REVIEWS
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"Hilarious"
--Clayton Davis, Variety, February 2021 "This processed cheese has Richard taking alternative rock songs, smothering them in new arrangements, and belting them out with vocals seemingly unearthed in the darkest corners of America's cocktail lounges."
--Paul Vercammen, CNN, 06/19/2001 "Genius lounge-style renditions."
--Zack Snyder, MTV.com, January 30, 2008 |
"...The most ironic tribute act on the planet"
--The Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2004 "He has unquestionably fulfilled his stated ambition of being the loudest lounge singer in America. Actually, this has less to do with his warbling than his wardrobe. Among his nine tuxedos is a shiny silver number, a cocktail print, a Hawaii print and a tiger stripe. Grrrr."
--The Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2009 "The Best"
--Las Vegas Mercury, April 10, 2003 |
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"Outrageously funny fucking thing!"
--Will Lee, Bass Player, Late Show With David Letterman, 11/12/2002 "He's One Smooth, Satirical Cat" --Lina Lecaro, The Los Angeles Times, 01/14/2001 (see review) "Especially whimsical" --The LA Weekly, 02/02/2001 "This is great!" --Bono, U2, 10/26/2000 "Hide your daughters" --New Orleans Times-Picayune, 03/19/2003 "Expletive-Pocked" Las Vegas Review Journal, 02/01/2002 "The American Novelty Lounge Act" Jon Hodgman, 03/23/2022 "Swinging, schmaltzy pizazz" --Washington City Paper, 12/07/2001 "Swankified!" --Donna DeChristopher, Hits Magazine Daily Double, 10/24/00 "This thing goes beyond the elbow in the rib chuckle." --Thrust Record Round-Up, February 2001 "Brilliant!" --Dickie, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, 10/17/00 "Five Stars for this Fromage Homage" -- David Moye, Wireless Flash, 10/4/00 "Lounge singing has Just gotten hipper" --Nick, LaunchMedia.com, 10/11/00 "This guy may be the best lounge singer ever … or at least the best dressed." --Chris Rubin, Desert Living Magazine, January 2006 |
"Tacky"
--The Telegraph, 05/14/2021 "Hapless" --David Bauder, Associated Press, 04/11/2001 "Tiene un mérito de cojones!" --Joan S. Luna, Mondosonoro, Febrero 2001 "Le tout passé à la moulinette muzak et chanté avec une voix de crooner de bas étage." --Olivier Briat, Ouirock.com, 2001 "It's the perfect blend of Cocktail Nation and Lost Generation" --Dave Penkower, CDNOW.com, 11/06/00 "I couldn't stop laughing" --Possessed on-line, January 2001 "Vegas-style send-ups of many alterna-hits that are guaranteed to blow the minds of your friends" --Matt Pinfield, farmclub.com, 11/09/00 "A toe-tapping, knee-slapping good time" --Jason Schaefer-Valerius, Van Gogh's Ear, 2001 "Instead of finger-flipping music, this is finger-snapping music!" --Orange County Weekly, 11/08/00 "Call it underground goes pop, call it alternative stealth lounge, call it the funniest, most outrageous CD you've heard in years." --Cosmik.com, December 2000 "Los Angeles-based" --Yahoo.com, 12/2000 |
RC in the WSJ!
drawing by Ken Fallin
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"The Power Of Cheese"
The Wall Street Journal 5/20/2009 Arts & Entertainment by Joanne Kaufman complete article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124277281865836549.html "Young lady, get in front of these guys. Right in front, sweetheart," singer Richard Cheese directed a fan at his Webster Hall show here in mid-April. "We have a gender problem," continued Mr. Cheese, gazing with exaggerated disapproval at the heavy concentration of males arrayed before him. "Dude. Dude. Dude. Dude," he counted before launching into a cover of the Beastie Boys' hit "Brass Monkey." Hoisting beers and camera phones, the crowd of 1,000, mostly in their 20s and 30s, gleefully sang along. But someone had been monkeying big-time with that brass monkey, funky monkey. What had started life as a classic hip-hop song became, in Mr. Cheese's interpretation, a jaunty, up-tempo number that seemed tailor-made for a finger-snapping Jack Jones or Vic Damone. Such is Mr. Cheese's game: presenting very skillful Las Vegas lounge-style versions of punk, rap, heavy-metal and rock songs by the likes of Nirvana, Guns N' Roses, Britney Spears, Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead -- with the often lewd lyrics completely intact. The rap number "Baby Got Back," by Sir Mix-A-Lot, as covered by Mr. Cheese and his back-up group, Lounge Against the Machine, became a song for swingin' lovers, while U2's impassioned anthem "Sunday Bloody Sunday" morphed into a mambo with Mr. Cheese singing some of the lyrics in Spanish. "How ya doing, kids?" he asked with all the sincerity of a used-car salesman. "We're going to take a short break." Beat. Beat. "We're back!" And now for a lightly swinging rendition of the theme from the '70s sitcom "Three's Company," a little bonbon included on Mr. Cheese's seventh album, "Dick at Nite" (Coverage). He's currently in the middle of a tour to support album number eight, "Viva La Vodka" (Coverage), a compilation of live performances -- among them what one listener referred to as "swankified" takes of "Toxic," originally performed by Britney Spears, and "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls. Richard Cheese is the alter ego of comedian and striver Mark Jonathan Davis, 43, who's offering up a variation on Nick Winters, the lounge lizard conjured by Bill Murray on "Saturday Night Live," and Darlene and Jonathan Edwards, a lounge-act parody conjured in the '50s by jazz singer Jo Stafford and her orchestra-leader husband Paul Weston. For Mr. Davis, the word "cheese" pretty much says it all. "I guess it's the idea that lounge music is kind of cheesy," he said in an interview after the show. "When I chose