Prizzy Prizzy Please / Sass Dragons

I love goofy music. I loved Weird Al back in the day (I still listen to him from time to time). The Aquabats were one of the greatest, goofiest bands ever. Shit, even Dead Kennedys made lots of goofy music. The thing that made those bands fly was that they were not only goofy, but good bands to start with (yes, even Weird Al).

The split record between Bloomington, IN guitar-less rockers Prizzy Prizzy Please and Naperville, IL punkers Sass Dragons, is a showcase of excellent goof-ball bands.

For those of you unfamiliar with Prizzy Prizzy Please, their sound is reminiscent of every eclectic, goofball genius in the history of rock: Freddy Mercury, Frank Black, Frank Zappa, Andrew W.K., and so forth. It's loud and fun. The Prizz half of the disc starts off with the mid-tempo rocker "Thought Command," which is a typical example of what the Prizz is capable of: keyboard, saxophone, no guitars, pseudo-hair metal vocals. "Let's Go to the Zoo" is a slower song, but it eventually speeds up and almost, ALMOST, becomes a dance song.

"Crackhead/Drillbits," a song about a crackhead trying to sell drill bits, shows what happens when the Prizz rips into straight punk: awesomeness.

The Prizz half of the disc ends with the uber-goofy track "Cow on Cow," which just so happens to be about a double cheeseburger. The song would be too goofy to handle if it weren't so good.

The Sass Dragons sound more like traditional punk rock with a healthy dose of pop. The styles of Screeching Weasel, the Hives, Buzzcocks and Adolescents are all present in the music of the Sass Dragons.

Their half of the split begins with the rowdy Hives-ish "Gon Hoggin'." The most primo track on the disc is the minute-long punch/lunch fest, "Rallys." "Rallys" rocks so hard and is equally moronic and brilliant. While they stick to basic punk music, it is obvious that the Sass Dragons are awesome musicians -- just listen to the guitar work on "Rallys." The rest of the Sass side is just amazing even though half the songs are under a minute, still rocking.

If you live anywhere near Bloomington or Naperville, I higly recommend catching these guys live if you get the chance, which you probably will because they both play all the time. If you can't catch them, check out this split, or, even better, check out their respective full-lengths Whales Are the Biggest Fishes by the Prizz and Man Candy by the Sass.