Tiger Cried Beef

Excerpt from the October 26th 2005 column:

. . . The relatively new Keith Parkins-fronted Tiger Cried Beef followed with a smooth overcast tone. Not happy, not sad, but hopeful. It's interesting and evocative music that, despite its nonchalance, moves with a complex intensity and charm. . . . - Frank DeBlase (City Newspaper)

MARCH 8, 2006
Where'd this come from?

...Tiger Cried Beef on the other hand was louder and heavier. Where'd this come from? The whimsical songwriting was still there but these guys rocked harder than they have in the past. Very cool. Their frenetic set made way for Knife Crazy's spastic indie-rock. A little manic and hairpin. It was certainly fun to watch. - Frank DeBlase (City Newspaper)

I came in with low expectations for Tiger Cried Beef. Partly because of distraction of Bissell and due to the fact that I always prepare myself for the worst. Tiger Cried Beef (TCB) is a trio made up of guitarist Keith Parkins (bassist for Hinkley), Jonah Toll on bass (also of Hinkley), and drummer Jeff Thompson (Retreads). After watching the band set up, I was ready for a rehash of the sloppy, yet entertaining, NYC style of brash-ish rock that everyone’s doing these days. Yet, I was welcomed with more of a Posies ‘Amazing Disgrace’ type of power-pop rock mixed with a Mission of Burma influence for most of their set. I was impressed by how well they played together, their energy, and most of all, their catchy sound. My only beef (no pun intended) with the band is that I could only hear about a quarter of their vocals. What I did hear was great, but what I didn’t hear kept me longing for more. If you see that Tiger Cried Beef is playing out and around Rochester, I highly recommend catching this band. - Mystery and Misery

They could have been Evil Prince Shrimp. But in the slim arena of bands drawing their names from the pages of Thai restaurant menus, they are Tiger Cried Beef

The Rochester indie-punk outfit, which plays Tuesday with the excellent Shipping News at the Bug Jar, is maestroed by local underground Zelig Keith Parkins, who's played with -- or is currently playing with -- the Quitters, Duke Galaxy & the Pipeliners, El Destructo, Seneca Laines, Zoo Music, Kill Myself on Monday, Hinkley and 5 Watt Bulb. Throw in Jeff Thompson on drums and Jonah Toll on bass and you get ...?

"I've heard comparisions to Mission of Burma, Dinosaur Jr., Silkworm, with the pop sensibilities of the Posies," Parkins says.

Translation: Aggressive, cathartic, nihilistic, cheerful.

"There's still the wild dissonant chords," Parkins says of his work with other bands. "But now I'm trying to write pop songs."

The 34-year-old Parkins is part of an active local scene, which depends maybe a little too much on the same people.

"Joe Tunis, he's really pushed a lot, getting these noise bands and avant-garde bands here," Parkins says. "He's pushed the city's reputation for all these interesting things. Rob Filardo's doing the Garage-Pop label. It's nice that there's a wide variety of styles here, that it's not just the garage town." - Democrat and Chronicle

Quitters alumnus and current Hinkley/Five Watt Bulb bassist Keith Parkins unleashes yet another top-flight rock band (and another to feature Visionstain/Five Watt guitarist Jona Toll). Except this time he has a guitar in his hand, which he uses to paint huge, sun-bursting, floral chords reminiscent of the most sublime aspects of the Who and Queen, but without the pretentious bombast. Might be described as “the very gifted Keith Parkins really tears it up with a psychedelic rock band that’s moderate enough on the psychedelics so you won’t go into work still trippin’ the next morning.” - Saby Kulkarni