“One day I will die hooping to this CD, and what a glorious death it will be”
It’s true folks, there I was at Pulaski one Wednesday a couple hours into some heavy duty hoopin’ and suckin’ wind but good when I turn to J. Bean and say “whaddaya wanna hear next”. Beaner went for this CD without hesitation and somewhere in the first minute of the opening track I was up off the bench and hoopin’ my ass off once more.

PHEW!

I have many fond memories of the Primate Fiasco in the two-plus years they and I have been lurking about NoHo…they as local legends rapidly in the making and I as a legend in my spare time…See, it turns out these Primates thawed out in these parts about the same time I did and it didn’t take us long to meet. There I was playin’ wiffle ball, in my windup and about to finish some hitter off with my nastiest curveball when outta nowhere came a Dixieland rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”. The horn blasts sent me jumping ten feet in the air, but after coming to, I found myself boppin’ along and totally diggin’ what they were doin’…so much so that I’ve been checkin’ them out, dancin’ and hoopin’ along ever since!

Just a little historical note, this also happened to be the day the Primates met one Hoop Master Sass and began what would be a bee-you-ti-ful artistic partnership that exists to this day. (Me, I was just happy as a pig in slop* to be invited to Hoop along with Sass and the boys in front of the First Church on Main Street during last year’s Sidewalk Sales).

So finally, two years and numerous good times and good memories later, the Primate Fiasco has given us all a misbehavin’ old-timey “Happy Pill” of a debut record titled Geek Dreams, a ten-track mix of covers, Primate originals and pre-Primate originals written by Dave “Dimebag” DelloRusso**
Now, I ain’t gonna sit here and do some track-by-track review of this record, I happen to think this style review is overdone and kinda silly. Of course, equally silly would be for me to be all like “well dude, all the tracks just kick ass” and be done with it just like that because anybody, and especially someone who is a fan and has had so many good times with these cats, can say that. I do hope that by the time I’m done here tonight, all y’all readin’ this will come to understand why I, and everyone else for that matter, love this band.

Did I mention that one day I’ll die hoopin’ to this album?

This is one of the most hoopable albums ever to come across my ears .The opening banjo riffs and horn blasts of the opener “Saturn Returns” serve as a harbinger of what’s to come, a heaping helping of dynamic up-tempo tunes that merge old school Dixieland with new school influences galore. Now don’t get me wrong, this is not to say that all these tunes sound alike and meld one into the other like a lot of what we hear if we ever listen to the radio. Each track does have it’s own character and each track is memorable in its own way, while the cover tunes have plenty of tasty jammin’ and soloing that gives each member a chance to shred, wail and otherwise tear it up…

…OK, how many times have we heard someone do a cover tune and it sounds EXACTLY like the original? The way I see it, what’s the damned point of doin’ it that way? I say if yer gonna do it, do it right and put some of yerselves into that sucker. On Geek Dreams, the Primates do it right. Their rendition of “Sweet Georgia Brown”, long a concert staple, absolutely tears on this record, as does an 8-plus minute treatment of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” with tasty solos galore. Also included are versions of “Bourbon St. Parade” and “My Gal (5’ 2”)” which also include jammin’ and tearin’ that shreds without every crossin’ over into mere wankery.

As for the originals, the boys do clearly prefer the up-tempo pace as five of the six songs penned by either the band or by “Dimebag”** himself frolic along at a healthy sometimes frenetic clip (the exception being “All My Enemies” which is slower but a number I would still call mid-tempo). For me personally, this is an almost perfect marriage of music and my own hoopin’ style as I too prefer the up-tempo race pace hoopin’ and I know when I drop this disc in the BoomBox that I’m ready to catch fire and take flight (which is also how it goes when I go check them out live).

One last thing I feel the need to point out. Something that often goes unnoticed in my concert going experience is lyrical content. This especially goes with any band whom you may not have heard a recording of first. So yeah, maybe after a few listens ya’ pick up a few lines or a chorus has branded itself into yer brain simply outta repetition but ya may never know exactly what that cat at the mic is singin’ or rappin’ or screamin’ or growlin’
about until ya finally get the CD and get it home and really listen to what’s goin’ on in the privacy of yer own space (or if yer like me, ya cheat and peruse the lyric sheets!) I gotta say, as someone who once gave the poetry thing a try (and in some circles is known for having a way with words) I was rather impressed that behind all this good time rompin’ and stompin’ are some well thought out lyrics to match some well thought out songcraft. The song “Global Warming” has my favorite lyric as it speaks of an visceral passion for a woman using the effects of global warming as a running metaphor.

If anyone out there has heard of this band (and they have been getting their due through features in recent issues of The Valley Advocate) and not had an opportunity to check them out live, I’m here to tell you that these guys are a must see act. This is more than just the hype they’re now finally starting to receive for this “hype” you speak of is the richly deserved reward for a band who has put smiles on many, many faces and set many a foot tappin’ and many an ass’ shakin’ and jolted many a body into near convulsive fits of movement lovingly known as “BS Dance”.

(Another historical note: It was also at a Primate show that a whole bunch of people discovered “Holy Crap* (I) can actually dance a little”…Among those people making this discovery was myself!)
Then, once you’ve seen the Primate Fiasco play live, I have no doubt you’ll wanna take them home with you. While you can’t take the band home with you, as five grown men (no matter how adorable you may think they are) simply take up more space than you may think and will eat quite a bit more than you may be ready for. However, you can definitely take their Geek Dreams home with you and play repeatedly in the spacious privacy of your own space. What “dreams” you have from there is up to you!

Big Love & Much Hoopin’
Kid HoopaSonic

*-C’mon now people, NoHoHoops.org is a “family website”, did you really think I was gonna go on and write stuff like “happy as a pig in shit” or “Holy Shit!” in a CD review on a “family website”? Jeez what the fuck is wrong with you people!

**-Alright, Alright, Dave’s nickname really ain’t “Dimebag”. It so happened that dude was tearing through quite the blistering banjo solo one night and it occurred to me to yell “Rip it up, Dimebag” as a sort of tribute to “Dimebag” Darrell, the deceased Pantera guitar shredder…I keep doin’ it hoping the nickname will stick one day.