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There has been a short history of one-man comedy
rock bands. Atom and His Package and Har-Mar Superstar
come to mind immediately. Grampall Jookabox
takes this genre to the next level through David
“Moose” Adamson of Indianapolis.
Jookaboz trail began with Adamson and his uncle,
who would mix four tracks and write rhymes over
the rhythms. Slowly Adamson’s skills and
list of equipment grew until he had what was necessary
take his show on the road, and that’s just
what he did.
In July of 2007 Grampall Jookabox released his
first album Scientific Cricket. Since then he’s
released an EP, Rill Brush, in MP3 format, and
his latest full-length album, Ropechain.
Ropechain touches on many genres including R&B,
Hip-Hop, Soul, Rock, and Punk. It also embraces
many themes including insanity and the paranormal
all with a twinge of neurotic comedy. This album
is enjoyable on a comic level with songs like
“The Girl Ain’t Preggers,” it’s
chorus crooning, “Oh, now don’t it
make you feel good / when the girl ain’t
preggers” and it’s various verses,
which start off expressing gratitude toward anti-pregnancy
and slowly lament into pro-pregnancy. The song,
“I Will Save Young Michael,” is about
Michael Jackson and Adamson’s brotherhood
ties as natives of Indiana.
Grampall Jookabox can be described as unique,
visionary, innovative, resourceful and maybe a
little bit crazy. All of these come together to
make Grampall Jookabox one of the craziest, most
entertaining acts in music today.
I had the pleasure of seeing Grampall Jookabox
at this year’s Monolith and came away with
a smile and appreciation for the innovation and
showmanship of Adamson. As a one-man band, Adamson
relies heavily on the use of music loops, which
he records right before your eyes. Loop after
loop, his songs build, and once they’re
going, it’s evident that Adamson is the
only band member needed. Even playing several
instruments simultaneously, Adamson still finds
the time and talent to march, dance, and skip
around the stage. Truly, this is genius showmanship.
You can see Grampall Jookabox at Hi-Dive on Tuesday,
November 18.
http://www.myspace.com/grampalljookabox
www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com
Matty H. , November 13, 2008
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