This will be a short yuleblog entry today (for me anyway) - things are piling up on me here at my house and I want to stay ahead of the game.
Thankfully, our next artist has never been short on self-promotion or humility - quite endearing in my opinion. I present to you the one and only Richard Cheese (www.richardcheese.com, thank you!).
RICHARD CHEESE BIO (snagged from his website - www.richardcheese.com, thank you!).
America's loudest lounge singer Richard Cheese and his Lounge Against The Machine swing band present the perfect mix of music, martini, and madcap. With his swanky jazz trio, his tiger-striped tuxedo, and his enormous microphone, Cheese sings lounge-style covers of rock/rap hits, turning everyone's favorite songs into traditional pop vocal standards. Just imagine Sinatra singing a Radiohead song, and you've got Dick.
The finger-snapping, liquor-lapping, night-capping crooner first stepped into the spotlight in 2000 with his LOUNGE AGAINST THE MACHINE CD. This critically acclaimed album featured "swankified" versions of alternative rock songs, such as Radiohead's CREEP and Limp Bizkit's NOOKIE, arranged for a big band sound.
Thanks to radio stations including KROQ/Los Angeles, Z100/New York City, and the nationally-syndicated Dr. Demento Show, Cheese soon found an audience that shared his love of lounge music, including rock star Brian Setzer, who hired Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine to play at his private Christmas party!
Soon, Dick landed a gig as the co-host and bandleader on MTV's "Say What Karaoke" series. He was also interviewed in 2001 on CNN, profiled in The Los Angeles Times, and featured as a category on VH1's "Rock 'N' Roll Jeopardy."
Dick also headlined frequent concerts at The House Of Blues in Los Angeles and Anaheim, The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, and radio station festivals like 91X X-Fest in San Diego, The WHFS HFSmas Nutcracker in Washington DC's Patriot Center, and the Y100 Feztival at Philadelphia's Tweeter Center. Richard Cheese was also hired to entertain at Blink182 drummer Travis Barker's first wedding!
In 2002, Cheese was back in blacktie with his TUXICITY CD, an album of uncensored alternative, rap, and pop covers, including loungey remakes of Sir Mix-A-Lot's BABY GOT BACK, Van Halen's HOT FOR TEACHER, and System of a Down's CHOP SUEY.
Dick's popularity grew with sell-out concerts around the U.S.A., plus a slot as the opening act for the Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Concert at the world famous Universal Amphitheater.
Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine also made appearances on The Opie & Anthony Show and The Howard Stern Show, Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" Morning Show, and RC & LATM appeared a dozen times as the Vegas house band on NBC's "Last Call With Carson Daly." The standing-room-only concerts continued in 2003, as Dick criss-crossed the country playing venues from the Mercury Lounge in New York City to Sunset Station Casino in Las Vegas.
Cheese returned in 2004 with his I'D LIKE A VIRGIN CD, an intuxicating collection of "loungified" covers, including a snazzy remake of Snoop Dogg's GIN AND JUICE, and an inspired version of Michael Jackson's BEAT IT accompanied by a children's choir.
That same year, Dick performed PERSONAL JESUS and BABY GOT BACK on ABC-TV's Jimmy Kimmel Live, and his cheesey version of Disturbed's song DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS was featured in the 2004 Universal Motion picture "Dawn Of The Dead" thanks to director and cheese fan Zack Snyder.
Richard Cheese played concerts all over the world in 2004, including a private performance at the Playboy Mansion, and sellout gigs in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Portland, Seattle, Honolulu, Portugal, and London.
In 2005, Dick released his fourth album, APERITIF FOR DESTRUCTION, an all-new CD of kooky covers for lounge lovers. This 18-track record included Vegas versions of songs originally by Guns 'N' Roses, U2, Black Eyed Peas, The Beastie Boys, Metallica, Slipknot, and many more. From 2 Live Crew's ME SO HORNY to Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT, Cheese served up another "fromage homage" to the hottest hits in music.
Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine performed a giant sellout concert at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles, and the band was hired to entertain at big-time showbiz events like the TVLand Awards, the Daytime Emmy Awards, and a Hollywood benefit for Hurricane Katrina.
In 2006, RC released two new albums. His greatest hits CD, THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE MOON: THE BEST OF RICHARD CHEESE, featured 10 all-new recordings plus 8 of Dick's cheesiest favorites. The album boasted newly re-recorded 2006 versions of Cheese classics RAPE ME, CLOSER, CREEP, NOOKIE, COME OUT AND PLAY, and FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT. Backed by a big band and a bigger sound, this was the biggest Dick yet!
