We are stoked to give our original presentation of “Fromage Homage”, the newest compilation of King Pizza Records artists covering each other, and serving a nice introduction to the DIY garage rock, fuzzy, psych label from the heart of the NYC art scene. Each of these passionate rtists gave their time and energy to reinterpret a song that a friend (of a friend?) created and it seems they have really enjoyed it. This looks and sounds like a thriving, supportive community of independent artists and IDIOTEQ is all about that kind of stuff. We have teamed up with the label once again and asked the bands what they think of their cover mates.
HEAVY TRAFFIC covering “Sludge” by SUPER FM:
Super FM was one of the first king pizza bands that we played with.
They ruled live and we really dig their album Fuckbird Barnacle.
Sludge is a killer opening track and we are stoked to be apart of this cool release.
Could it really be that this world is just another planet’s pizza?
THE RIZZOS covering “God Is Dead” by SUN VOYAGER:
We have a King Pizza “Band Family” face books group that has all of the King pizza band members (and other artists) in it. One day, I think it was Jason from Jacques Le Coque and Dan Soto + The High Doses posted the idea of having a KP bands covers KP bands comp and we ran with it. We’re not the kind of band to pass up the opportunity to be on a comp or do something weird, so we decided to try and pick the band that we sound the least like – which, to us, is Sun Voyager. It doesn’t hurt that the dudes from Sun Voyager are our buddies and that Betty and Stefan have a pseudo-sibling/dynamic duo relationship. It would have probably been more in our wheelhouse to cover someone like El Silver Cabs or Sirs and Madams but when else would we have the opportunity to be a psych band?
This whole comp is really fun and an awesome reminder that we’re not just people that are on the same label – we really love each other. That sounds so corny but it’s a nice reminder that we’re not doing this to be “famous” or some shit like that, but because we have a community of people that like to celebrate and fuck with each other.
THE FUCKTONS covering “I Don’t Ever” by SIRS & MADAMS:
We fucking love Sirs & Madams and we wanted to cover the most un-Fucktons song we could. So we could fuck it up. Now, rather than nice and full of feelings, it’s got surf riffs and reverb.
LONG KILL covering “Swamp Taco” by THE MAD DOCTORS and HALF MOON covering “Birthday” by Dan Soto:
Commentary by Justin Ferraro:
Dan’s songs are always wonderfully loopy with sort of dry, very morbid underpinnings and “Birthday” is a tremendous example of that tendency. The song starts out like any good generic birthday song for children but the conversational, almost banal tone of lines like, “Someone said it was your birthday, I guess it must be true” is then radically juxtaposed with the suddenly dark, occult imagery of the chorus which describe demons and ritual pacts. It’s really quite an apt analogy for love and I find it incredibly poignant.
My original thought when covering this song was the plumb deeper into the depths of the darkness and create some sort of creepy, rickety, haunted carnival song out of it. However, since I was rushing and basically improvising everything I immediately failed and got more of a happier carnival song which I eventually to decided to end in a grandiose climax to subvert what I perceived as the intended purpose and meaning in both Dan’s original and my preliminary vision. I think in the end though it kind of ruins the song or at least transforms it into something unrecognizable. I regret that and I think people should really only listen to Dan sing it.
All the recordings on this thing were great but I think the best covers reinterpret their originals and in that regard Sludge Judy’s take on “Understate” by The Royal They was just fantastic in the way that in transformed the atmosphere and energy from something tense and explosive to steamy and feverish. Also, Heavy Traffic’s atmospheric cover of “Sludge” is literally crushing.
Long Kill was born out of a collaboration between myself and The Mad Doctors and so it seemed only fitting to me now that that original arrangement has dissolved that I pay homage to them, three good friends who have inspired me artistically and have been each irreplaceable sources of advice, support, and friendship, with a solo recording of one of their best songs. The Mad Doctors have been and continue to be one of my top favorite bands in New York (a very elite list) and I am always exhilarated and refreshed by the new material they put out. “Swamp Taco” is a song that caught them at their struttin’-est and it’s one of my favorite tunes to rock to. Take a cue from Seth’s recording style I thought it fitting to record this cover on tape, using a four-track recorder and gratuitous amounts of analog delay to make a wonky and subdued tribute to the Doctor’s indelible sense of groove
I’ll admit that I was a originally bit dismayed when I was informed that St. James and The Apostles had chosen to do the same song, since they are an incredible force to be reckoned with. However, getting over my envy of their obvious talents I can say it’s great to hear that tune rendered dirge-like in electric organs, as though behind the rock ‘n’ roll show there was a haunted funeral procession shambling by.
THEE CREEPS covering “Nullo” by SUPER FM:
Well I think the comp is rad because its kind of the same idea as the label. I have friends in all of these bands, and I love hearing them play each other’s music the way they hear it. I wanted to cover Nullo because I love Super FM so much. I love their record to death and listen to it over and over. But I’m also friends with them in real life, and like get drunk with them and play shows and stuff. so its more personal than just playing a song you like. Its like getting inside the whole web that is king pizza.
Rich Seibert covering “Anything I Want You To” by THE RIZZOS:
The first time I ever saw The Rizzos live I was sold. Megan’s smokey vocal delivery and grungy guitar tone coupled with Justin and Bettina’s synergetic rhythm work provide a profoundly palatable soundscape that I find absolutely irresistible. More specifically, what I enjoy most about, “Anything I Want You To” is it’s subtle ballad feel that harkens back to 50s/60s roots rock. That feel inspired me to present their song with an instrumentation closer to Elvis Prestley’s, “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, and a performance aesthetic that sounds more like Roy Orbison in near-earth orbit. This project was not only an absolute joy from the perspective of a recording artist, but also as a Rizzos fan. I hope every artist on the comp had as much fun as I did working on this project, it certainly sounds like they did.
Sludge Judy feat. Rich Seibert covering “Understate” by THE ROYAL THEY:
The Royal They are cool so we did a cover
EL SILVER CABS covering “Personal Frankenstein” by THEE CREEPS:
When Greg hit up the label about the covers comp, we all knew we wanted to be on it. Our album’s been taking a while to finish and we wanted to get included on the comp as a way to put out new material in the meantime. We chose Personal Frankenstein because it’s one of my all time favorite garage rock songs. When we all suggested potential covers, I was a fierce advocate for PF. Those hits man, totally slamming. We also felt like, as a band, we wanted to cover a song we could do differently than the original. Zack (guitar) has a firm belief that if a cover doesn’t depart in a major way from the original track – it isn’t worth covering. I’m really thrilled with how it came together and the Comp sounds sick. I particularly dig the Rizzos cover of Sunny V and the Long Kill Mad Doctors cover.
St. James & The Apostles covering “Swamp Taco” by THE MAD DOCTORS:
Jeff says he loves the name. Me too actually! Ha! I guess you can print that. And of course we picked “Swamp Taco” because it’s my personal favorite Mad Doctors tune. It’s a killer riff and the scuzziest, heaviest thing that you guys have put out yet. Best thing about King Pizza is that all these bands sound so different, yet we’re all kindred spirits enough and talented enough to adapt each other’s material and make it our own.
OTTO MANN covering “Surfboard from Hell” by THE MAD DOCTORS:
We mostly chose the song because we’re an instrumental band and the song is one of the only instrumentals songs in the kp catalog.
And cuz we love the drs
I’m psyched we’re on it! it was alot of fun to record long distance, andy did the drums in nashville i did the guitars at the meatlocker
