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The Mission Creeps

Sometimes we even scare ourselves!

About Me

NEWS & UPDATES

We're gearing up to record some of our newer songs.No shows planned until New Year's Eve . . . unless of course someone makes us an offer for a show we can't refuse. LATEST PHOTOS
The Highlights
West Coast Tour '07 -Anaheim CA, San Fran CA, Eugene OR, Seattle WA, Portland OR
Images courtesy Petah, Shutter2Think, and Johnathan Christ Lammas Night '07 at El Change-O Gallery, Bisbee
Images courtesy Matthew BesingerVIDEO
Surly Wench Pub, Oct. 19, 2007

Thanks to Daniel and Aznightbuzz.com for the videoSpiderhole
Case of the Zombies featuring Tucson Roller Derby
PRESS
KZSU- Stanford
In Sickness and In Health - Album Review
Horror surf garage rock with bluesy bits, and theremin, yay! It’s hard to tell how seriously to take these folks – a lot of it’s great fun, but some of it is fairly depressed. Lo-fi, in that there’s no attempt to make the vocals sound perfect (singer has a decent voice, mind you), and there’s definitely a major Cramps element.
No FCCs detected, but I can’t tell what he’s talking about half the time anyway. I like 3 and 9 a lot.
1. **starts with lots of theremin and electronics (spooky noises) then midtempo creepy surf rock. Definite homage to the Cramps, quite lo-fi.
2. *frug-a-go-go in the graveyard. Nice vocal harmonies, straightforward garage rock, Nuggets-oid.
3. ****fun ultra-slow oozing stroll, farfisa, fun lyrics.
4. *long congas intro, guitar and squeepy theramin... slow, downbeat. The spiderhole may be vaguely related to a wormhole, but it’s hard to tell.
5. *very quiet intro, whispery noises very slowly building to extremely slow, somewhat bluesy crawl. Quite convincing, but I’m not sure of what, exactly.
6. ***squeeps for a moment, then fuzz-rock. Do the pony! But watch out for the blood.
7. **starts with very quiet guitar, downtempo waltz, depressed pirate song with accordion. Arrr!
8. ***jaunty guitar and vocals intro, then bouncy, bluesy bop with harmonica.
9. ****bouncy, bluesy “working in the coal mine” meets “I’m a lumberjack” polka with cowbell.
10. *melancholy guitar and piano, slow, sad, and of course, weird.
11. **several seconds of near-silence, then bits of spooky noises, slow bluesy crawl. Instrumental with hauntings. Theremin wind noises for last 30 seconds.
Sadie O. -Reviewed 2007-10-29 Eugene Weekly 10/4/07
Case of the Zombies
Hey girls and ghouls, ready to wake up the dead? The Cramps coined this phrase during a show in 1995. The band has been credited by some as being one of the founders of the gothabilly/surf rock movement. Whether that is true I don't know, but the Cramps' unique mix of fun-loving surf sound, rough bellowy vocals and a focus on horror/monster themes has largely influenced the sound of many bands today. Bands like The Horrors, My Bloody Valentine and the Tucson band The Mission Creeps credit The Cramps as having had the largest impact on their music.
The Mission Creeps stay true to the classic surf rock style coined by The Cramps, using zombie inspired themes (check out the tracks "Graveyard Shift" and "Empty Coffin"), fast tempos and bluesy guitar riffs. The lead singer, James Arrr, has the perfect voice for this genre of music — a little Elvis mixed with some Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash. The band manages to stand out from the growing crowd of gothabilly and surf rock bands with their use of a multitude of instruments: accordion, theremin, harmonica and percussion, as well as a live show that includes gyrating go-go dancers and B-movie inspired theatrics. It looks like somebody's got a case of the zombies! — Deanna UutelaSan Francisco Bay Guardian -Oct. 3, 2007
The union between horror movies and rock music has always been fecund, often producing unholy offspring of surpassing quality. Despite the 1983 dissolution of genre titans the Misfits, there's still a rabid audience for cartoon ghouls and songs about reanimated corpses, and bands like Arizona's Mission Creeps still ply their horror-rock trade with necromantic alacrity. The hepcat heptet combine surf rock, punk, and the Doors, topping it off with an eerie dosage of Ennio Morricone–inspired gunfight licks that fit seamlessly into the band's tales of desert-highway depravity. Halloween comes early this Oct. 8 at the Elbo Room, so grease up your devil lock. (Richardson) In Sickness and In Health CD Review
They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky. They're all together ooky. No, I'm not talking about the Addams Family (nor those new dark-chocolate M&Ms they're shilling these days), but rather Tucson's The Mission Creeps.

