Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego's Long Tradition of Comedic Music

Jaye doesn’t mind the stereotype — she’s all into variety shows.
Jaye doesn’t mind the stereotype — she’s all into variety shows.

“The cool thing about performing funny songs is that you know immediately if the audience is enjoying the tune based on their laughter,” says rapper/rocker Rob Deez. “They’ll be laughing so hard at one line that they’ll miss the next. I’m not worried about being pigeonholed as a novelty act...there’s a lot of improvising in my act, and that appeals to the folks that wouldn’t otherwise be interested in what I’m doing.”

San Diego has a long tradition of comedic music, from Frank Zappa and his protégé Wild Man Fischer to the Rugburns (“Hitchhiker Joe”), the Beat Farmers (“Happy Boy”), the Bugs (“Dave Navarro’s Goatee Fucking Sucks”), Grammatical B (“Don’t Ask Don’t Intel”), and “the Mexican Elvis” El Vez, as well as José Sinatra, Adam Gimbel, and Mojo Nixon, whose comedic cut “Stuffin’ Martha’s Muffin” got him banned from MTV for singing about one of their VeeJay’s vajayjay.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Local duo Pony Death Ride (“Breaking Up with You Is Gonna Be Fun”) is recording a new full-length, with songs concerning fans of anthropomorphic funny-animal sex (“Furries”) and the former lead singer of the Smiths (“I Think My Boyfriend’s Gay For Morrissey”). “I do worry about being pigeonholed as a ‘novelty’ act,” says Joe MacAskill, “because people sometimes underestimate the amount of thought and time that goes into writing songs like ours. That’s why we incorporate the punk-rock element and a variety of musical styles, to show that we’re versed in our craft.”

His wife and bandmate Jaye MacAskill disagrees. “I don’t mind being stereotyped, because I’m a big fan of old-school variety entertainment, like vaudeville and burlesque in the pre-WWII era and TV programming like the Carol Burnett Show and the Muppets. It’s difficult to stand out as a performer among so many other people doing more or less the same thing, like ‘rock’ or ‘country.’ There’s more diversity within the novelty acts.”

Rob Deez is working on a new album, with planned tracks to include “Self Deprecating Love Song,” “Check Into Cash,” and “Hairy Palms.” “All I’m trying to do is entertain people. And everyone loves to laugh,” says Deez, who appears April 14 at the Lazy Hummingbird in Ocean Beach.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Seals hook up with Beaver

Salty’s Escape is a Mexican-Style cerveza brewed with corn and puffed Jasmine rice
Jaye doesn’t mind the stereotype — she’s all into variety shows.
Jaye doesn’t mind the stereotype — she’s all into variety shows.

“The cool thing about performing funny songs is that you know immediately if the audience is enjoying the tune based on their laughter,” says rapper/rocker Rob Deez. “They’ll be laughing so hard at one line that they’ll miss the next. I’m not worried about being pigeonholed as a novelty act...there’s a lot of improvising in my act, and that appeals to the folks that wouldn’t otherwise be interested in what I’m doing.”

San Diego has a long tradition of comedic music, from Frank Zappa and his protégé Wild Man Fischer to the Rugburns (“Hitchhiker Joe”), the Beat Farmers (“Happy Boy”), the Bugs (“Dave Navarro’s Goatee Fucking Sucks”), Grammatical B (“Don’t Ask Don’t Intel”), and “the Mexican Elvis” El Vez, as well as José Sinatra, Adam Gimbel, and Mojo Nixon, whose comedic cut “Stuffin’ Martha’s Muffin” got him banned from MTV for singing about one of their VeeJay’s vajayjay.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Local duo Pony Death Ride (“Breaking Up with You Is Gonna Be Fun”) is recording a new full-length, with songs concerning fans of anthropomorphic funny-animal sex (“Furries”) and the former lead singer of the Smiths (“I Think My Boyfriend’s Gay For Morrissey”). “I do worry about being pigeonholed as a ‘novelty’ act,” says Joe MacAskill, “because people sometimes underestimate the amount of thought and time that goes into writing songs like ours. That’s why we incorporate the punk-rock element and a variety of musical styles, to show that we’re versed in our craft.”

His wife and bandmate Jaye MacAskill disagrees. “I don’t mind being stereotyped, because I’m a big fan of old-school variety entertainment, like vaudeville and burlesque in the pre-WWII era and TV programming like the Carol Burnett Show and the Muppets. It’s difficult to stand out as a performer among so many other people doing more or less the same thing, like ‘rock’ or ‘country.’ There’s more diversity within the novelty acts.”

Rob Deez is working on a new album, with planned tracks to include “Self Deprecating Love Song,” “Check Into Cash,” and “Hairy Palms.” “All I’m trying to do is entertain people. And everyone loves to laugh,” says Deez, who appears April 14 at the Lazy Hummingbird in Ocean Beach.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Best Kratom Capsules: Top Brands, Benefits & Where To Buy

Next Article

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.