| Influences | Influences are somewhat misleading, as we try not to emulate anyone in particular, but the band members definitely share some tastes and this is no doubt reflected in our music. We have at various times been inspired by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks (together and separately), Jandek, Carl Stalling, Curt Boettcher, Neil Innes, The Negro Problem, Jake Thackray, Half Man Half Biscuit, Corn Mo, Joe Meek, The Monkees, Mike Nesmith, The Electric Prunes, Yip Harburg, W.S. Gilbert, They Might Be Giants, Love, Stew, Squeeze, Big Star, The Beach Boys, Roy Wood, The Thamesmen, Frank Zappa, The Wondermints, The Polyphonic Spree, Plouf!, The Beatles, Louis Jordan, Viv Stanshall, Captain Beefheart, XTC, Ian Dury, Louis Armstrong, Mo Tucker, Charles Ives, Candypants and Hasil Adkins.
Then there's the friends of The National Pep - bands like The Psychotic Reaction, Blake Jones & The Trike Shop, Wilful Missing and others who have contributed musically and otherwise to our work.
But equally, we have been inspired by our non-musical influences: The Marx Brothers, DC Comics, Alan Moore, Abraham Lincoln, Lon Chaney (Senior), Alan Hale (Junior), old Warner Bros cartoons, The Goons, P G Wodehouse, Molesworth, Nero Wolfe, Louise Brooks, Mel Brooks, Do Not Adjust Your Set, Alastair Sim, E F Benson, Chespirito, Ripping Yarns, Doctor Who, Cerebus, Laurel & Hardy
If that kind of thing is your kind of thing, then we're probably not, but we're a bit like your kind of thing sometimes. |
