Fangboner

With an eye-popping name like Fangboner, I had to stick this disc in as fast as possible.

“A Joke Gone Bad” is an introductory EP for the Cleveland based band. The promo card describes them as “Poison meets Guttermouth” but their sound is more of a garage rock sound than that of some crappy hair metal band, thankfully. The Guttermouth part is accurate with Fangboner’s lyrics leaning more towards the raunchy side. One of their songs is titled “Banana Jammin’ Your Daughter” so there you go.

Musically, the band is pretty good. The songs have some good guitar parts, the drumming is steady throughout and the vocals fit Fangboner’s style of music. I’m sorry for leaving you out Mr. Bassist. You’re pretty good too. The lyrics sometimes border on immature but they have a song called “The Corpse Of Chewbacca” so I can deal with that. What I can’t deal with is the semi-acoustic ballad. I hate semi-acoustic ballads, period.

For an EP, A Joke Gone Bad is a pretty good sampler of the range of the band. I am anxious to hear a full length from Fangboner in the future, which they should send me.

http://www.readjunk.com/cdreview.php?rv=2000 - Creature of War

With an eye-popping name like Fangboner, I had to stick this disc in as fast as possible.

“A Joke Gone Bad” is an introductory EP for the Cleveland based band. The promo card describes them as “Poison meets Guttermouth” but their sound is more of a garage rock sound than that of some crappy hair metal band, thankfully. The Guttermouth part is accurate with Fangboner’s lyrics leaning more towards the raunchy side. One of their songs is titled “Banana Jammin’ Your Daughter” so there you go.

Musically, the band is pretty good. The songs have some good guitar parts, the drumming is steady throughout and the vocals fit Fangboner’s style of music. I’m sorry for leaving you out Mr. Bassist. You’re pretty good too. The lyrics sometimes border on immature but they have a song called “The Corpse Of Chewbacca” so I can deal with that. What I can’t deal with is the semi-acoustic ballad. I hate semi-acoustic ballads, period.

For an EP, A Joke Gone Bad is a pretty good sampler of the range of the band. I am anxious to hear a full length from Fangboner in the future, which they should send me.

http://www.readjunk.com/cdreview.php?rv=2000 - Creature of War

With songs like "Quiet Riot," "Corpse of Chewbacca," and "Banana Jammin' Your Daughter," it's obvious that Fangboner's debut ain't sophisticated -- but sometimes, cheap laughs are the best ones.

Hailing from the western 'burbs, the quintet plays chunky power-pop beefed up with choruses common to '80s club rock: earnest sing-alongs about lookin' for love and livin' the hard life on a cold city's mean streets. "One/Night/Stand!" chants singer Sheamus Carney in "If It Was Always This Easy," an ambivalent anthem about playing the field. Carney doesn't like club girls, but he sure seems to have a good time with them. It'll make you groan or giggle, guaranteed.

http://www.clevescene.com/2007-03-21/music/fangboner/ - D.X. Ferris

With songs like "Quiet Riot," "Corpse of Chewbacca," and "Banana Jammin' Your Daughter," it's obvious that Fangboner's debut ain't sophisticated -- but sometimes, cheap laughs are the best ones.

Hailing from the western 'burbs, the quintet plays chunky power-pop beefed up with choruses common to '80s club rock: earnest sing-alongs about lookin' for love and livin' the hard life on a cold city's mean streets. "One/Night/Stand!" chants singer Sheamus Carney in "If It Was Always This Easy," an ambivalent anthem about playing the field. Carney doesn't like club girls, but he sure seems to have a good time with them. It'll make you groan or giggle, guaranteed.

http://www.clevescene.com/2007-03-21/music/fangboner/ - D.X. Ferris

Straight from the dark alleys of every bar in Cleveland comes the rock and roll band known as Fangboner. If the name isn't a hint of the lewdness to come, then here is your warning: there is lewdness to come. Rolling high off the debut of their first EP, A Joke Gone Bad, Fangboner can only relish in the fusion of punk and rock they have created.

The EP kicks off with "Quiet Riot." Although the song shares the name of an infamous 80's hair-metal band, the vibe that grabs you first is one of punk rock. Even with a semi-rock lead intro, the beat quickly takes on the persona of 90's punk with straight rolling power chords. The vocals and drums salvage what little is rock and roll about this tune, providing the listener with a sing-a-long chorus that has no doubt been screamed during many wild Ohio nights.

"If Only It Was This Easy" continues the EP's punk vibe with similar guitar work. This time around the vocals are a little less rock, a little more punk. A cat call vocal line screams of 80s rock influence, though the words being spoken lack the attitude that was the decadence of the 1980s rock scene. Singer Sheamus Carney makes sure this is an audience-friendly song again, however, with the repetitive chant of "one night stand!" throughout the song. A hilarious line at the end of the song caps off the tune and adds a little bit of the rock'n'roll attitude that had been lacking before.

Explicit, eerie, and overall awkward, "Corpse of Chewbacca" finds a spot deservedly so in the middle of the EP. Blending into "Banana Jammin' Your Daughter," the obscenity only gets worse. As the song title would imply, the song is all about sexual acts with the daughter of some unfortunate father and includes an insulting dialogue between the banana jammer and the father.

Fangboner finally attains rock credibility with, surprisingly, a ballad. Tranquil acoustic guitars flow through "Sad but True," while electric power chords in the chorus bump up this tune from a ballad to a flow blown power ballad. Poison would be proud.

