Leigh Daniel Avidan[2] (born March 14, 1979), also known by his stage name Danny Sexbang, is an American musician, internet personality, comedian, and actor. He is one half of the musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party with Brian Wecht, as well as the co-host of the Let's Play webseries Game Grumps with Arin Hanson.[3][4] He is also part of the more rap-based comedy music trio Starbomb with Hanson and Wecht, and the vocalist for the rock duo Shadow Academy, known for its inspiration from classic novels, alongside Jim Roach.[5] As of October 2023, Avidan also performs vocals for the electronic music duo Skyhill, originally formed in 2007.[6]
Avidan was born and raised in Springfield, New Jersey, the elder child of Debra (née Schwartz) and Avigdor Avidan.[1][7] His father was born and raised in Israel, and served in the Yom Kippur War before immigrating to America where he met Avidan's mother. His younger sister, Dana Avidan Cohn,[8] is the executive style director of PopSugar.[9] His maternal grandfather Bernard Schwartz assisted in inventing the body electrode.[10][11]
In response to a Craigslist ad in late 2002, Avidan joined the indie rock band the Northern Hues, a Philadelphia-based ensemble composed of Aron Brand, Jeff Rains, Alex Yaker, Justin "J" Earley, and Ian Creech.[11][14] Avidan acted as the group's lead-singer, and wrote most of the band's lyrics, having recently moved to Philadelphia. They released one self-titled EP and one live track recorded in early 2005, at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.[14][15] In mid-2005, the band split up; Avidan attributes the separation to personality conflicts and creative differences between the band's members, as well as a collective inability to gain greater recognition and success.[16]
2006–present: Skyhill
Avidan performing with Skyhill at The Bitter End in 2008
In the winter of 2006, Avidan teamed up with Peter Lennox to form a Brooklyn-based alternative rock duo named Skyhill.[17] Again, Avidan acted as lead-singer and assistant lyricist, and the group released one full album titled Run With the Hunted, on May 16, 2007.[18] They toured New York in early 2008,[19] before eventually separating due to lost passion.[16][20] On October 7, 2015, Avidan and Lennox returned to release the standalone single "Firefly",[21] which was acclaimed for the band's "maturing in both lyrics and sound" over their previous album.[22] In July 2018, Avidan stated that Skyhill may start new projects in the future, but that nothing was in the works as of then.[16]
On October 30, 2020, the group released the single "Howling at the Moon" on YouTube, with an eventual release on streaming services in mid-November of the same year.[23] At the end of 2020, it was announced via the Skyhill website that the band would be working on a new album.[24] The album, titled Out in the Moonlight released on October 13, 2023.
In 2008, Avidan began studying storytelling and improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, under the guidance of Zach Woods and Margot Leitman,[1][25] and had conceptualized the possibility of a new musical project.[26] In need of another band member, Avidan was introduced to Brian Wecht, the musical director of another troupe,[27] by mutual friends at the theatre in early 2009.[28]
Avidan had already chosen the name "Ninja Sex Party," after "everybody's three favorite things,"[29] and worked together with Wecht to create characters to represent the band.[30] They eventually settled on "Danny Sexbang" as Avidan's character, and "Ninja Brian" as Wecht's. The duo first gained popularity by performing as a musical guest on Leitman's improvisational comedy show Stripped Stories.[25][31] Inspired by Tenacious D and Flight of the Conchords, the band is about "a Jewish superhero who wears a unitard, with his best friend, a ninja, and together they sing songs about dicks, and try to hit on women, unsuccessfully."[28][11] They were also inspired by the work of The Lonely Island to produce music videos and post them to YouTube.[11]
Arin Hanson (Egoraptor) and Avidan, hosts of Game Grumps, in 2015
In 2013, Arin Hanson, co-creator of the comedy gaming YouTube channel Game Grumps, brought Avidan on the show to replace Jon Jafari as co-host, after being introduced to Ninja Sex Party's content by fellow animator Ross O'Donovan.[42][43] Hanson had previously animated part of the band's music video for "Dinosaur Laser Fight" in 2011.[44] Avidan's first appearances on the show had been originally met with a negative response from fans, with the number of dislikes on each consecutive video increasing. However, fans eventually rejected their initial disapproval of a new co-host after witnessing the chemistry between the two hosts, further introducing the Game Grumps channel to more professional content and new audiences.[45][46]
Avidan would join O'Donovan as co-host of the Game Grumps spin-off show Steam Train, where both hosts play PC games, as opposed to console games.[47] Avidan remained a co-host of the show until its discontinuation. In addition to this, Avidan has acted as a co-host of other shows from the Game Grumps platform, including Grumpcade, Table Flip, and Steam Rolled, as well as providing narration for Hunting Monsters.[48]
In late 2013, Avidan teamed up with Wecht and Hanson to announce a side project band named Starbomb, with Avidan as the backup singer.[49] The band writes parody songs about video games, bringing together the sexually provocative music stylings of Avidan's Ninja Sex Party and the video game-based humor of Hanson. As of 2019, the group has released three albums, all of which have placed on various Billboard charts.[50][51][52]
In 2015, Internet personalities Jesse Cox and Michele Morrow began developing an untitled comedy webseries for YouTube Premium, casting Avidan as eSports coach Alex Taylor, alongside Hanson's character, Ryland Smith.[53][54] After Dan Harmon joined as an executive producer in 2016, the project gained media traction,[55] and was formally announced at VidCon 2017 with the title Good Game.[56] The esports-based series involves Avidan alongside Arin Hanson portraying best friends entering a gaming competition in order to win the grand prize of $1 million.[57] Six serialized episodes were uploaded to the Game Grumps YouTube channel, with the first episode being free-to-view, and concurrent episodes requiring a YouTube Premium subscription.[58] Avidan's performance was very well received by critics, and was cited as "truly fun, believable", and "shining a light on the potential of other projects."[59]
In late 2021, Avidan announced that he had started a new rock band with fellow musician Jim Roach, named Shadow Academy. Their debut single "White Whale" was officially released alongside a music video on January 28, 2022.[60] On February 25, 2022, they released their second single, "Once and Never More" alongside an animated music video.[61] Their debut album was released on April 22, 2022.
