Get On With It

Saturday night I went the album release show at The Lion's Den for some friends of a friend. The band is called Shoot the Messenger, which I have to say is a great band name. The show was lots of fun. Opening for them was their professor's band, The Bronze Fondue, and one of the members of Shoot the Messenger played with them. They had costumes and they were pretty funny. Shoot the Messenger was up next and they were great. They had lots of energy. One thing I thought was neat about them was that they switched instruments like practically every song, which goes to show that they are all multi-talented individuals.

I'm going to digress momentarily to write about my first introduction to some of the members of Shoot the Messenger. They are recorded music students at NYU. My freshman year roommate (the friend who also brought me to their show this weekend) played their freshman year final project for me - it was a boyband spoof song entitled Boom Shika La (She Move Me). It started off as a joke, but then they really went through with it. They recorded that song under the name Prisons of Fun. I'm not sure how many of the members of Shoot the Messenger were involved, but I know at least two were and I believe this was probably one of their earliest collaborations together. I have to say, Boom Shika La (She Move Me) is one of the catchiest, funniest songs I think I've ever heard - much like most real boyband material, and I think they could've had a smash hit had they gotten it into the right hands. I was very disappointed that they didn't perform Boom Shika La at the Shoot the Messenger show.

Luckily, Shoot the Messenger still knows how to write catchy tunes, even when they're not mocking boybands. Their debut EP, "Get On With It," is six songs that I won't be able to get out of my head for a long time. From the first bouncy Didn't Know to the last country-flavored (and surprisingly my favorite) Going Home, each song makes you want to sing along. They are a rock band, but each song has a slightly different feeling to it, which is nice. So go over to their myspace and have a listen. I'm not sure how you can purchase the EP from them at this very moment (they were for sale at the show) but it will be on iTunes in a few weeks, so keep your eyes peeled (what a gross saying!). And if you really need it right this very minute, I'm sure if you send them a message or something, they would be glad to sell it to you. Some samples for you:

Boom Shika La (She Move Me) [mp3] - Prisons of Fun

Didn't Know [mp3] - Shoot the Messenger

Going Home [mp3] - Shoot the Messenger

Photos by Laura Schwartz.

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