Inspired by the verse of Langston Hughes this spoken word n' rhythm stew is seasoned with searing guitar solos, voice boiling up from Hell vocals, Zappa -esque humor & the usual Bopaphonic rhythm of the saints, turned sinners.

10 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Modern Rock, HIP HOP/RAP: Alternative Hip Hop



Details:
Part rock rhythm meets odd rhythm, part political lyric meets tongue in cheek cynic, The Bopaphonics are a spoken word and rhythm band that defies easy categorization. Straighten Out Your Head could be mistaken for classic pop rock, if it werenât for that mid-song Reverend Bakerbop sermonette. Songs like Boogeyman (Fear Song) and Crystal Stairs employ the double MC vocal styling of Barry Barnes and Reverend Bakerbop but not as in any previous hip hop configuration. Roger Holdenâs guitar soars beyond classic rock with feedback & scratching rarely heard on this planet. And the Brandon Smyth/Colin Sean Mahoney rhythm section shift signature and style as simply as changing a shirt - or a pair of socks. Check out the shifting time
in Letter to the Academy. Or the funky groove of Boogeyman.

Yeah, sounds good on CD you say, but can they do it live? Check out the pure unadulterated live performance of the last track, Wave of Sorrow, recorded in August 2005.

Though they have been compared to the performance art of the Tubes, the humor of Frank Zappa, the dissonance of James Blood Ulmer, the grit of Tom Waits, the quirkiness of Talking Heads, the politrock of the Clash and the funky rhythms of Gorillaz & Soul Coughing, they are not quite like any of them. So please ignore the cookie cutter genres used to label the Bops & decide who they are for yourself. Sample the band that makes literate political music you can dance to, laugh at or put side by side on pop radio & indie left of the dial stations.


First 5 Tracks (Winter 2005 Bops):
Reverend Bakerbop (aka Robert Baker)
Barry Barnes - words, percussion, harmonica (5)
Roger Holden - guitar
Paul Hotvedt - drums
Astrid McMullen-Baker - bass, bells (3)

Present Day Bops (tracks 6-10):
Reverend Bakerbop - words, woodwinds, bells
Barry Barnes - words, percussion, strange sounds
Roger Holden - passion guitar
Colin Sean Mahoney - drums; also track 3, Debate
Brandon Smyth - bass

All songs written by Baker, Barnes and Bopaphonics
copyright 2005, Chameleon Productions

All songs produced and mastered by Colin Sean Mahoney
www.bopaphonics.com

"Bopaphonics' recent release, Channeling Langston, melds their usual pastiche of musical styles and spoken word with several of Langston Hughes' poems as lyrical inspiration...the politically charged lyrics are brought to life well by Baker and Barnes and sail when the two play off their vocals against each other as on the vitriolic "Crystal Stairs"...the varied mix of musical styles..is wholly original, which is much more than can be said of much music released today." - Anne Tangeman, The Lawrencian - January 2006