And now...for something quite different: Swing! And, by all means, prepare for a long story!
For those not familiar with that musical style, allow me to explain that it's a form of Jazz which came into existence in the US at the beginning of the '30s, and developed to a very characteristic style by the half of that decade as, through such big bands as those of Count Basie and Duke Ellington, the music became increasingly popular as dance hall music. The music's popularity kinda waned by the mid '40s. Also among the more popular Swing bands from the US, are those of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller...in Europe the style is usually associated to the gypsy music of Stéphane Grapelli and Django Reinhardt.
For the foundations of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, we have to turn back the clock well before the name of that band ever popped up, namely to the beginning of the '80s, when one Steve Perry, who'd been a Punk Rock fan from his adolescence years, left his hometown of Binghamton, New York, to pursue a chemistry degree at the University Of Oregon. While at Eugene, he became infatuated with the town's underground music scene, and eventually got befriended with fellow University student and bass player Dan Schmid due to a common musical ambition and disinterest in schooling. In fact, the decided to drop out of college together, and formed the Punk trio The Jazz Greats in 1983. This act evolved into the Paisley Underground-styled Garage Rock act Saint Huck, which lasted from 1984 to 1987.
By the late '80s, Grunge had already taken over the music scene in the Northwest of the US (remember that the genre originated from Seattle, and spread from there during the early '90s), and the oncoming of that style had started to fade out most other styles of music, including Hardcore and Punk. Determined to go in against the shoegazing attitude of the ruling type of music, Perry and Schmid set out a band which would put their audiences to high energy dancing and visceral in stead of passive reactions, in part by bringing in some Zappa-esque theatrics. Recruiting a horn section, and taking on the bandname of Mr. Wiggles (taken from a Parliament song), the new band did its first performance in Nov. 1988...their music a Punk-inflected Funk and Soul music. Perry's songwriting would however very soon draw heavily from a newfound interest in Jazz, Swing and Rhythm 'n' Blues, leading the band to combine Punk Rock with Jazz arrangements in what Perry later stated was a desire to contemporize American Roots Music by infusing it with Punk energy and using modernist, socially aware lyricism. By early '89, Mr. Wiggles had transmuted into Cherry Poppin' Daddies, the name derived from a Jive phrase the band had heard on a vintage race record. The name was intentionally chosen to reflect the band's Jazz and Blues influences as well as their edgy Punk irreverence, although some sources state that it was chosen at last instance with the thought in mind that the whole thing would turn out to become a short-lived experiment anyway.
However, Fate would have it differently! Following a first show at Eugene's own W.O.W. Hall came many more local shows, and the group even became house act in that very some venue. With an increasing following, the band recorded its first 4-track demo cassette 4 From On High (the songs Punk-flavoured Swing and Funk Rock) in the summer of '89, a tape which went on to sell more than 1,000 copies in the Eugene and Portland areas...and which enabled the band to self-produce their debut LP Ferociously Stoned, in the following year! The album not only got favourable comparisons to then contemporaries Faith No More and Red Hot Chili Peppers (who both back then were far more Funk-minded), but also became a regional best-seller before it was even officially released with record advance sales in Eugene's record stores...and then remained in the Northwest Top Twenty list from local magazine's The Rocket for over a year. By 1992, the album would enable the band to play places as far as Los Angeles in the South, and Alaska in the North.
The band's sudden rise to popularity however also made it to a focus point of several “political” groups in Eugene. You see, from their former project the band had retained its Zappa-esque stage antics, and developed into somewhat extravagant and provocative parts of their show. Besides the band wearing a rotating array of flamboyant costumes, a typical CPD show would often include go-go dancers, phallic stage scenery, prop-heavy vaudevillian skits and choreographed dance numbers...and the most infamous of all, a penis-shaped modified ride-on lawn mower rechristened as Dildorado (or Dilldozer), which would mimic ejaculation by shooting salvos of colorful fluids from its tip. On the side Perry would engage in absurd Shock Rock antics, such as mock crucifixion, flag burning, and slathering his body with various liquids and foods. Feminist groups condemned the band's performance as pornographic, and more “political” groups would organize poster tear-downs, and led vigilante boycotts against venues that would have the band play, and against newspapers who would give the band a positive review. Eugene concerts of the band became regular organized picket sites, and at one occasion the subject of a bomb threat. The band's members themselves were harassed by frequent hate mail, threats and even physical harm (at one occasion Perry was thrown a cup of hot coffee in the face, as he was walking down the street). At first, the band refused to change its name on the grounds of artistic freedom, but as the harassment grew out of proportion (and even the W.O.W. Temporarily banned them), they decided to play local shows under the monickers of The Daddies or The Bad Daddies, retaining their full name when traveling abroad. As time went on, the band retired the theatrical antics from their show, and the controversies around the band waned, leading to them being able to use their full name again in their hometown.
