About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2011)
Smells Like Fun Rock Invites You to Undress B aby Baby's first-ever show played out like a Nelly music video. “We were wear ing just regular clothes, but by the end of the set we were nearly butt-naked, in tiny shorts," says frontman/singer Fontez Brooks. "Everyone in the band was shirtless, sweat ing. Then we realized, why not just play every show like this instead of putting on clothes that we were going to take off apyway’" And so it's been ever since.- Baby Baby live is all about some neon short shorts and a brand of music they've coined "fun rock"— the kind of danceable, primal energy that gets both your adrenal and sweat glands pumping. "Every so often we play a show and every one gets naked," Brooks insists. "I shit you not. And it's amazing because it's hot. It's hot, and there's no point in wearing these clothes if you can take them off. And you can take them off. We give you permission. We actually invite you to take your clothes off." But what's most surprising about this uninhibited, Dionysian scene is what's hiding underneath all that nudity: a brutally hon est songwriter who takes his cues from, of all people, Kurt Cobain. "Let me hit you with some realness," Brooks begins. "A lot of lyricists these days try to be super deep and go over the audience's head. I didn't come from that background. I came from real life. My family was really poor, and that way of thinking never caught up to me. Things that were important to me were, like, women, money... things like that... Growing up, I went to majority black schools, and I wasn't exposed to white culture or rock and roll; it was only hip-hop. When my mom married my step dad we moved from Florida to Arizona, and I met a dude named Ben who introduced me to this band called Nirvana. If you really broke down Baby Baby live, you could just smell the Nirvana influence: loud • guitars, loud drums, swanky bass... and Kurt Cobain's lyrics were always just really honest." While Nirvana didn't exactly get the dance party started, there is a parallel juxtaposition of brutal truths and escapism between the two bands. Cobain and Brooks are perhaps equally self-deprecating: Brooks writes often about unrequited love and alienation ("I am prone to getting my heart broken," he says). Cobain used to come on stage wearing a dress, while Gen X-ers head-banged away their misery; Baby Baby strips down to their undies and inates fans to do the same. Brooks summarizes his approach to song writing by paraphrasing a quote he can't quite remember by a president he can't name: "It was something like, 'if it's not told with a smile or a joke I can't listen to it.' I am try ing to tell you something real, but I am going to tell it to you in a funny way, so that your guard is down and you can hear what I'm saying." Of course, Brooks doesn't work alone. The Carrollton, GA-based band includes Kyle Dobbs on bass, Grant Wallace on drums and— perhaps most essential to the band's signature live show—Colin Boddy on percussion and dancing. Boddy is basically the Bez of the band, for those of you who get the Happy Mondays reference, and he earned the job by virtue of pure persistence. "He was our roommate, and he just kept . hopping on stage whenever we played," says Brooks. "That is literally how he got into the band. He just kept on hopping on stage with a tambourine." But while his addition to the group seems incidental, his role has become pivotal. "Colin brings out the fun rock in us and then splashes it on people's faces," says Brooks. "Because of Colin, people can have more fun than they normally do—they can connect with him. He's a part of a crowd. Colin is fun rock, and that's a very important role because we are all about our live show. We take it very seriously." That being said, the band has been busy in the studio as well. Baby Baby is gearing up to release its first full-length record, Money, in May. Brooks refers to Money as a "greatest hits record" as it features an assortment of music the band has recorded since forming a tittle over a year ago, maste r ed with various produc ers in At'anta, Carrolton and Athens. "This CD is America," declares Brooks. "It's all the greatest things about the world com bined into one album." If there is one thing missing from the record, though, it's that special spark that you just have to experience at a concert. "A recording is like a novel," says Brooks. "You can go back, you can erase, but once the novel is complete that's your finished work, and that's beautiful. But when it comes to the live show, it's like a live reading and people want to feel you... That's where Colin comes into play. You can't record a Colin. You can't record his role in the band. You've got to see that live." Michelle Gilzenrat r % WHO: The Qrkids, Baby Baby, Tealvox WHERE: 40 Watt Club WHEN: Thursday, Apr. 14,9 p.m. HOW MUCH: $5 (adv.), $7 (21+), $8 (18+) V ) Elvis tribute artist Chris Shupe & his TCB Band FRIDAY, APRIL 22 • 7:30pm .in the BBR SoutfnCcst Cafe £ a Formerly El Sol M€XICRN RESTAURANT thank you to aii ow loyal customers Who . helped make us the # I Mexican Restaurant! We took forward to a tong & satisfying relationship With our friends & t/alued customers. i .. $2.50 HOUSE MARGARITAS _ ’ j V $11.09 HOUSE MARGARITA PITCHERS IVI4»1?r^»fATl $12.99 TEXAS MARGARITA —« PlTCHERS ^!W;U»7Vgl $2.99 FLAVORED MARGARITAS ' : y'n 511.99 HOUSE MARGARITA PITCHERS U-Wil:7»TTl-l $12.99 TEXAS MARGARITA P PITCHERS Dinc-tn • Catering • Special Events • Delivery 175 Tollasscc Rd. • 706-546-1570 Flight tapas and bar Wednesday, April 20 Italian 5 Course Wine Dinner Reserve Your Space Now! ONLY 8 SEATS LEFT — Daily Specials — Tuesdays 1/2 PRICE BOTTLES OF WINE UNDER $30 WEDNESDAYS $4 PREMIUM MARTINIS (ALL NIGHT) Live jazz with Late As Always Saturdays LIVE MUSIC Everyday happy hour SPECIALS • 5-7PM 706-549-0200 225 N. Lumpkin St. • Downtown OH MY GOSH! YOU REALLY LIKE US! WE LIKE APRIL 13.2011 FLAGPOLE.COM 27
