StraddleDaddy

On Sunday, Middletown's Tuscany Grill hosted its annual Chili Competition & Rock Fest, and they set up a big stage in their parking lot right off of Main Street. I went and saw StraddleDaddy, who just won the Grand Band Slam Original Rock category. Criticisms about their name aside — it's the most local thing since Stanley Tools — they were actually very entertaining. They played a weird mix of Chili Peppers-style party rock (big fat basslines; thinly-veiled and comical sex lyrics) and jam-band improv. Quite an eclectic combo, but it works. Bassist Shawn Larochelle ripped out some incredible slap playing, and MC Symes struck a wonderful balance of humor and seriousness without ever once coming off as another annoying white rock-rapper. ¦ - Hartford Advocate

StraddleDaddy’s music is tough to pin down-a heaping helping of funk, but also modern rock, even rap, and the occasional line – movin’ on up – Lifted from the “Jeffersons “ theme and inserted into a song about sunglasses

...They’re good enough to play their own stuff at bars, where covers are a traditional safe way out.

Book ‘em - Record Journal

Student Association brings the Conn. band to the St. Michael's International Commons.

The show begins. The show kicked off around 9 p.m. as the band started jamming. They let the music flow for a few minutes while Perley continued to mingle with the crowd.....

Besides being musically talented, the band also knew how to have fun....

....The crowd took some time to warm up, literally and figuratively. However ever, as soon as the band broke into their song, “Ragtop” even the people who were once obvious wallflowers were dancing.

Freshmen Kristin Jarvis and Lauren Harvey were notably enjoying the music as they danced with some of the StraddleDaddy groupies. “I like them—it’s really good,” Jarvis says. Harvey agrees saying, “They are like a funky Sublime.”

Sophomore Abbey Axelrod-Dixon, who at one point was standing back, got recruited by the Straddledaddy groupies, who travel to every show, to dance. “I like them—I think they’re fun,” Axelrod-Dixon says.

At this point, it was hard to find a body that was not moving to Straddledaddy’s music. Perley was not lying when he said that their music won't let the audience stand still.

Senior Ed Burke may have summed it up best:“This is totally awesome—a rush. Anybody who doesn’t like this music had a really bad childhood.” - The Echo

The last band, Straddledaddy, made me laugh more than any should, but I’m not sure if it was a joke or not. My fellow judges and I didn’t think so, but the person who was sitting next to me said she thought it had to be a joke. A decent four-piece band plus two rappers seems quasi-normal, but Straddledaddy did things that I can’t even explain … this is a family newspaper. - New Haven Advocate

Posted on Thu, Apr 24, 2008

On the cutting edge of music

By JENNIFER SHAFER WOOD

MIDDLETOWN — StraddleDaddy is a six-member band with a punch — drawing in the crowds at local bars across the state and beyond.

This homegrown group has been playing music together for years. Originating from Middletown and lifelong friends before becoming a band, these experienced musicians are Dave Collins on the guitar and vocals, Brandon Warren on the drums and vocals, Craig Lundell on guitar and vocals, Shawn La Rochelle on bass and beat box, Erik Perley lead vocals and Chris Symington on vocals.

Collectively, their influences range from Bob Marley, Primus, Dr. Dre, Toots and Maytals, Helmet, James Brown and G. Love. The members of StaddleDaddy have the kind of chemistry that makes great music happen.

It is evident one Friday night at La Boca Cantina on Main Street in downtown Middletown where the dance floor was packed and elbow room only throughout the place. Playing original music that they compose together with a collaboration of beats, riffs and lyrics, each member brings their own style to the band and together their influences span through an array of musical genres like rock, funk, rap, country and heavy metal.

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The sound is rich with flavor and the fans love them. “Our songs are catchy,” Collins says as he sits strumming his guitar. All their songs have a texture of sound that sets them apart from other bands out there.