The controversies and ensuing violence had however not left the band unscarred, and several line-up changes ensued. Nevertheless, by 1994 CPD had progressed into a full-time touring band that was now traveling coast to cost, playing up to 200 shows per year, including some very important showcase festivals. Eventually the band became a staple of the San Francisco area's thriving Third Wave Ska scene, and that same year (1994) the band was awarded the title of 'Best Unsigned Band' by SF Weekly! Several major labels got in contact with the band...and there was even a short association with Hollywood Records, but everything was blown off on the grounds that the band wanted to retain its creative freedom and refused to adhere to any one particular genre. 1994 (December) was also when the band released its sophomore album Rapid City Muscle Car, an experimental and eclectic album which found the band dabble in Ska Punk, Psychedelic Rock, Country, Rockabilly, Big Band, Hard Rock, and Lounge, with songs interconnected through its lyrics. Although selling decently, the album was not as successful as the band's debut. The CPD continued to tour full-time, and in 1996 released their 3rd independent album Kids On The Street, focusing their music on guitar-driven Ska, Rock and Punk. The album would become the band's most successful one up to that point, charting for 7 months in The Rocket's Retail Sales Top Twenty, and eventually worked its way into Rolling Stones' Alternative Charts. It also found the band on 6 cross-country US tours during that one and same year.
By the end of 1996, and mainly thanks to the successful movie Swingers, the up to then underground Swing was beginning to draw both media and audience attention, and although the CPD had grown to include more and more Ska material in their live shows, the band was slowly getting additional fans for their occasional Swing music. As fans were asking more and more which of their albums contained the most of that style of music, the CPD (who had by now grown into the mainstream of the Third Wave Ska movement) was convinced by their manager to compile the band's Swing music for the release of the compilation album Zoot Suit Riot. Although intended as a medium to make money for their next album, the compilation became an unexpected success, selling up to 4,000 copies a week through the band's Northwest distributors.
In spite of the compilation album's commercial success, that period of 1996 to late 1997 proved to be the band's most difficult in the band's career. With little media recognition, the band's constant touring was proving to be both a personal and financial strain, leading to no less than 15 members quitting the band, including co-founder Dan Schmid, leaving Perry and trumpet player Dana Heitman as sole remaining original members, and things came to a point where Perry concluded that the CPD could go only one of two ways: either quit...or sign to a label. While in the middle of another tour together, Reel Big Fish arranged a meeting with their label Mojo Records and CPD in hopes of getting the band a distribution deal...a meeting which ended up in a full recording contract. Zoot Suit Riot was licensed and re-issued by Mojo and given national distribution in July 1997, a mere 4 months after its original release.
What followed, was the regrettable typical behaviour of a major record label. Thanks to the rising popularity of the Swing Music scene, Mojo had found Zoot Suit Riot's consistently steady sales enough to warrant the release of a single of the album's title track, in order to distribute it among mainstream radio stations for further promotion of the album. The band protested against that release, on the only side not believing that a Swing song could receive mainstream airplay, and on the other side concerned with the possibility of having to recoup the marketing costs. The label however persisted and to the surprise of the band the single was indeed successful, in fact to the point of pushing the CPD to the forefront of the Swing movement with album sales ever increasing: by June 1998, 500,000 copies had been sold and, at the time it finaly slipped off the charts in January 2000, sales exceeding 2 million had been reached. As a direct result of the increased sales the band, which had been about to begin work on a new album prior to the single's release, started touring again, spending most of '98 and '99 on the road and playing near 300 shows a year, both as support band and as headliners in the US, while headlining the 1998 Warped Tour alongside Rancid, NOFX and Bad Religion.
However, a new controversy stuck up its ugly head. Due to their mainstream success, the band was branded somewhat as Swing Music revivalists, and it's as such that the band got to be promoted by the mainstream press, and known to the public at large. The band however disassociated itself from being such a unilateral act, and avoided touring with Swing bands, choosing Latin Rock act Ozomati and Ska/Soul band The Pietasters s support for their very first US headlining tour, and opening for Argentine Rock band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs on the latter's North American tour. They even tried to tour with Primus, but that project never materialized. Meanwhile however, mainstream media continued to typecast the band as Swing revivalists, something which Perry retorted to in interviews. As a positive note, it needs to be mentioned that Schmid, whom had previously left the band on health reasons, was enticed to re-enter the band's fold, after being asked to re-join by Perry.
With their touring schedule having come to a full close by early 2000, the band finally returned to the studio to record their fourth studio album, Soul Caddy, which continued on the CPD's varied musical format. Drawing from the Rock and Pop of the '60s and '70s, the album interwove Swing and Ska with Glam Rock, Soul, Psychedelic Pop, Folk, and Funk...and was intended to present a more exact perspective on the band's musical aspirations, than the one conveyed by the hilariously successful Zoot Suit Riot compilation. But, that was counting without the infantile behaviour of the band's label, or the stupidity of the average music fan! You see, although the Swing Music revival had waned quite considerably by the start of the new millennium, the label's response to the new album's music was quite minimal. They did very little to promote the album (released Oct. 3, 2000) or the Glam-styled single, “Diamond Light Boogie”, which preceded it. As for the public at large...of which a lot never even go to concerts...they were quite unaware of the band's eclectic approach to music. As a result, the album was met by a quite negative reception, both by “fans” and media...most of the latter slagging the band for its variety, and some of 'em accusing the band of selling out for a more trendy sound. In spite of some moderate critical praise, the album evidently failed to achieve the same sales as its predecessor, and the band's promotional US tour fared the same way. With a marked decline increased negative audience response about the band's decreased focus on playing Swing music, and an ensuing declined attendance, the band eventually canceled the latter part of their tour, and decided to go for an indefinite hiatus in December 2000, its individual members focusing on things the band's hectic touring schedule had prevented them from.
