The Pizza Underground

Last updated
The Pizza Underground
The Pizza Underground.jpg
The Pizza Underground performing in Chicago in 2014
Background information
Origin New York City
Genres
Years active2013 (2013)–2018 (2018)
Past members
Website thepizzaunderground.tumblr.com

The Pizza Underground was an American comedy rock band based in New York City. Mainly parodying songs by the Velvet Underground with pizza-themed song names and lyrics, the group consisted of Macaulay Culkin (kazoo, percussion and vocals) along with Matt Colbourn (guitar, vocals), Phoebe Kreutz (glockenspiel, vocals), Deenah Vollmer (pizza box, vocals) and Austin Kilham (tambourine, vocals). [1] [2] [3] Because of the theme, the band gave out boxed pizzas to people who attended their live performances.

Contents

History

Deenah Vollmer, the group's "pizza box" percussionist, said the idea for the Pizza Underground began as a joke in 2012. [4] "We soon realized you can replace most any word with slice or cheese," she told The Philadelphia Inquirer . Glockenspiel player Phoebe Kreutz stated they believed the Velvet Underground songs were written about pizza, but had to be reworded to accommodate the "standards of their day." [4]

On November 11, 2013, the group recorded a live demo at Macaulay Culkin's apartment. [1] That same month they performed a Lou Reed tribute show at the Sidewalk Cafe in the East Village. [5] In December, a viral video of Culkin eating a cheese pizza was uploaded to YouTube. He was parodying Andy Warhol consuming a Burger King Whopper in Jørgen Leth's documentary 66 Scenes from America . [6] Culkin was promoting the debut of the Pizza Underground. [7]

The group released its first music video in January 2014, parodying various Velvet Underground songs such as "All Pizza Parties" ("All Tomorrow's Parties"), "Pizza Gal" ("Femme Fatale") and "Take a Bite of the Wild Slice" (Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side"). [8] The video featured the group performing on a bed of pizza boxes, surrounded by pizza checkered walls, with members of the group wearing slices of pizza as masks. [9] Also in 2014, the cassette of the demo was released by Bitter Melody Records [10] on yellow, white, and red cassettes. [11] [12] An 18-show North American tour entitled Fresh to Your Door took place that same year. [9]

In May 2014, the band was booed off the stage at the Rock City venue in Nottingham, England, while performing at the Dot to Dot Festival. A spectator later complained that the parody group were making a "mockery of one of the greatest bands of all time". [13] The band quit playing within 15 minutes, and in response to having pints of beer thrown at the band, frontman Macaulay Culkin complained to the crowd, "why are you throwing those? ...I'd rather drink them!" [14]

The initial cassette release was followed by Live at Chop Suey, also on Bitter Melody Records, [15] recorded at the Chop Suey [16] in Seattle, Washington.

In January 2018, Culkin revealed during an interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast that the Pizza Underground had broken up. [17]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Velvet Underground & Nico</i> 1967 studio album by the Velvet Underground and Nico

The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground and German singer Nico, released in March 1967 through Verve Records. It was recorded in 1966 while the band were featured on Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable tour. The album features experimental performance sensibilities and explicit lyrical topics, including drug abuse, prostitution, sadomasochism and sexual deviancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macaulay Culkin</span> American actor (born 1980)

Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin is an American actor and musician. One of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, Culkin was placed 2nd on VH1's 2005 list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars". His awards include a MTV Movie Award from three nominations, a Young Artist Award, and a nomination for a Golden Globe Award. In 2023, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

<i>The Velvet Underground</i> (album) 1969 studio album by the Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground is the third studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released in March 1969 by MGM Records, it was their first record with multi-instrumentalist Doug Yule, who replaced previous member John Cale. Recorded in 1968 at TTG Studios in Los Angeles, California, the album's sound—consisting largely of ballads and straightforward rock songs—marked a notable shift in style from the band's previous recordings. Lead vocalist Lou Reed intentionally did this as a result of their abrasive previous studio album White Light/White Heat (1968). Reed wanted other band members to sing on the album; Yule contributed lead vocals to the opening track and the closing track "After Hours" is sung by drummer Maureen Tucker.

