Codell Rodriguez
Daily Egyptian
For Tommy Tubular, the most pivotal moments of his life happened in '80s.
"I hit puberty in the '80s, lost my virginity in the '80s and got drunk in the '80s. You know, all the good stuff," Tubular said.
So because the '80s were such a memorable time for Tubular and the other founding members of The Brat Pack, who were going to high school in the decade, they decided to share it with everybody in song. The group, which has been together almost seven years, will play at Pinch Penny Pub this Friday as part of an '80s themed weekend. The Brat Pack consists of Tommy Tubular on guitar, Lynn D. Lauper on vocals, Guido Ricosuave Menudo on Guitar, Jesse Van Halen on keyboards, and Boi Ian on drums.
The band formed when Tubular, Menudo, Van Halen and Ian, got together for lunch and talked about different kinds of bands to form. The last suggestion was an '80s cover band. The group agreed it would be a style everyone could enjoy and decided to go with it.
"It's fun to mock the '80s," Van Halen said. "The president had no memory and was such a goof."
The band played with vocalists, Dawna Madonna then Gloria Newton John, but finally settled with Lynn D. Lauper. Van Halen said so far, the fans have really enjoyed the sound they've produced and he's surprised they've never got tired of it.
"It's funny to watch as the years go by," Van Halen said. "I just wonder how far the '80s can be pushed."
Van Halen said part of the reason the style has been pushed for so many years is because the music from the '80s is easy for people to relate to and it's easy to dance to.
"We do the cheesy, fun dance stuff," Van Halen said.
Tubular said they stick to the dance songs because it's what the fans dig.
"We're a dance band," Tubular said. "Most of our reactions are pretty good. Dancing is the number one goal when it comes to the songs we're playing."
He said they play songs such as "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Riders and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cindy Lauper. Tubular said some of the songs always bring a great reaction from the crowd.
"I can always count on 'Jessie's Girl' by Rick Springfield," Tubular said.
He said the good thing about '80s music was that it came after a time when a lot of the fun was taken out of rock.
"It was rebellion from the seriousness of rock 'n' roll," Tubular said.
But despite their love of the '80s music, Tubular said some of the elements of the '80s were too cheesy, especially television. He listed shows such as "Night Rider" as an example of really bad ideas. But as far as movies, he has fond memories, especially for "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure." Van Halen listed some of his favorite movies as "E.T." and "Back to the Future."
Van Halen said a lot of the fans have fond memories of the '80s as well and the band has tried to play on that. He recalled some nights where the band will dress as the girls from "The Facts of Life," the cast of "Dukes of Hazard" and sometimes "The A-Team."
"The '80s were pretty cheesy," Van Halen said. "There's nothing really memorable about the '90s. It was so formula and compressed and freaking boring."
But not all of the memories were happy. Tubular said one of the problem with the '80s was that a lot of the people were too uptight and scared from various crises.
"With the AIDS scare, it was pretty tough to meet chicks," Tubular said.
But to bring back the happy memories, the band has also added dancers and a light show to add the '80s effect and said they try to put on as much of a show as possible. Van Halen said while he's playing the keyboard, he'll often be "making faces or head banging."
"We get to live the silly, stupid dream up on stage," Van Halen said.
But for Tubular, the dream of reliving the '80s can be summed up in the five words he uses to end every single show and interview.
"Gag me with a spoon," Tubular said.
Catch The Brat Pack at around 10 p.m. tonight at Pinch Penny Pub.
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