In recent months, the five-piece band--James Arrr (vocals, guitar, theremin), Miss Frankie Stein (bass, accordion), Becca "The Beastmaster" Horton (vocals, harmonica), Goya "Ditchrider" Kenny and Bryn "Mr. Furious" Jones (drums)--has made its name with its dynamic, theatrical live shows, in all their faux-gothic, campy, B-movie horror-flick glory. In other words, those shows are shtick-heavy affairs, and we all know that sometimes that doesn't translate so well to a recorded product.
The day of reckoning for The Mission Creeps arrives this week, in the form of In Sickness and in Health, the band's debut CD, on Refractory Records.

It pleases me greatly that the disc doesn't require me to be the bearer of bad news, as the album is far more satisfying than one might guess, given the band's M.O. Even without the dazzle of The Mission Creeps' live show, the songs stand on their own quite nicely, thanks.

Like a toned-down version of the Cramps by way of Deadbolt, the twangy, reverb-heavy guitar, Arrr's genuinely sexy bellowing croon (à la Bauhaus' Peter Murphy) and the band's grinding rhythms all add up to something more than your standard clad-in-black, death-obsessed affair. The majority of songs here are slow-burning grinders that ooze sexual tension (even if they feature song titles like "Case of the Zombies," "You Make Me Sick" and "Graveyard Shift"), though there are some exceptions. "Empty Coffin" is 2 1/2 minutes of fuzzed-out guitar and lusty male/female vocals that brag about ownership of a money tree (but nowhere to plant it) and a '57 Chevy. "The Sheets to the Wind" is a sea chantey abetted by an accordion, while harmonica is put to good use on "The Crussian."

Recorded by Jim Waters at his Waterworks West studio, In Sickness and in Health stands as a fine representation of this genre, which can easily devolve into its trappings at the expense of songs. Much to their credit, The Mission Creeps prove here that they've got the songs to transcend those trappings. – Stephen Seigel, Tucson Weekly

“. . . the tour de force of guitarist/singer James Arrrgh, guest keyboardist Namoli Brennet, bassist Frankie Stein, conga drummer Gore Ya, and new drummer Sinful Bryn had the crowd at Surly Wench toasting to necrophilia and singing along to their unofficial theme song, Creepy.” – Annie Holub, Tucson Weekly
"The Mission Creeps are for fans of the Cramps, Bauhaus, spooky surf-rock, select Doors songs, and low-budget horror flicks from the 60's and 70's." – James Hudson, TucsonScene.com“From Tucson, The Mission Creeps blend the spookiness of Deadbolt and The Ghastly Ones with the suave lyrical delivery of The Flaming Stars and Lux Interior.” – Vodka Vil, Hollywood Alley, Mesa, AZ“The Mission Creeps are another local band that has transitioned from good to great. Check 'em out.” – Dr. Dan, TucsonScene.com"Mission Creeps play organ-driven, menacing surf rock, sometimes with go-go dancers, fronted by a singer who resembles a younger, less-dead version of Roy Orbison." –Kevin Smith, AZNightbuzz.com"It's an open door to some orgasmic music, music that was made in the way Tarantino makes movies, millions of gimmicks put together reminding of what we love in music..The Mission Creeps . . . are from Tucson Arizona . . . concert halls are not by millions, neither are bands, just a few remaining warriors objective enough not to forget their first loves, watching Bill Murray's movies while listening to The Stray Cats." - Little Johnny Jet, Gonzai (French Music Magazine)
The Mission creeps are ". . . doing a seance tonight or sacrificing a pig they nicknamed Dick Cheney. Oink, oink, my good man. Oink, oink." – James Hudson, TucsonScene.com

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 3/13/2006
Band Website: missioncreeps.com
Band Members:

James Arrr

Lead Vocals

Guitar

Theremin/Sampler


Miss Frankie Stein

Bass

Accordian


Gore Ya

Congas

Claves

Percussion


Mr. Furious

Drums


Oksana and Katarina
The Double Agent Go Go Dancers



Petah
The Projectionist



Some creepy folks brave enough to sit in with the Creeps. . .

Rebecca Horton, The Beastmaster

Harmonica, Backing Vox

Mummy Dearest aka Namoli Brennet
Keyboard, Accordion

Mik Scaryson from Infernal Racket
keys, saxophone, phone mic

Karen Meanie from Jumper
drums, wicked humor (on Live at KXCI tracks)

The Beastmaster aka Rebecca Horton
Harmonica, backing vocals

Al Perry as Tucson Serial Killer Smitty
channelling Link Wray on guitar

Dimonic Dimitri
drums

Mr. Coffin aka Kurt Snell of Blues
drums, groans

The Evil Genius Go-Go Dancers
Katan
Lucyfer
Beelzebianca
AntiChristel
Our partners and friends


Influences: The Cramps, Flaming Stars, Bauhaus, The Doors, Robert Johnson, The Ghastly Ones, Link Wray, Southern Culture on the Skids, Deadbolt, The Meteors, Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi, Devil's Food Cake, Hot Pants, Hot Rods, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, the Anacondas, figures in the the corner of your eye, shooting stars, the moon, naysayers, hypnotism, psychics and empathics, thinking too much, Guinness, SPY music, experimental hair dye, staying up waaay too late imbibing way too much of everything, not eating stuff off the sidewalk unless there is a layer of green fungus on it, each other, discovering you're not the only one who "feels and thinks this way" . . .