<i>White Light/White Heat</i> 1968 studio album by the Velvet Underground

White Light/White Heat is the second studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released on January 30, 1968 by Verve Records, it was the band's last studio album with multi-instrumentalist and founding member John Cale. Recorded after band leader Lou Reed fired Andy Warhol, who had produced their debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, they hired Steve Sesnick as a manager and hired producer Tom Wilson, who had worked on the band's debut. White Light/White Heat was engineered by Gary Kellgren.

<i>Loaded</i> (The Velvet Underground album) 1970 studio album by the Velvet Underground

Loaded is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground, released in November 1970 by Atlantic Records subsidiary Cotillion. It was the final album recorded featuring the band’s remaining original members, including lead singer and primary songwriter Lou Reed, who left the band shortly before the album’s release, and guitarist Sterling Morrison, who left the band in 1971 along with drummer Maureen Tucker. For this reason, it is often considered by fans to be the last "true" Velvet Underground album. Multi-instrumentalist Doug Yule remained and released the album Squeeze in 1973 before the band's dissolution the same year.

<i>Peel Slowly and See</i> 1995 box set by the Velvet Underground

Peel Slowly and See is a five-disc box set of material by the Velvet Underground. It was released in September 1995 by Polydor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chop Suey!</span> 2001 single by System of a Down

"Chop Suey!" is a song by the American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released on August 13, 2001, as the first single from their second album, Toxicity (2001). The single earned the band its first Grammy nomination in 2002 for Best Metal Performance. "Chop Suey!" is often considered the band's signature song.

<i>Doppelgänger</i> (The Fall of Troy album) 2005 studio album by the Fall of Troy

Doppelgänger is the second studio album from American mathcore band the Fall of Troy, which followed up the band's bootlegged Ghostship Demos EP from 2004 as well as their self-titled LP from 2003. Four of the songs were re-recorded versions of tracks from the self-titled album, hence the name Doppelgänger. "Macaulay McCulkin" was taken from the Ghostship Demos EP, and was put onto Doppelgänger for unknown reasons.

"Venus in Furs" is a song by the Velvet Underground, written by Lou Reed and originally released on the 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico. Inspired by the book of the same name by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the song includes sexual themes of sadomasochism, bondage and submission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Here She Comes Now</span> 1968 single by The Velvet Underground

"Here She Comes Now" is a song released by the American rock band the Velvet Underground in January 1968, from their second studio album White Light/White Heat. As the shortest song on the album, the performance and mix of the song are both considered simple and traditional, making it somewhat distinct from the other five songs on the album, all of which contain some degree of experimental or avant-garde elements in terms of sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Fleming (musician)</span> American musician

Donald Gene Fleming is an American musician and producer. Besides fronting a number of his own bands, Fleming has produced Sonic Youth, Screaming Trees, Teenage Fanclub and Hole.

"Pale Blue Eyes" is a song written and sung by Lou Reed and performed by The Velvet Underground. He recorded a demo with John Cale in May 1965. It was included on the band's 1969 album The Velvet Underground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Velvet Underground</span> American rock band

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. It originally comprised singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. In 1965, MacLise was replaced by Moe Tucker, who played on most of the band's recordings. Though their integration of rock and the avant-garde resulted in little commercial success, they became one of the most influential bands in rock, underground, experimental, and alternative music. Their provocative subject matter, musical experiments, and nihilistic attitude was also instrumental in the development of punk rock, new wave and several other genres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoebe Kreutz</span> American singer

Phoebe Kreutz is a singer-songwriter, primarily associated with the anti-folk scene of New York City, but also known for her theater and television work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angry Samoans</span> American punk rock band

The Angry Samoans is an American punk rock band from the first wave of American punk, formed in August 1978 in Los Angeles, California, by early 1970s rock writer "Metal" Mike Saunders, his sibling lead guitarist Bonze Blayk and Gregg Turner, along with original recruits Todd Homer (bass) and Bill Vockeroth (drums).

