By Sarah Foor
The Gingerdead Men are the kind of guys that update their Facebook fan page saying things like “We are contemplating our options. One- Wreck some necks. Two- Seduce the population of Latvia.” A dream guest at a show would be Ted Nugent. “The Nuge is always a great addition,” they say happily. One of their craziest shows was a Halloween gig dressed as zombies. They believe that “massive amplification is ALWAYS the answer.” How could you not like these guys? They seem like fun even before they pick up their instruments, but when they do, they happen to play some badass, bass-heavy metal that will indeed wreck your neck.
The five personalities that make up The Gingerdead Men (GDM) just started as a few guys rocking out in a Cuyahoga Falls basement in 1998; in the 12 years
since, however, they’ve travelled a less than simple road. Gingerdead first started when brothers Jason and Keith, who handle bass and guitar, respectively, teamed up with another guitarist, Kyle. It was only when the gang found their drummer, also named Jason, that the gaggle of axe men actually became a band. “We started playing together against a little keyboard beat, and got better and better each year, writing songs constantly, putting together 40 or 50 in a few years,” Jason the bassist explains. They say their sound touches on everything from new wave to no wave and “stoner rock, fake jazz, rockabilly, industrial, and noise along the way. Grindcore, punk, a little bit of hip-hop. Our inspiration never ends.”
In the dizzying pace of their first few years, they met studio singer Shaun, who sang backup vocals with the band as they recorded a boatload of locally released EPs. “Once 2005 came along, we decided to go on a little hiatus and we picked up a few different projects along the way,” they explain, with parts of GDM forming These Lakes, These Graves, Deathcrawl and Redshift. Nevertheless, they came together once again at a 2007 one-off reunion show, where “we realized, hey, this is pretty fun,” as Jason recalls. Shaun took the helm as the new lead singer and the band got a new start.
So, what’s there to expect at a Gingerdead Men show? Keith makes sure to pipe in, “It’s dangerous!”and pauses to laugh before explaining further: “We’ve yet to not have a moshpit at one of our shows. And if there isn’t a moshpit, we’ll yell at you to start one.” The rest of the band pipes in, “We are very loud. We are very high energy.” There is a comedically long pause. “And beers. Expect beers.”
Their most recent gig visited Akron in March, where they rocked out to their own songs and a few covers of Clutch, Fu Manchu, and the Jim Carroll Band. Expect another show late this month or in early May, and check them out at myspace.com/projectginger or become a fan on Facebook. You won’t regret it- their status updates are endlessly entertaining.
Hey guys. Thought your bassist was named Kirk? Dunno where I got that from.
Hey Fella’s. How’s it going?
I always knew you were superstars! Good to see you’re getting the recognition you rightly deserve boys.
Keith, have you ditched the ‘Grizzly Adams’ look yet?
Love to Brian.x.
Oh, and it’s great to know that Walkey’s still alive and kicking, not seen him since last Sept (pre India trip).
Funnily enough I’d heard that your bassist was called Kirk too? Has he left to go shoot squirrels????????
Keep up the good work.x.
First, thanks for the write-up. Second, to set the record straight, there was never a ‘Kirk’ on bass , regardless of whatever some people named Kirk may have said.
Third, our next scheduled gig is June 1st at Now That’s Class! with Forged in Flame, Lo-Pan, and Backwoods Payback, although we are trying to line something up for May. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Myspace for the latest on our upcoming gigs.
Also, a minor clarification – Redshift was fully functional long before Shaun joined up with the Gingers, and they are currently wrapping up production on a new EP.
i really like you guys keep it up