Along with . . . every band and friend we have on myspace. We're choosy.
P.S. As much as we'd love to have many new folks as friends, if you have racist logos on your pages, we can't approve.
Sounds Like:
The Mission Creeps have proudly played shows with the following great bands:
Music Video, Provocative Whites, The Tombstones, Shrimp Chaperone, Jumper, Whisky Bitch, Sonic Titan, The Giraffes, SupaGroup, Charley Horse, The Horrorpops, Insignificant Others, Namoli Brennet, Venus DeMars, The Resistors, The Dollyrots, Suite 666, Al Perry, Fukisan Go, Pat McGee, The English Beat, Shawn Mullins, Gin Blossoms, The Jons, The Zsa Zsas, Love Me Nots, Shark Pants, Ultramaroon, Deadbolt, Thee Swank Bastards, The Corsairs, Thee Oh Nos, Hell on Heels, The Beta Sweat, Antique Scream, The Impossible Ones, Slutty Putty, The Rebel Set, The Last Call Brawlers, Chango Malo, Mostly Bears, The Kohl Heart, Ms. Led, The Atomic Bride, The Verb, Robert Roth & Friends, The Endeavors, The Struts, The Sawyer Family, Mora Tau, Ghost Motor, VooDuo, Devil Doll

We thank thee for sharing the night with us - we had a blast at every show - honestly!

Bands that we have been in:

James
Crosscutsaw, The Sonars, Plutonium, Mad Parade, Cosmic Waste Band, Ten Percenters, gAdgetprOp, Brave New World, Sencha, Nowhere Man

Frankie
Android Ginny, Stella Rampage, The Stellas, Sara Belham, Sencha

Bryn
FUCT, Cortex Bomb, Destination Void, Blues Crusher, A.P.E. (Adult Party Experience), Caliche Con Carne

Goya
The Sonars


Record Label: Refractory Records
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

GLOW Show Review

From AzNightbuzz.com - Adrienne LakeGlow  Sunday, Oct. 28 at the Triangle L Ranch in OracleLast chancers trickled into the beautiful grounds of Oracle's Triangle L Ranch at dusk and were greeted by a...
Posted by The Mission Creeps on Sun, 11 Nov 2007 05:04:00 PST

Tour Night 3 Pray for Your Life or Make a Death Pact

Night 3 found us taking the long way thru Northern California from San Fran to stop in Eureka, CA half the way to Eugene, OR. It was our only night on the road that we didn't play a show. We took the ...
Posted by The Mission Creeps on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:12:00 PST

In Sickness and In Health CD Review, KZSU -Stanford

29 in the KZSU Stanford Radio playlist this week! and a great review . . . http://zookeeper.stanford.edu/index.php?s=byAlbumKey&n=85605 4&q=15&action=search&session=http://zookeeper.stanford.edu/i nd...
Posted by The Mission Creeps on Tue, 06 Nov 2007 08:54:00 PST

Captain Caveman Video from Dance of the Dead

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Posted by The Mission Creeps on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 08:45:00 PST

Video from Surly Wench Pub Oct. 19, 2007

Thanks to Daniel and Aznightbuzz.com for the video...
Posted by The Mission Creeps on Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:44:00 PST

Come to The Masquerade on Halloween

Hosted By: Miss Frankie SteinWhen: Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 at 9:00 PMWhere: Plush340 E. 6th Ave. Tucson, Arizona|3 85701United StatesDescription:Miss Frankie Stein Click Here To View Event...
Posted by The Mission Creeps on Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:04:00 PST

Tour Diary continued, More Night 2

Night 2 The Hostel BathroomSunday night we stayed in Pomona, CA with Dylan, James Arrr's old friend and a fellow musician. They played together before in an impromptu act called Mess of Trout. Dylan's...
Posted by The Mission Creeps on Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:25:00 PST

From the Eugene Weekly

Case of the ZombiesHey girls and ghouls, ready to wake up the dead? The Cramps coined this phrase during a show in 1995. The band has been credited by some as being one of the founders of the gothabil...
Posted by The Mission Creeps on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:53:00 PST

The Tour The Tour!

From Frankie:Night 1 Club Crawl at Congress Outdoor StageCraziness with asundry underdressed drunk coeds. We almost brawled with Days Unfold. They would not get their equipment off stage. And they pro...
Posted by The Mission Creeps on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:54:00 PST

Eugene Eugene

From the Eugene Register-Guard Newspaper, Oct. 5The Mission CreepsWednesday, Sam Bond'sWith a CD-cover image of a dead woman hanging from the ceiling and her creepy shadow on the wall, it would be eas...
Posted by The Mission Creeps on Sat, 06 Oct 2007 02:40:00 PST