Jump to content

Richard Cheese

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 75.208.86.167 (talk) at 07:42, 5 November 2008 (→‎New recordings). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Richard Cheese

Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine is a cover band and comedy act based in Los Angeles, California. Lounge singer Richard Cheese performs popular rock, rap, heavy metal, and pop songs in a swanky lounge music swing band style reminiscent of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Tony Bennett. The band's name Lounge Against The Machine is a parody of the band name Rage Against the Machine.

Style

The band specializes in playing lounge-style covers of recent popular rock, metal, rap and hip hop songs, sung in a croony traditional pop vocal style, contrasting an elegant jazz treatment of the music with often profane and ribald lyrics to create a humorous dissonance.[1]

History

Since 2000, the band has released seven albums, and played hundreds of concerts around the United States, two concerts in Europe, and has made numerous television appearances, including performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Fox & Friends on Fox News Channel, Anderson Cooper 360° on CNN, NBC's Las Vegas series, NBC's Passions soap opera, and as the house band on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly and MTV's Say What? Karaoke series. Richard Cheese has also been featured on radio morning shows and syndicated radio programs such as Opie and Anthony, Howard Stern, Kevin and Bean, Bob and Sheri, and Adam Carolla. The band also performed at events for singer Brian Setzer, drummer Travis Barker, director Zack Snyder, and the Creative Arts Daytime Emmy Awards.

The band is currently in the midst of their 2008/2009 "United We Lounge" farewell tour, after the conclusion of which they have announced they will no longer tour outside of Las Vegas.[1] Cheese has indicated that the decision to suspend extensive touring with his Lounge Against The Machine band was based on health concerns relating to the condition of his vocal cords, his desire to spend more time in the recording studio,[1] and because he is looking forward to new live performances of new material (from his forthcoming albums) with new musicians and band configurations. According to the band's website, Cheese will be occasionally performing with a band of Hawaiian musicians in support of his forthcoming exotica album "Lavapalooza" in 2009.

Members

The present line-up of the band consists of:

and a rotating roster of bassists, including Gordon Brie, Chazz American, Nacho, and Wayne String.

The names are all pseudonyms, and new band members either adopt the pseudonym of the player they replace, or new names are developed.

The role of pianist and musical director Bobby Ricotta is currently played by Noel Melanio, but was previously played by David Adler. When the drummer Buddy Gouda (Charles Byler) left the band in 2004, he was replaced by Brian Fishler and the stage name was changed to Frank Feta. The role of bass player Gordon Brie was played by Louis Allen and was previously portrayed by Christopher Monaco. The band currently has no permanent bass player. The band has also worked with numerous session musicians and performers, including horn players Eric Jorgensen, Terry Landry and Lee Thornburg, theremin player Pamelia Kurstin, vocalist Joshua Path, and singer Weird Al Yankovic. The only constant band member is Cheese himself, who is in reality a Los Angeles-based comedian and entrepreneur named Mark Jonathan Davis.

Cheese's pseudonym is a slang reference to smegma, as Richard can be shortened to Dick, making his name "dick cheese". Davis has stated that he did not want to call the character "Richard Cheese," but was encouraged to do so by a record executive. Davis has stated that this sophomoric pun name has unfortunately stigmatized the band as "lowbrow" and "too controversial" for many mainstream opportunities.[citation needed]

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Unreleased songs

New recordings

According to the band's website, Richard Cheese will release three new albums in 2008-2009.

  • Viva La Vodka - a live album culled from 8 years of Cheese's concert tours
  • Lavapalooza - an album of tiki-style exotica lounge versions of rock and rap hits
  • OK Bartender - an album of all-new swing covers of contemporary rock and rap songs

The albums can be pre-ordered now at the band's members.richardcheese.com website, but Cheese has announced that the CDs will not be distributed to buyers or to traditional retail stores or to digital outlets until at least 2000 CDs are first sold to his fanclub members.

Appearances

Television

Radio

Film

Podcasts

References

  1. ^ a b c Joe Brown (2008-08-21). "Meet Richard Cheese: He'll grate on you, make you laugh and sing along". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2008-08-25.

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Cheese&oldid=249805538"