In February 2002, the band reformed spontaneously to play a sporadic series of music festivals in the Northwest of the US, but at the same time announced no plans to record new material or play extensive tours. With all members goin' their own way [Schmid and keyboardist Dustin Lanker formed the Piano Rock trio The Visible Men (they recorded 2 independent albums and toured extensively in the Northwest of the US), and on the side Lanker became a touring ember of California Ska Punk act Mad Caddies; Perry first resumed his education and eventually got a degree in molecular biology in 2004, before forming the theatrical Glam Punk band White Hot Oddysey with guitarist Jason Moss (released a 2004 album on Jive Records and became a regular opening act for CPD's occasional local shows, until disbanding in 2005); drummer Tim Donahue, after a short stint with The Visible Men, played in Yngwie Malmsteen's band for his 2001 European tour, and worked as a session musician, recording albums with the likes of TobyMac and Shawn McDonald] and spending time with their respective families, live activities between 2002 and 2006 were minimal, down as much as 8 to 10 a year, and scheduling gigs around the band mabers' desire and personal availability.
In early 2006 then, Perry announced that he was writing new CPD music again, but that the music would cover all-new music for the band. Shortly after, the band engaged in its first US tour since 2000, a tour on which quite some of the new music was debuted. Susquehanna, the band's 5th studio album, was recorded during the summer of 2007, and released digitally via the band's website in February 2008, a limited CD released following several months later. Featuring very prominent Latin and Caribbean strains, influences from Flamenco, Latin Rock, and Reggae were now mixed into the band's traditional mix of Swing and Ska, and the lyrics were conceived as a narrative concept about “various relationships in decay”. Released in low profile DIY style, and therefore ignored by most mainstream media, the album again got mixed response from several music website, reviewers again being polarised over the album's eclectic approach. Undaunted, the CPD again embarked on a full US tour, and continued their stride with a headlining European tour.
In July 2009 the band announced having signed to the Rock Ridge Music label for the release of two albums, firstly a re-issue of Sasquehanna, and secondly a compilation of material from the band's Ska-oriented music, released in September of that same year under the title Skaboy JFK: The Skankin' Hits Of The Cherry Poppin' Daddies. The latter in a response to the long-time demand of fans of the band's first years, who felt that such a compilation would show a different side to the band than that portrayed by their “Swing persona”, and end the controversy about the band's eclectic music once and for all! Controversially, soon after the release of Skaboy JFK, Perry announced having started work on new material for an upcoming album which would find the CPD go for an all-out Swing album again! Eventually, work on the album would be interrupted several times with tours (among which two sold-out Australian tours in 2011 and 2012), and by mid-2012 Perry revealed that the band in their writing sessions had also written enough material for a “bonus” album of “Americana”-influenced Rock songs with influences ranging from Rockabilly to Country, Bluegrass and western Swing. On June 20 of 2012, the band started a PledgeMusic campaign to help finance the final stages of the new album's production (its goal being reached on August 14, continued collecting eventually raised 133% of its goal).
And that's the album I've had turning in the cd-player since I started this review this morning. Mind you, it's been doin' rounds before...in fact I even had the album along with me on my recent holiday! And I have to say I've loved every one of the listening sessions I gave it! In contrast to its predecessor, White Teeth, Black Thoughts was heavily publicized by the band, and preceded by the singles and music videos for “I Love American Music” and “The Babooch”. The album, which was released in the US on July 16, 2013, received extensive coverage by mainstream outlets such as Billboard and USA Today, and the band was invited onto the Fox-owned program Good Day L.A., to perform their first single. The album did not rise to chart success, but critics were generally favourable, and the band ensued to play a short 14-city tour of the US. (P.S.: info in this text taken & converted from the band's page on Wikipedia)
In March of late, the album was picked up by European label People Like You for a May 5 re-issue. Later in the year, we can expect the release of the album Please Return The Evening – the Cherry Poppin' Salute The Music Of The Rat Pack, and that title is rather suggestive (for those not knowing, the “Rat Pack” was a name attached to the threesome of popular actors/ singers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr., who owned their name-giving to their alleged but never proven connections to the American Maffia. A European tour in promotion of White Teeth... can be expected to happen somewhere in the fall. And, I'd say, anyone into Swing music should go check the band out. Hopefully the band will be playing some other of their music too...as to not confuse people to much, you know!