LADY
GAGA OPENS UP FOR
SMASH-UP DERBY IN LA!
Well, at least she did back in June 2008, at the Bootie LA 3-Year
Anniversary Pirate Ball at the Echoplex in Los Angeles. Check
out the video HERE!
FIND
SMASH-UP DERBY ON FACEBOOK AND MYSPACE
Yup, we love social networking sites as much as the next band.
So check us out both on Facebook and MySpace. Let's be friends!
SMASH-UP
DERBY VOTED "BEST COVER BAND" IN THE SF BAY GUARDIAN'S BEST OF
THE BAY 2009 READERS POLL!
Thank you to everyone who voted for Smash-Up Derby in the San
Francisco Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay 2009
Readers Poll. We appreciate
being voted the SF Bay Area's "Best Cover Band!"
SMASH-UP
DERBY IS THE HOUSE BAND AT BOOTIE AT DNA LOUNGE
You can catch Smash-Up Derby twice a month at the DNA
Lounge, where we're the house band at Bootie,
the biggest mashup bootleg club in the world. The band hits the stage every
2nd and 4th Saturday at 11 PM sharp! The DNA Lounge is at 375
11th Street at Harrison. More info: BootieSF.com
SMASH-UP
DERBY INTERVIEWED IN THE BEIJINGER, BEIJING, CHINA'S ENGLISH
LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER! Check out this interview with Adrian in The Beijinger from March 4, 2009.
SMASH-UP
DERBY IN CHINA!
Smash-Up Derby went to Beijing, China in March
2009 to play a series of shows at the famed nightclub Centro,
at the Shangri-La's Kerry Centre Hotel. The band played
three sets a night March 5-7, as
part of a special presentation of Bootie
Beijing, with DJs A Plus
D and Beau Toxx. Smash-Up Derby is the first mashup rock band
to ever play in China! CLICK
HERE TO CHECK OUT THE TOUR BLOG! CLICK
HERE TO SEE ALL THE PHOTOS!
IN
THE RECORDING STUDIO
We are nearly finished recording our long-awaited album! We're working
on a dozen different songs, which we will be releasing as
a full-length CD. Of course, for what we're doing, song licensing is
a bothersome nuisance, so we'll probably be doing this underground
style -- at least until we can find some sucker who wants to pay all
the publishing companies and lawyers that represent the songs we're
bastardizing! Stay tuned...
SMASH-UP DERBY A WEEKLY PICK
IN THE SF BAY GUARDIAN In the "Weekly
Picks" of the April 9, 2008 issue of the San
Francisco Bay Guardian, they write: "The only thing better
than a mashup — that fantastic alchemy that makes two songs,
played together, better than either is on its own – is a live
mashup. Which is exactly why Smash-Up Derby — the world's only
act to cover and mix songs on stage with actual instruments — is
the crowning jewel on the bizarre tiara that is Bootie
SF. (Imagine the bassist playing "Smells Like Teen
Spirit" and the vocalist singing "Billie Jean Is Not My Lover" and
you'll have some idea.) This month, the strange (and strangely sexy)
mashup party features the internationally renowned band along with
French mashup master DJ Moule."
VOTED "BEST COVER
BAND" – SF WEEKLY BEST OF 2007 Smash-Up Derby was voted "Best Cover Band" in
the SF
Weekly Readers'
Poll in their annual Best of SF 2007 issue. Thanks, San
Francisco!
INTERVIEW
ON SFSTATION.COM
Adrian did an interview about Smash-Up Derby for SFStation.com,
talking about the creative process of rearranging songs, being the
house band at Bootie, and how band practice can sometimes make his
brain hurt. You can read it all here.
SMASH-UP
DERBY CHRISTMAS MASHUP ON "SANTASTIC 4" HOLIDAY ALBUM Smash-Up Derby has contributed a holiday song for "Santastic
4," the annual holiday mashup/remix compilation.
"Christmas Bop" -- their mashup of The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg
Bop" vs. "Deck The Halls," "Silent Night," and "Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer" -- has been a part of the band's holiday
sets since 2006 -- and now it's finally available for download!
SF BAY GUARDIAN BEST
OF THE BAY!
Smash-Up Derby made theSan Francisco Bay Guardian's Best of the Bayissue
for 2006. Woo-hoo! We were an editor's pick in the "Entertainment and Nightlife" section,
under the category "Best Tori Amos meets Slayer." You can read all
about it here.
DEAN
GRAY - AMERICAN EDIT: THE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE
On August 11, 2006, Smash-Up Derby presented the world's first mashup
rock opera, based on the acclaimed (and banned) Green Day bootleg
album, Dean Gray - American Edit. The show was performed
live at the Bootie 3-Year Anniversary Pirate Ball at the DNA Lounge
in San Francisco, and featured performance artist Foxy Cotton in the
main role, with the band providing the instrumentation and vocals.
THE
STORY SO FAR:
Okay, look,
we know how most of these band bios start. It usually goes something
like this: Imagine a band that mixes [insert well-known indie band
here] with [insert famous pop artist here] sprinkled with
a dash of [for intrigue, insert descriptive noun here]. And
of course, it's usually complete bullshit. Unless, that is, you're talking
about SMASH-UP DERBY.
That's because SMASH-UP DERBY indeed does do all of the above
– quite literally. In fact, they're a totally kick-ass rock cover
band – except the singers think they're in a pop band. So while
the band is cranking out rockin' renditions of songs by Nirvana,
Franz Ferdinand, U2, or Metallica, the
singers are belting out Madonna, Michael Jackson, Christina
Aguilera,
or Run-DMC - at the same time.
On paper, it sounds like a train wreck, but in actuality, it melds
beautifully. With the band's skillful execution, these "hybrid songs" sound
like they were always meant to be together. You'll never hear the originals
the same way again.
However, mashing up the music is only part of what makes Smash-Up Derby
unique. Their stage presentation makes them one of San Francisco's
most exciting bands, with singers Adrian and Mimi playing off each
other, bringing a polished sense of glamour and theatricality to the
proceedings. Meanwhile, the band – to put it bluntly – simply
rock out with their cock out. It's a culture clash that's exciting
to watch, and even more exciting to listen to.
