Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Those Humdingers, The Hemingers!

Few things rank lower on the tolerability index than cover bands; and even fewer still than cover bands whose catalogue consists of the musically annoying (as far as rock and roll was concerned, anyway) and soundalike decade of the mid 1950's to 1960's.  Michigan's The Hemingers are just such a band - in a way - but not.  See, they've nailed down a delivery that serves to shake the living shit out of those annoying rock 'n roll classics, and make them endlessly amusing.
Before their set at Frank's Power Plant in Bayview this past weekend, I overheard guitarist Dave Hemker explaining the band's sound to a curious inquisitioner: "We do mostly 1950's and 60's cover songs..." he said.  Several thoughts occurred:  
Thought #1: "Really? Is Michigan's wedding band market that saturated, these guys had to come all the way to Wisconsin for a gig?."
Thought #2: (glancing at the bar): "There is not enough alcohol in this place to get me through this band's set."
Thought #3: (repeat thoughts 1 and 2 over and over again).
I manned up, however, and as the band began to collect on the stage, and the bar's patrons began to make their way toward the "audience chamber", I dragged myself in there as well, reminding myself over and over again that they were going to play a 45 minute set - tops! - and then it'd be over.  Take your licks, man, you paid a $10 cover for this shit and they're part of the package - deal with it.
Much to my surprise, when The Hemingers started into their first cover of some '60's pile of crap, it was nothing short of hilarious!  It never crossed my mind that these guys would take the position of re-working those dusty old songs more so than covering them.  So here's the best description I can provide of what these crazy fuckers do:
Take a song by, say, Bill Haley & The Comets.  Let's say "Rock Around The Clock" (oh shit, really! - no one remembers that song! Yeah... no one should, but read on...) , and play it really fast, really metally hard, and have the lead singer scream out the vocals punk rock style.  Make the singer be a shorter guy, wearing oversized sunglasses - um... make him look kind of like a monk with mutton chops, in a yellow Charlie Brown t-shirt.  WAIT! - put the whole band in oversized sunglasses and yellow Charlie Brown t-shirts! Also, the stripes on the shirts would be horizontal lightning bolts.  There.  That's The Hemingers.
To some, this sounds like it would be kind of kitsch, to others this sounds like it would be severely fucking annoying.  To others still, it would sound like both.  To me and everyone else at their show last Friday night, it was absolutely awesome, and here's why: 


What The Hemingers have, that even the most good humored cover band doesn't, is (1) an ensemble of players that look, if cartooned, like something John Kricfalusi would illustrate.  You've got that aforementioned monk-with-muttons lead singer (Ben Lyon), two guitar players: one tall and skinny (calls himself Captain David Hemker), the other taller yet, thicker and baby-faced (known only as Rudy), and a boney little waif girl drummer (Tiffany "The She" Gordon).  Summary - they're a visually curious bunch, like living caricatures of - well, maybe of a Hannah Barbara cartoon more than Ren & Stimpy.  Ultimately, they're cartoony looking, just like 1960's era rock tends to be cartoony... in my humble opinion.  (2): They play their instruments very tightly.  Any perception of sloppy playing is absolutely intended and intentional - right on down to the consistent buzz and hum of their tube amplifiers.  Again - was it irritating? Hell no! It was hilarious, and it added to the feel of the music.  These guys (and girl) are very serious about not taking this seriously.  That's their charm.  And (3), and most definitely The Hemingers most endearing quality, is that they have lead vocalist Ben Lyon (Charlie Monk, to make a portmanteau).

Lyon is a constantly mobile performer,  very rarely staying on stage, and when he is, he's jumping up, crouching down, climbing on top of something, or working his way between the crowd, singing into their face.  Not a single person was put off by this, mind you - rather, people were disappointed when Lyon locked target on someone other than them.  It was less "whew - glad he went over to that guy" and more "aww damn, I wanted him to come over here!"  They loved it, and they ate it up, and these combined elements made The Hemingers a more amusing and entertaining show than anyone would have thought to expect.   If you weren't entertained, you simply weren't getting it.

"We're serious about being a band," Lyon explained to me, "and about putting on a good show, and giving people their money's worth - but we're also a bunch a goofballs and we like to have a good time.  The main goal is fun."

Naturally, it occurred to me that there had to have been shows The Hemingers have played where the crowd was just not expecting or accepting what they were in for.

"Yes!" Lyon exclaimed, almost too excitedly. "Our second show ever was a benefit for some chick with cancer.  It was full of little kids and old people.  And religious people.  All our gear kept fucking up, and our first rhythm guitarist had just left the band a week prior, even though he agreed to play this one show.  So there was a really weird vibe.  Our friends all got way too high, so we ended up playing to a bunch of blank stares and looks of disapproval."  Lyon paused thoughtfully before concluding: "They raised a bunch of cash... but that chick died anyway."  


Noteworthy here is that in total keeping with the nostalgic vibe, however skewed and abstract, The Hemingers project, I noticed they had an album available for sale on the merch table at their show.  On cassette tape.  Yep.  A colorful tape, too. I think it was pink or something, with a black and white inlay.  It was titled Cassette Bandwagon EP.  Now that's funny, I don't care who you are.  

"It's on tape because we didn't have the money to put out a record," Lyon says, "and I don't own a working CD player, so I'm not about to put something out I can't even listen to."  There was a long pause, in which he just looked at me through his sunglasses, very sober faced.  Then he added: "Plus, tapes are hip now. I guess."

Well, if they aren't, it's doubtful The Hemingers would care, and quite possible they could successfully convince us otherwise.  




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