1987-04-08 The Indianapolis Star
Rock Duo From New York Has Giant Sense of Humor
By Jill Warren, The Indianapolis Star, April 8, 1987
Archived from: Newspapers.com
They're the wizards of weird, humorous popsters for the smart set who meld such dissimilar sounds as cow punk, carnival rhythms and funky rock into quickie songs that deliver an unexpected spark of good humor.
They Mights Be Giants, a New York-based duo currently enjoying a wave of positive press and MTV hype, will bring its own peculiar brand of pop to Second Story tonight. The performance is part of the group's much touted "Bring Me the Head of Kenny Rogers" tour.
"It's the second leg of that tour. We still have that thought in mind," said Giant John Linnell, the group's accordionist, calling from a rain-soaked phone booth somewhere in Pennsylvania. "But this time around we brought a lot of Frank Sinatra tapes. We listen to him as we roll down the highway."
Music found on the band's self-titled debut album (Bar/None Records), however, brings to mind neither Sinatra nor Rogers. And that's just fine with guitarist John Flansburgh, the other Giant. "Our scene has changed a lot in the past three weeks. Last time (we were on tour) there were the dozen or so people who knew exactly what was going on, with the rest of them scratching their heads."
"That's OK," he added. "Better their heads than their chins."
The growing number of Giants fans live for such non sequiturs. The glib Giants are prolific songwriters the 3-year-old group estimates it has at least 300 originals, most of which last less than two minutes who regularly crank out titles like "Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head", "(She Was A) Hotel Detective", "Youth Culture Killed My Dog" and "Absolutely Bill's Mood".
A sampling of the band's quirky music can be had by calling Dial-A-Song, a novel answering machine service that is changed daily, even during a tour. "My landlady's daughter dutifully changes the songs every day," said Flansburgh. "We did a couple of new ones before we left, but we've also got a hundred or more tunes taped." Flansburgh figures about 50 callers check in with Dial-A-Song each day, many of them regulars who leave messages. When we tried the number (718-387-6962) Monday, we heard "Mainstream U.S.A.", a scratchy ditty that worked in the "We Are the World" chorus.
"That's a weird song," admitted Flansburgh. "Sometimes people leave messages asking what the songs were about. Some people say, 'Don't leave your day job.' But the Dial-A-Song service is great. We get to play things there we'd never put on an album, or even play live. I'm glad we have that outlet."
Still, Flansburgh is uncertain about being hailed as this month's Next Big Thing by rock writers who are amused by band's sense of the bizarre. "I like a lot of music that's weirder than what we do, so it's strange that people think we're so weird," he said. "We live in the age of U2. The idea of any thing having a non-grim feeling to it is unusual."
The band, which has performed in New York clubs for three years, only recently starting playing in other parts of the country. "We've both been pleasantly surprised at how incredibly well received we are," said Flansburgh. "In New York, people tell you it's weird out there, that people aren't as receptive to new things. But it's not the case. We've had a lot of wide awake, really sophisticated audiences that are having a good time."
Linnell agreed but said the duo is doing its best not to get carried away with the applause and accolades. "I just want to make sure it's not just a shooting star scenario. That doesn't interest us," he said, noting both he and Flansburgh still have free-lance day jobs. "We're not rich. In some ways, I don't really expect that." he said. "We don't want a million dollars right now. We just want to be able to make another record."
And have a lot of fun.
"Oh, definitely. This is the best thing we could do and I'm glad people are enjoying it," said Flansburgh. "I'm having a gas. The idea of driving around for hours on end in a minivan not having a good time would be really bad."