the 19th Street Coffee House in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The performers are The Viper on baritone ukulele, Riley Broach on washtub bass, and John Peacock on suitcase and other percussion.

This may be my favorite recording of “Das Kapital” (otherwise known as “Capital”), mostly because I like the way that John stands up and sits down throughout the song.

innumerable ones

Set list for September 3, 2010

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As a sneak preview of what we’re likely to play at our upcoming Pygmalion set (Saturday, September 25, Mike ‘N’ Molly’s in Champaign, Illinois), here’s what The Viper and His Famous Orchestra played recently at a welcome back happy hour for graduate assistants at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hosted on Friday evening, September 3 by the Rob Henn-affiliated Teaching Assistants’ Association.

Set #1

  • I Left My Liver in Libertyville
  • Big Headed Small Minded Man
  • Winnebago Bay
  • Sharkin’
  • My Seafaring Lassie
  • Ich Bin Berlin (The Sundown Song)
  • Das Kapital
  • One Big Union
  • Ballad of the Henry 55
  • Whispering

Set #2

  • First Round Polka
  • Randolph St.
  • Sharkin’
  • Party in the U.S.A.
  • Stopper in My Hand
  • Last Call Waltz

We played in the Tripp Commons room on the 2nd floor of the Memorial Union. And playing there, as well as trawling through the bowels and the freight elevators of the Union, brought back lots of memories of my time as an undergraduate and a Union rat in Madison. Painful, awful memories. Thanks a lot, T.A.A.!

fabulous ones, stray dogs

(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding

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The Generics, live at the Fairhaven Bowl in Mundelein, Illinois, summer of 1986. Raw suburban Chicago mid-80s power, undetectable Farfisa organ and all.

right click here to download mp3

Photograph by David Broustis, circa 1985

And the message is as timely as ever. That message being: “Enjoy the bass stylings of Pat Gamet.”

The Generics at the time of this recording were: Ryan Jerving, guitar; Craig Witsoe, guitar; Nadine Engel (now Schneller), drums; John Papageorge, keyboards; Pat Gamet, bass; and Dean Samara, saxophone (though I think playing tambourine on this track). We would have all been Libertyville High School seniors (+/- 1).

There’s a part near the beginning of the song on the original recording where the right channel dropped out for about 30 seconds, which I’ve only had partial success in covering by patching the left channel on top of it. You’ll hear the difference when the right comes back in at 0:53 . Try not to let it spoil your peace, your love, or your understanding.

The Fairhaven Bowl still stands: join a league today.

the kind of music your great-great-great-grandparents warned your great-great-grandparents about