<i>6 Songs for Bruce</i> Demo album by Soundgarden

6 Songs for Bruce, also commonly known as the 4-Track Demo, is an early single-sided demo cassette tape by American rock band Soundgarden.

Blood Feast is an American extreme metal band that formed in 1985 in Bayonne, New Jersey, United States, under the name of Bloodlust. The band broke up in 1991 but reunited for a concert in 1999 and got back together again in 2007. To date, Blood Feast has released three studio albums, four compilation albums, two EPs and one demo cassette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gangsta Boo</span> American rapper (1979–2023)

Lola Chantrelle Mitchell, better known by her stage name Gangsta Boo, was an American rapper. She rose to prominence as a member of Three 6 Mafia, which she joined at the age of 14. After releasing six albums, she left the group and its record label after the release of her second solo album, Both Worlds *69 (2001), due to financial disputes and issues regarding promotion of the album. She subsequently released several solo albums and became known for collaborating with artists such as Eminem, Run the Jewels, La Chat, Latto, GloRilla, Outkast, Foxy Brown, Tinashe, Lil Jon and Yelawolf.

"Peek-a-Boo" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet for their second studio album, Perfect Velvet (2017). An up-tempo dance-pop track with tropical house elements, it was written by Kenzie, Ellen Berg Tollbom, Cazzi Opeia, and duo Moonshine, while production was handled by the latter contributor. The song was released in conjunction with its parental album on November 17, 2017, through SM Entertainment. It was later re-recorded in Japanese for the group's second Japanese extended play Sappy, which was released on May 29, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crywank</span> English anti-folk band

Crywank is an English anti-folk band based out of Manchester, England. The band is a duo consisting of vocalist/guitarist and founder Jay Clayton and drummer Dan Watson, who joined in 2012. Allmusic describes their body of work as containing "sadness, paranoia, misery, and dry humor", comparing them to AJJ or 'a sarcastic Bright Eyes'. The group have independently released eight full length albums. They have previously toured the UK, Ireland, Mainland Europe, Russia, South East Asia, South America, Australia, New Zealand, US, Mexico and Canada.

References

  1. 1 2 Pelly, Jenn (9 December 2013). "Listen: Macaulay Culkin Has a Pizza-Themed Velvet Underground Cover Band, The Pizza Underground". Pitchfork . Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  2. ↑ Beck, Laura (9 December 2013). "Macaulay Culkin Has a Pizza-Themed Velvet Underground Cover Band". Jezebel . Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  3. ↑ Ayers, Mike (12 December 2013). "Inside Macaulay Culkin's Pizza Underground Sessions". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 Amorosi, A.D. "Season of tributes to Lou Reed - including Macaulay Culkin's band Pizza Underground Read". The Philadelphia Inquirer . philly.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  5. ↑ Michaels, Sean (9 December 2013). "Macaulay Culkin forms pizza-themed Velvet Underground tribute band". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Macaulay Culkin Eating a Slice of Pizza. YouTube .
  7. ↑ Luling, Todd Van, December 27, 2013 'The 34 greatest moments in pizza history from 2013', retrieved December 27, 2013
  8. ↑ Kristobak, Ryan (7 January 2014). "Macaulay Culkin Band Pizza Underground's First Music Video Is Full Of Pizza Faces". Huffington Post . Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  9. 1 2 Eby, Margaret (8 January 2014). "Macaulay Culkin's Pizza Underground band debuts saucy music video". Daily News . Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  10. ↑ Bitter Melody Records, About Bitter Melody Records. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  11. ↑ Matheson, Whitney (January 27, 2014). "Pop Candy: Hear a demo from Macaulay Culkin on Cassette". USA Today . Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  12. ↑ Bitter Melody Records, Particulars of Pizza Underground Demo Cassette Release. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Macaulay Culkin booed off stage in Nottingham". BBC News . May 27, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Macaulay Culkin's band booed off in Nottingham". The Telegraph . May 27, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  15. ↑ Bitter Melody Records, Particulars of Live at Chop Suey. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  16. ↑ Particulars of Chop Suey, Seattle Archived 2013-06-24 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Macaulay Culkin Says the Pizza Underground Are No More | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.