Overall, the members of Fangboner lack the attitude to be true rock and rollers. As Jack Black put it in School of Rock, rock isn't about getting laid and getting wasted (a recurring theme in the songs), it's about sticking it to the man. Even though Fangboner has some basic punk rhythms and good ideas going on, they fail to live up to the generation of rockers before them. Regardless of their lack of edge in their heavier songs, "Sad but True" makes up for it and is a great song to listen to over and over again.

If getting wasted, scoring women, and perhaps lamenting about them later, however, is your thing... A Joke Gone Bad is your new life soundtrack.

http://www.independentclauses.com/v2/home.htm (April) - Erik Williams

Straight from the dark alleys of every bar in Cleveland comes the rock and roll band known as Fangboner. If the name isn't a hint of the lewdness to come, then here is your warning: there is lewdness to come. Rolling high off the debut of their first EP, A Joke Gone Bad, Fangboner can only relish in the fusion of punk and rock they have created.

The EP kicks off with "Quiet Riot." Although the song shares the name of an infamous 80's hair-metal band, the vibe that grabs you first is one of punk rock. Even with a semi-rock lead intro, the beat quickly takes on the persona of 90's punk with straight rolling power chords. The vocals and drums salvage what little is rock and roll about this tune, providing the listener with a sing-a-long chorus that has no doubt been screamed during many wild Ohio nights.

"If Only It Was This Easy" continues the EP's punk vibe with similar guitar work. This time around the vocals are a little less rock, a little more punk. A cat call vocal line screams of 80s rock influence, though the words being spoken lack the attitude that was the decadence of the 1980s rock scene. Singer Sheamus Carney makes sure this is an audience-friendly song again, however, with the repetitive chant of "one night stand!" throughout the song. A hilarious line at the end of the song caps off the tune and adds a little bit of the rock'n'roll attitude that had been lacking before.

Explicit, eerie, and overall awkward, "Corpse of Chewbacca" finds a spot deservedly so in the middle of the EP. Blending into "Banana Jammin' Your Daughter," the obscenity only gets worse. As the song title would imply, the song is all about sexual acts with the daughter of some unfortunate father and includes an insulting dialogue between the banana jammer and the father.

Fangboner finally attains rock credibility with, surprisingly, a ballad. Tranquil acoustic guitars flow through "Sad but True," while electric power chords in the chorus bump up this tune from a ballad to a flow blown power ballad. Poison would be proud.

Overall, the members of Fangboner lack the attitude to be true rock and rollers. As Jack Black put it in School of Rock, rock isn't about getting laid and getting wasted (a recurring theme in the songs), it's about sticking it to the man. Even though Fangboner has some basic punk rhythms and good ideas going on, they fail to live up to the generation of rockers before them. Regardless of their lack of edge in their heavier songs, "Sad but True" makes up for it and is a great song to listen to over and over again.

If getting wasted, scoring women, and perhaps lamenting about them later, however, is your thing... A Joke Gone Bad is your new life soundtrack.

http://www.independentclauses.com/v2/home.htm (April) - Erik Williams

If Fangboner’s debut CD were a movie it would be the teenage sex comedy classic “American Pie”. Like that movie, Fangboner is a bit juvenile in their delivery and subject matter of their songs. 99% of the short 5 song CD deals with sex, partying, sex, drinking, and partying while drinking and having sex. But what’s a fun party without booze and sex? Fangboner doesn’t pretend to hide what they are about. With such titles as “Corpse of Chewbacca” (a song about waking up in the morning with a less than attractive member of the opposite sex in bed) and “Banana Jammin’ Your Daughter” (I doubt I need to explain this one), Fangboner practically telegraph the type of music you’re going to hear - juvenile, but fun punk/pop rock with tongue-in-cheek lyrics that are quite funny when you understand what lead singer Sheamus Carney is saying.

The only real problem for A Joke Gone Bad comes at the end, with the song “Sad But True”. The song is actually a ballad that shows Fangboner is a bit more mature than they let on. While I normally applaud a band showing a contrast in style, “Sad” stands out like Stiffler’s mom - it just doesn’t fit with the rest of the CD’s party-like atmosphere and ends the CD with a thud.

All in all though, Fangboner’s fun approach to their material is sure to be infectious for their intended audience and it’s an admirable first CD for this local Olmsted Falls band.

http://www.domaincleveland.com/index.php?pid=reviews&aid=558 - Mark Malafarina

If Fangboner’s debut CD were a movie it would be the teenage sex comedy classic “American Pie”. Like that movie, Fangboner is a bit juvenile in their delivery and subject matter of their songs. 99% of the short 5 song CD deals with sex, partying, sex, drinking, and partying while drinking and having sex. But what’s a fun party without booze and sex? Fangboner doesn’t pretend to hide what they are about. With such titles as “Corpse of Chewbacca” (a song about waking up in the morning with a less than attractive member of the opposite sex in bed) and “Banana Jammin’ Your Daughter” (I doubt I need to explain this one), Fangboner practically telegraph the type of music you’re going to hear - juvenile, but fun punk/pop rock with tongue-in-cheek lyrics that are quite funny when you understand what lead singer Sheamus Carney is saying.

The only real problem for A Joke Gone Bad comes at the end, with the song “Sad But True”. The song is actually a ballad that shows Fangboner is a bit more mature than they let on. While I normally applaud a band showing a contrast in style, “Sad” stands out like Stiffler’s mom - it just doesn’t fit with the rest of the CD’s party-like atmosphere and ends the CD with a thud.

All in all though, Fangboner’s fun approach to their material is sure to be infectious for their intended audience and it’s an admirable first CD for this local Olmsted Falls band.

http://www.domaincleveland.com/index.php?pid=reviews&aid=558 - Mark Malafarina