PEELANDER-Z
By: Mark Marker
Peelander-Z is touring in support of their new metal album Metalander-Z! This is a departure from their pop-punk sound they have released on their previous seven records. Chicken Ranch Records is still pimpin their stuff, and they are still the live action comic band we all know and love. Their stage show did lose Peelander Red, and we will miss his gravity defying bass geetar playing! However, Pink, Purple, Green and Yellow are in full effect. They are still climbing speaker stacks and swinging from the clouds, with their hugely over the top antics. There is sure to be some new tricks, along with singalongs, human bowling, twister and other fan participation games and cheers. They have been touring relentlessly, along with their new release. They have played so many great shows with awesome bands supporting and sharing headliner status. Bands like Blink 182, The Casualties, Rocket From The Crypt, Rancid, Bad Religion and Gwar not only have shared the stage with the band from planet Peelander, but are committed fans that are often found in their audience!
The record is a masterpiece in a Weird Al kind of way. They really tackle Glamrock more than metal, but bands like Van Halen, Bon Jovi, White Snake and Quiet Riot often get branded as metal. While the hair bands of the 80’s still have serious levels of respect from dedicated fans, the spandex and makeup were perfect prelude costumes for Metalander-Z. Some of us who did not fall in with the hordes of buttrock fans, can still appreciate this record, as it comes from Peelander-Z. They don’t really make a mockery of the movement as much as they do themselves, and it is done in true comic form. They nail the sound and will win fans that are still stuck in that era, as well as entertain those who never heard of WASP, or Queensryche. The 27 second song, “Two Bass”, gets heavy enough to scare your average buttrocker, but again, it is only 27 seconds long. Yellow’s punkrock vox doing the alphabet song is there for the dedicated fans of old to enjoy and rawk out to. “I got fired” is punky thrash metal with lyrics most of us can relate to. There are some gems here, especially if you grew up in the 80’s, and drove a camaro. These guys know how to make you bang your head and are always worth a visit to see them live. If you hate hair bands, then you will still love Peelander-Z’ live show, no matter what they sound like. This record is a win!
Peelander-z, like Gwar and ICP, are big fans of pro wrestling and have made appearances with their close friends, Nick Mayberry, M-Dogg 20, Matt Cross and Josh Prohibition. Nick Mayberry has stormed the stage of their live shows on several occasions, assaulting the band, and ultimately suffering defeat and getting pinned, earning Peelander-Z HCW Hardcore Championship Titles. It is common occurrence for the band to smash chairs over each other and to allow audience members to get on stage to participate in the wrestling mayhem. Peelander Yellow actually broke his foot jumping off the 2nd story balcony, of a venue they played in New Mexico. In addition to wrestling fans on stage, they will also allow complete and total strangers from the audience get on stage, and play their instruments, while running crazy all over the walls and ceiling. They will show the fan what note or chord(s) to hit and give them a beat, then completely leave the stage to wrestle, dance, lead cheers and play games. While the whole band consists of audience members holding down the song. Peelander-Z insists their Mighty Morphine Power Ranger Suits are not costumes, but actually their skin. I believe them!
Don’t you? What is cool is they shed their skin and it grows back, on command!
Mr. Lewis and The Funeral 5 will be rejoining their label mates, Peelander-Z, on stage at Mohawk on September 28th! Bring Fat Sharpies and Pez!!! Mr. L and F-5 bring this sick ass Death Lounge that reminds you of getting wasted and then screwing up enough to remember, after it’s too late, again. These guys are one of Austin’s finest bands. They tell great stories with feeling, backed up with mean space polka. They are whiskey driven and will make you crawl into a bottle of Jameson just to put a cap on it and put you in their pocket. It is infectious. Like herpes that you don’t want to go away. Like the sore you can’t stop picking and it keeps getting bigger and more infected, but you can’t stop peeling off the fresh scab. They will become an obsession, at least for their whole set, and then every time you hear one of their songs playing at The Triple Crown, or on KUT, it will put you in a trance, and make you do things you won’t admit to yourself, your friends, or ANYONE tomorrow.
P.S. For those of you who miss Peelander Red and want to know where he is, well… he is now teaching at The Ninja High School.
peelander-z.com
www.mrlewis.us
www.chickenranchrecords.com
www.mohawkaustin.com