“American Made,” a song that is rap, rock and funk, “is a kinky patriotic song,” says Collins, and it is in the top 10 on HOOAH Radio, an Internet radio station that broadcasts overseas to troops serving in Iraq. “They have about a million listeners and we’re in the top 10,” said Warren, as talks about the group’s many accomplishments. They have also been featured on WCCC FM’s homegrown bands of the week, and recently opened up for Blind Mellon at the Warner Theater in Torrington.

This group of men is kept busy rehearsing regularly and playing gigs to packed houses. Music is their passion. “The cool thing is we’re getting away with playing our own music. It’s pretty rare. We have a loyal following. We’re playing our own songs and their singing them right back to us,” Symington says about StraddleDaddy’s fans. They have more than 100 original songs and three recorded albums: “Moxie On Fire,” “Surveys from a Fishbowl,” and one live album. The guys are working on a forth that will be out sometime in the spring.

They have a good time and are supported by a network of friends. Bill Nemecek, their friend and former manger, gave the band direction and helped to propel them to where they are today. “Bill helped to pull us together and get us on track when we felt like falling apart, he’s a great guy, and we’re thankful for all his support and hard work,” says Symington with a smile.

Though Bill is no longer officially with the band, he still lends his support when needed. Another lifelong pal, Tim Marchand of Ajar Communications out of Manchester, designed the band logos and album covers. He also helps to manage the band and is very enthusiastic about their music.

“They have an original sound and no one overplays the other. When they play live, people want more,” Marchand says as he snaps pictures of the group on stage. Marchand is their right-hand man and is a valuable asset to the group, accompanying them to rehearsals and gigs as well as designing CD jackets and promotional material.

When they need to record an album, their friend Dave Pine of Pine Trax Studio out of Holyoke, Mass., is their mixmaster. “We are different people, it’s like a puzzle. It’s really awesome — we respect each other,” said La Rochelle enthusiastically about the valuable friendships involved in the success of the group.

They’re humble with a desire to entertain and get the crowd jumping with the beats. During rehearsals, members collectively work out the music and as a group decide the direction of a song.

“Whatever comes to mind we’ll work on,” says Symington, as he describes how they write their music. One song can cover a range of musical sounds. “We do everything from hip-hop to rock,” chimes in Perley.

Comparing themselves to Sublime and Modest Mouse, StraddleDaddy is innovative, on the cutting-edge of new music. A song inspired by a girl in a club, titled, “San Fran Disco,” is a fast-paced collection of rhythm and rhyme that’s both funk and rap. “We’re moxie rock,” said Lundell. The word “moxie” is slang for courage, innovation and know-how. Inspiration for their music comes from a variety of places, but all band members agree the true inspiration is the act of making music that revolves around dancing, having fun, and good friendships.

The fan base is a loyal one, following StraddleDaddy to the venues they play. Recently, the band played for the first time at Sweet Jane’s, a rock and roll club on Pratt Street in Hartford. When they arrived at Sweet Jane’s, they were both excited and nervous because the place is large. Wondering if their fans would make a trip to Hartford on an icy night to hear them play, the guys set up and got the party started and the place was soon packed, according the StraddleDaddy members.

They no longer have to search for places to play, their reputation and the quality of their performance has bars and restaurants searching for them they reported.

They will be at The Hair of the Dog May 16 at 10 p.m. and on Memorial Day weekend, they will play at Strange Creek Campout in Greenfield, Mass. All of their music can be downloaded from I-Tunes or purchased at www.CDBaby.com. For information on appearances or to book Straddledaddy, check out www.StraddleDaddy.com or e-mail Daddy@straddledaddy.com.

For details, see www.wccc.com.omegrown.php.

- Middletown Press

Fans of former Band Slam titans the Silent Groove are clearly out there in force, fiending for a mix of rock and rap that has nothing to do with Limp Bizkit. They've found their fix in Middletown's StraddleDaddy, a six-piece hype machine with a singer, a rapper and a beatbox. These heathens play what they call "moxie rock," and boast a repertoire of over 60 original tunes and dozens of covers. It's high energy party music -- think Sublime on speed instead of pot. - Hartford Advocate