Other ventures
In 2009, Avidan and producer William J. Sullivan collaborated to compose and sell multiple theme and background tracks for various shows while Avidan studied in New York,[62] with clients ranging from Power Rangers RPM[63] to White Collar.[64]
In 2012, Avidan briefly partnered with Mondo Media to host a sketch comedy miniseries called Dirty Shorts, in which Avidan portrayed an exaggerated version of himself, similar to that of Danny Sexbang.[65] The series was not received well, and was dropped after the first 12-episode season. Avidan has commented that the Mondo Media staff experience was welcoming, although he was not confident that the way his character was written would appeal to audiences.[66] Avidan also co-created, co-wrote, and provided voice acting for the studio's short-lived animated comedy miniseries DJs in PJs with Wecht.[67] Avidan returned to Mondo in September 2013 to compose "Dick Figures: The Movie: The Song" for the Dick Figures: The Movie soundtrack with Wecht.[68]
On August 3, 2015, Avidan performed with Steel Panther at their West Hollywood House of Blues venue, singing "Party All Day".[72] The two have collaborated on multiple occasions, with Steel Panther making a cameo in Ninja Sex Party's "Road Trip" music video, and providing vocals for "6969".[73][74]
Avidan is the co-creator and co-host of the football-centric podcastBalls in Your Ear, along with Josh Sprague.[75][76]
Avidan, alongside co-creator Kyle Carrozza, performed the theme song for the Cartoon Network series Mighty Magiswords.[77] Avidan also provided the voice of the character Dan in the sixth episode of the second season, "Changeable Terraingable". According to Carrozza, Avidan's take on the character was an impression of his father.
In September 2017, the band Night Runner released an album entitled Thunderbird, which featured Avidan on the fourth track, called "Magnum Bullets".[78] A music video was released in February 2020, with animation from Knights of the Light Table.[79]
In May 2018, Tupper Ware Remix Party released an album entitled Together Through Time, which featured Avidan on the ninth track, called "Starlight Brigade".[80] A music video was released in May 2019, also featuring animation from Knights of the Light Table.[81] The video was aired on Adult Swim's late-night anime block Toonami on August 3, 2019.[82]
On April 17, 2020, Avidan released a collaborative album of acousticcovers together with previous NSP collaborators Super Guitar Bros, titled Dan Avidan & Super Guitar Bros; the first single, a cover of Seal's "Kiss from a Rose", was released earlier that month.[83][84]
Personal life
Avidan announced his marriage to his wife, Ashley Anderson, on an episode of Game Grumps, which was uploaded on February 2, 2022.[85]
Ninja Sex Party is an American musical comedy duo consisting of singer Dan Avidan and keyboardist Brian Wecht. They formed in 2009 in New York City and are currently based in Los Angeles. They are also known as two thirds of the more rap-based musical trio Starbomb, together with frequent collaborator Arin Hanson.
NSFW is the debut studio album by the American musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party, released on September 29, 2011. It is a collection of all the songs that the duo released as music videos from October 22, 2009 to August 17, 2011, alongside new tracks. The song "Dinosaur Laser Fight" was the only single released from the album, and has a music video partially animated by Arin Hanson, also known as Egoraptor. Every song on the album has a music video except for "Introduction", "Accept My Shaft", and "Outroduction". The album was released on CD in 2015, and charted modestly well in the US.
Strawberries and Cream is the second studio album by the American musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party. The album was released on April 15, 2013. Three tracks from the album, "FYI I Wanna F Your A", "Next to You", and "Unicorn Wizard", were released as singles prior to the album's release. The album was a modest success worldwide.
Starbomb is the eponymous debut studio album by American comedy supergroup Starbomb, composed of Dan Avidan and Brian Wecht of American comedy rock duo Ninja Sex Party and Flash animator and Internet personality Arin Hanson. Starbomb brings together the mostly sexually provocative musical stylings of Ninja Sex Party and the video game-based humor of Hanson. The album was released on December 17, 2013. Starbomb later collaborated on a second album, Player Select, released on December 16, 2014.