In the winter of 2006, Cheese was back with his sixth CD, SILENT NIGHTCLUB, a collection of happenin' holiday hits just in time for Christmas. The all-new album included 14 spirited covers of songs like HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA, DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS, PERSONAL JESUS, I MELT WITH YOU, LIKE A VIRGIN, IMAGINE and ICE ICE BABY.
Plus, Richard Cheese recorded an all-new original song called CHRISTMAS IN LAS VEGAS, which was featured on the NBC-TV series "Las Vegas." Dick's versions of SILENT NIGHT and Beyonce's NAUGHTY GIRL were featured in the NBC soap "Passions," and his CDs debuted for digital sale on iTunes.
In the summer of 2007, Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine hit the road for their farewell "Drinkchronicity" tour. The band performed sellout shows for thousands of fans at the House Of Blues in Chicago and New Orleans, the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, The Derby in Los Angeles, The Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco, and The Social in Orlando, plus venues in Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, and San Diego.
Richard Cheese also began headlining monthly at The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, where he will continue to perform through 2008, including a sellout show on New Year's Eve.
Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine released their 7th CD in September 2007, DICK AT NITE. This album features lounge-style versions of classic TV theme songs, including THE BRADY BUNCH, THREE'S COMPANY, THE JEFFERSONS, and GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, plus more recent theme song hits like SOUTH PARK and SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. The album was also released on iTunes with exclusive bonus tracks, and several of Dick's tracks will be featured in promotional spots for TVLand, Comedy Central, and Nick At Nite.
The hardest working Dick in show business continues to perform sellout shows all over the world, from Las Vegas to London, from New York to New Orleans, from Honolulu to Hollywood. Thanks to seven CDs, a dozen tours, hundreds of concerts, 55,000 MySpace fans, and a million martinis, Richard Cheese has earned a prominent place in that prestigious pantheon of lounge legends: Frank ... Sammy ... Dean .......... and Dick.
www.richardcheese.com
myspace.com/richardcheese
lounge@richardcheese.com
TRACK REVIEWS:
1.) Holiday In Cambodia (originally by The Dead Kennedys)
A Dead Kennedys lounge cover... Only Richard Cheese could get away chanting "Pol Pot"!
2.) Like A Virgin (originally by Madonna)
Included here because of the role the Virgin Mary played at Christmas? Maybe the only listenable version of this song I like.
3.) Christmas In Las Vegas
"Rudolph sold the sled, now he's betting on red..." Loungey, Christmasey original from RC. What a trip, indeed!
4.) Jingle Bells (originally by The Singing Dogs)
I still laff hysterically whenever I hear this one... My favorite Richard Cheese song, period. This also can be heard on Kevin & Bean's "Christmastime in the 909" where you get to hear RC drop the F-bomb!
5.) Ice Ice Baby (originally by Vanilla Ice - is that possible?)
Winter song - maybe Christmas? Still infinitely better than Robert Van Winkle's version!
6.) Do They Know It's Christmas? (originally by Band Aid)
What if Sinatra instead of Geldof gathered all the singers of his generation to sing this song? Might have sounded like this... Man, that's high!
7.) Personal Jesus (originally by Depeche Mode)
I once dated a girl in HS who forced me to listen to Depeche Mode ad nauseum - when we split, I couldn't listen to another note... until now!
8.) Imagine (originally by John Lennon)
I'm sure Lennon would have been laughing as hard as I am... swing, Richard, swing!
9.) Last Christmas (originally by Wham - bonus track)
Richard gets through the intro, stops the band, and declares what most everyone thinks about this song... next!
10.) Naughty Girl (originally by Beyonce)
WOW! A tiki room version of a song I haven't heard and never will... To hear RC sing "I'm gonna be your naughty girl..." heh! Digging this very much!
11.) Christmas Time Is Here (originally by The Vince Guaraldi Trio)
Starts off loungey... but RC & LATM "heat it up" to hilarious and swankified levels! GENIUS!
12.) The Trees (originally by Rush)
Included because of Christmas trees? In any case, it's a hip, cover of a Rush song... get in the groove!
13.) I Melt With You (originally by Modern English)
The perfect song to defrost after an afternoon of tobogganing, caroling, or shovelling show! Let me sit by the fire with a hot toddy!
14.) Silent Night
The penultimate lounge version. Enough said.
Fourteen songs, fourteen winners. This CD could very well be left in my boombox until Christmas and even then into the new year. Just when you think you've laughed your last laugh upon hearing one of Dick's song for the umpteenth time, you'll find yourself laughing yet again.
This CD is a masterpiece. If I ever head back to Vegas, I will worship at the altar of Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine.
Capt
For those of you who might have missed that web site address, it's www.richardcheese.com, thank you.
