Member Since: 11/28/2005
Band Website: shuffledemons.com
Band Members:
THE SHUFFLE DEMONS: Greatest Hits
What happens when you cross 3 amazing saxophonists,a crazy dancing drummer & a killer acoustic bass player, have them sing about Buses, & Cockroaches & spend 1/2 the time playing in the audience? Kinda like if Jack Keroac met Sun Ra on the way
SHUFFLE DEMONS: Streetniks
If Sun Ra met Charles Mingus on the way to Run DMC's house, the resulting jam would sound like the Shuffle Demons. These costumed beatniks rose from the streets of Toronto and toured the world 15 times playing their unique brand of Bop Rap.
SHUFFLE DEMONS: Bop Rap
An amazing follow up to their outstanding debut 'Streetniks', Bop Rap covers all the bases. Early street hip hop, Mingus and Monk influenced jazz with some bluesy country, avante jazz and world thrown in the mix.
Touring band
* Richard Underhill
* Stich Wynston
* Perry White
* Artie Roth
* Kelly Jefferson
Demon Alumni
* Mike Murley
* Jim Vivian
* Dave Parker
* George Koller
* Mike Milligan
What do you get when you cross 3 amazing saxophonists dressed in wacky clothes, a crazy dancing drummer and a killer upright bass player and have them sing songs about Buses, Roaches and Hockey and spend 1/2 their time playing in the audience? The Shuffle Demons, that's what!!! They were a band that captured the imagination of a generation with their antics and amazing no holds barred playing and stopped traffic on a regular basis.
22 years later, the Shuffle Demons return to form with a greatest hits album, a soon to be released DVD and a whole lot of demonic attitude.
But who are these debonair ruffians, these satirical streetniks of stage, screen, and sidewalk... these Cartoon Hepcats with the cracked conviction of 5 Harpo Marxes? How did they start spreading shuffle ecstasy, only known antidote to seriousness in Canadian music? And is it really 20 years since the Demons first took the Spadina Bus??
The legend of the Shuffle Demons is well known to Canadians. Beginning in September 1984 with veteran street sax player Demon Richard Underhill pleasing the pedestrian multitudes at the corner of Yonge and Bloor in Toronto, the Shuffle Demons quickly evolved into an immensely popular street band. Drawing hordes of hipsters to their street gigs with their wild playing and exotic wardrobe, the Demons (Mike Murley, Stich Wynston, Jim Vivian, Dave Parker and Richard Underhill) next took their caustic collection of musical majesties and travesties inside and began pleasing bunches of boppers in Toronto clubs. Inspired by these fashion assassins and their original street hits Spadina Bus, The Shuffle Monster, Out of My House, Roach, and What do you Want? large delirious audiences began experiencing the early stages of shuffle rapture.
Looking to broaden their horizons, on May 12/85 the Shuffle Demons embarked on a 3-month whirlwind street tour of Europe. They played in clubs and music festivals in Germany (incl. East Berlin-close call with serious border people!), Italy and France and on the streets of 10 European countries.
Upon their return, these flagrant flag bearers of folly stormed the stages of the land, their newfound Gimi-wear (named after their Parisian/Gambian tailor) inspiring occasional attacks of ocular indigestion among the uninitiated. Their popularity continued to grow, and with it burgeoned the newly formed society of streetniks. With this support, the Shuffle Demons released their first album 'Streetniks'
Then things got really crazy! In 1986, John Gunn and Rob Fresco directed "Spadina Bus", the video which turned T.V. into Demonsville.
'Spadina Bus' became a MuchMusic hit, and was quickly followed by the hilarious 'Out of My House, Roach' (directed by Joel Goldberg). The Demons caught fire, sold more independent albums than anyone up to that point (15,000) were nominated for a Juno, won 5 CASBY Awards, toured like mad and released their 2nd album (Bop Rap) which featured a very popular rendition of 'Hockey Night in Canada.' More touring and more albums followed and soon the Shuffle Demons were playing to packed houses around the world with a new line-up featuring Perry White and George Koller. And brand new demon duds by Kurt Swinghammer.
The rest is history!
The Shuffle Demons released 6 albums and 7 videos in their 13 year career. They played 1000s of shows at every major jazz and folk festival in Canada during 15 Canadian tours. They toured Europe 15 times playing from Estonia to Italy, from the Netherlands to Norway, from Switzerland to Sweden, from Germany to Belgium. And all the while they kept audiences excited, dancing and smiling as they built up a solid fan base that to this day will never forget the music and the antics...stopping traffic with the famous 'Spadina Bus' walk around, playing a Mingus tune and really meaning it, thrashing around the stage in crazy interpretive dance, delivering the classic poem 'What do you Want.' DON'T MISS THE RETURN OF THE SHUFFLE DEMONS!
FACTS & Estimates
3 saxes, bass, drums, one goatee, 20 years later, 6 albums, 5 Casby's, 2 Toronto Musician Awards, 1 Juno nomination, 7 videos, 700,000 km, 3800 concerts, 6500 conga lines, 1 cockroach, 12 Beer my dear, 100,000 rubles, 1 Spadina Bus
20 countries, Canada, US, India, China, Cuba, Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, England, France, Spain, Scotland, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Italy, DDR, 15 European tours, 20 Canadian tours - nobody else like them!!!!!
Influences: Sun Ra
Mingus
Monk
Rollins
RunDMC
Sex Pistols
Gil Scott Heron
Bird
Trane
World Sax Quartet
Oliver Lake and Jump Up
Art Ensemble of Chicago
Village People
Barenaked Ladies (or did we influence them?)
Sounds Like: Mingus ran into RunDMC and Jack Keroac on the way to see the Flintstones...
Shriners on Acid...
Record Label: Stubby Records
Type of Label: None