Arin Joseph Hanson, also known by the pseudonym Egoraptor, is an American YouTuber, actor, rapper, and former animator. He is well known for his Flash cartoons, as well as being the co-founder and co-star of the popular YouTube Let's Play series Game Grumps.
Game Grumps is an American Let's Play web series hosted by Arin Hanson (2012–present) and Dan Avidan (2013–present). Created in 2012 by co-hosts Hanson and Jon Jafari, the series centers around its hosts playing video games. After Jafari left the show in 2013 to focus on his own YouTube webseries, JonTron, he was succeeded by Avidan.
Brian Alexander Wecht, also known by his character name Ninja Brian, is an American musician, Internet personality and theoretical physicist. He is best known as a member of comedy musical duo Ninja Sex Party and video game-based comedy music trio Starbomb. He has also been a past member of the affiliated Let's Play webseries Game Grumps, all three alongside Dan Avidan.
"Dinosaur Laser Fight" is the debut single by American comedy rock duo Ninja Sex Party, released on August 17, 2011. The song is included as a track on the band's debut studio album NSFW.
"Dragon Slayer" is a song written and performed by American comedy rock band Ninja Sex Party. The song was originally recorded for the band's third studio album Attitude City. The track was released as the band's sixth single on February 19, 2014, becoming the second single to be released in promotion of Attitude City.
Player Select is the second studio album by American comedy supergroup Starbomb, composed of Dan Avidan and Brian Wecht of American comedy duo Ninja Sex Party and Flash animator and Internet personality Arin Hanson. The album was released December 16, 2014 on iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify and CDBaby. Following in the direction of the previous album, Player Select is mostly a video game parody album featuring the often-provocative adult comedy of Ninja Sex Party and incorporating the video-game humor of Hanson.
Attitude City is the third studio album by the American musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party. The album was released on July 17, 2015. Six tracks from the album, "Party of Three", "Dragon Slayer", "Attitude City", "Why I Cry", "Peppermint Creams", and "Road Trip" were all released as singles on their YouTube channel prior to its release. It was a commercial success, especially in the comedy music sector.
Under the Covers is the fourth studio album by American comedy duo Ninja Sex Party, and their first cover album. The concept for the album and title were revealed on July 28, 2015, and the album released on March 4, 2016. Unlike their previous albums, Under the Covers is composed only of covers of songs from the 1970s and 1980s and strays from the duo's traditional comedic style.
Starbomb is an American musical comedy group composed of Dan Avidan and Brian Wecht of musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party together with Flash animator and Internet personality Arin Hanson and "space rock masters" TWRP, a Canadian music group known for collaborations with NSP. The songs of Starbomb consist of video game parodies; Avidan provides sung vocals, Hanson provides rapping vocals, and Wecht performs instruments. All three are also known as a part of YouTube Let's Play web series Game Grumps.
"6969" is a song written and performed by the American comedy rock band Ninja Sex Party, from their album Attitude City. Heavily inspired by the song "2112" by Canadian rock band Rush, the song contains vocals by Steel Panther singer Michael Starr, and references Steel Panther's song "In the Future" from their album Balls Out.
"Unicorn Wizard" is a song written and performed by American comedy rock band Ninja Sex Party. The song was released as the band's fourth single on October 25, 2012, and was included as a track on the band's second studio album Strawberries and Cream.
Under the Covers, Vol. II is the fifth studio album by American comedy duo Ninja Sex Party. It is their second cover album and a follow-up to their previous album Under the Covers. It follows the same musical orientation, consisting of covers of songs from the 1970s and 1980s and straying from the duo's usual comedic style. The album was released on October 27, 2017, to positive reviews.
TWRP, formerly known as Tupper Ware Remix Party, is a Canadian rock band originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Initially founded in 2007, the band moved to Toronto in 2011 with a change in members and musical direction. Their current lineup consists of keyboardist and vocalist Doctor Sung, guitarist Lord Phobos, bassist Commander Meouch, and drummer Havve Hogan.
Cool Patrol is the sixth studio album by American musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party, released on August 17, 2018. Following two cover albums, it marks their return to original and comedy-oriented material since Attitude City in 2015.
"Danny Don't You Know" is a song by American musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party. It was released as a single along with a music video on June 25, 2018, and was later featured on their sixth studio album Cool Patrol, released on August 17, 2018.
"Cool Patrol" is a song by American musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party. It was released as a single along with a music video on October 18, 2016, and is the first single from their sixth studio album, released on August 17, 2018.
↑ Augustborn, Nicolas (January 9, 2013). "Ninja Sex Party Interview". YouTube. Nicolas Augustborn. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
↑ Leitman, Margot (June 18, 2009). "Stripped Stories tonight at UCB 9:30". Improv Resource Center Forums. Improv Resource Center. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
↑ Comedy Charts, Billboard. "Billboard Comedy Charts". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
↑ Ninja Sex Party (March 8, 2016). "Eating Food in the Shower". Facebook. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2016. On the set of our upcoming music video for the first song on our FIFTH ALBUM, "Eating Food in the Shower"!
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