About Me
Saturday, November 5, 2005
Ruthless Interrogation
Munkys man goes bananasBy Missy Baxter
Special to The Courier-JournalMusician Mike Chandler likes to monkey around. As the lead vocalist/lyricist of the Louisville-based band Eddie & the F-Munkys, the amicable performer is known for his humorous, politically incorrect lyrics and his larger-than-life stage presence.Chandler, who is also a stand-up comedian, comes across like what might have resulted if one of the beehived babes from the B-52s had lured a nerd from Devo back to the Love Shack. His cohorts in crime are Derrick Wade Manley (guitar, vocals), Christopher "Woody" Mauldin (lead guitar), Lenny Lyles Jr. (drums) and Shawn Blair (bass).For the past three years, the band has held an open-mike night each Wednesday at the Highlands Taproom, 1279 Bardstown Road. They'll be there Wednesday. (It's a birthday party for Chandler, who turns 44, and "fans are encouraged to bring presents," he says.) They also play Tuesday at Hideaway Saloon, 1607 Bardstown Road. Both shows start at 11 p.m.The band's new CD, "The World's Greatest American Bar Room Rock 'n' Roll Band: Volume One," produced by comedy guru Tim Wilson on the FM Records label, is available at ear-X-tacy, 1534 Bardstown Road, and Underground Sounds, 2003 Highland Ave.Chandler stopped monkeying around long enough to answer a few Ruthless questions.How'd you come up with the band's name?I was in another band called "Jiggle the Handle" in the '90s. We rehearsed a lot, like for a year, but we only played two gigs. During one of those gigs, I had written the words "Eddie & The F-Munkys" on my arm, underneath my sleeve, and I took my shirt off during the show. Of course, the crowd went wild.Were you a band geek in high school?I wish! I've always wanted to be in a rock 'n' roll band and it's always been in me to make up silly songs. So, this is the result.Your songs touch on everything from confused sexual identity and over-inflated male anatomy to women with '80s hair and a big derriere. Is there any topic that's off-limits?Not really. We do have a reputation for being a bit raunchy. But believe it or not, out of about 50 songs we've written, most of them are actually pretty clean.Has anyone in the audience ever thrown things at you?Yeah, that happens to us all the time. Sometimes, they even throw good things. People often tell me that they hate my guts because they've had one of our songs stuck in their heads for days. Most bands are too serious, but we just want people to have fun and find the song's hook so that it will get stuck in their head. That's our goal: mind control.