the name of the character, I wanted to communicate that it was sort of a joke. But Richard Cheese doesn't know it's a joke. He's kind of clueless," added Mr. Davis, who extended the jape to include the members of his band: pianist Bobby Ricotta (Noel Melanio) and drummer Frank Feta (Brian Fishler), collaborators with the boss on the shrewd musical arrangements, and bass player Billy Bleu (Ron Belcher). Through the years there's also been Chazz American, Wayne String, Gordon Brie and Buddy Gouda. Suffice it to say that in the decade since Mr. Cheese began spreading his magic -- CD sales total 170,000 -- fans have milked the dairy angle for all it's worth. "We played a show in Boston last year and a guy showed up in a cow costume," Mr. Davis said. "We have people show up wearing those hats shaped like cheese wedges. They'll say 'if I'm in your band I'm going to be Peter Processed.' "Different people focus on different aspects of the act," Mr. Davis continued. "Some people latch on to the cheese part. Some people like the fact that we have a jazz trio. Some people are big fans of the original artists -- they show up with a variety of tattoos and body piercings. I welcome them all. I just wish there were more girls." The younger of two children, Mr. Davis grew up in Phoenix where after high school he began volunteering at the local top-40 radio station, KZZP-FM. A paid part-time job contributing song and commercial parodies followed, with Mr. Davis eventually working his way up to producer of a morning show. He moved to Los Angeles in 1990 for another radio job, then found his way to KROQ-FM, better known as K-Rock, and began developing the character that became Richard Cheese. "I had created Paul, a 55-year-old who worked as an intern at the station," said Mr. Davis. "It was a rock station, so of course a 55-year-old guy shouldn't be working there. He was always trying to convince the producers to play Sinatra songs. "I came in one day and said 'let me have the guy sing Sinatra versions of K-Rock songs,'" added Mr. Davis, who stitched together a medley of tunes -- Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf"; Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Give It Away"; The Clash's "Rock the Casbah" -- done in swing style. When it comes to choosing material, Richard Cheese wants a tune with that certain je ne sais quoi -- a song that if not a standard today will surely be a standard tomorrow. So bring on "Gin & Juice" by Snoop Doggy Dogg and "War Ensemble" by Slayer. As for Mr. Davis, "I want a song that everyone recognizes, something that has lyrics that are rather ridiculous when sung in a lounge style. And I want our version to be as good as or better than the original." The groups whose songs Mr. Cheese has covered seem to enjoy the joke mightily. "We met U2 the year our first CD came out, and I gave a copy to Bono," said Mr. Davis, referring to the leader of the Dublin rock group. "He instantly got what we were doing." The heavy-metal group, Disturbed, whose "Down With the Sickness" turned up "swankified" in the movie "Dawn of the Dead," are fans. So are the guys in the band Rush, "which is amazing and wonderful," added Mr. Davis. "People love it when you sing their songs. Not only do they make a little money off it, it's a tribute." And in return let us pay tribute to Mr. Cheese: He has unquestionably fulfilled his stated ambition of being the loudest lounge singer in America. Actually, this has less to do with his warbling than his wardrobe. Among his nine tuxedos is a shiny silver number, a cocktail print, a Hawaii print and a tiger stripe. Grrrr. This is Mr. Cheese's farewell tour with Lounge Against the Machine, Mr. Davis insists. "I have some other things I want to do with recording and performing," he said, mentioning a Richard Cheese documentary, a forthcoming Hawaiian-themed album, "Lavapalooza," as well as an album of contemporary rock songs repurposed as serious ballads. Richard Cheese can undoubtedly go on swinging as long as there are songs to sing. Mr. Davis, not so much. "I want to keep things interesting for our fans," he said. "This is something I love doing, but everyone has to grow." Ms. Kaufman writes about culture and the arts for the Journal. (page D11) |
Director Zack Snyder for MTV.com
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"Director Zack Snyder Reaches For A Slice Of Cheese"
MTV News 01/30/2008 MTV News guest columnist has music on the brain as he wraps shooting the hugely anticipated superhero flick. by Zack Snyder Zack Snyder is the acclaimed director of "300" and "Dawn of the Dead." His forthcoming "Watchmen" project, adapted from the long-worshipped graphic novel, is one of the most highly anticipated superhero projects in years. Snyder is also an occasional guest columnist for MTV.com. "The Irony of Cheese" I just realized that quite a bit of time had gone by since I last ranted about anything on MTVNews.com, so I thought I better get to it. At the moment, I'm in the final weeks of shooting "Watchmen," in Vancouver, British Columbia. Since "Watchmen" is a dissection of the superhero genre and forces it to take a long, hard look into the pop-culture mirror, it only makes sense that it's where my head is at these days. With that in mind, I started thinking about music and whether there were any parallels that could be drawn. Enter Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine. Although tonally they are vastly different in many ways, the film and the Cheese-y music share an in-your-face look at the world, calling bullshit on pop culture in an unapologetic way. For the unfamiliar, Richard Cheese (also known as Dick Cheese) is a Los Angeles singer and comedian. He and his cover band, Lounge Against the Machine — which features Gordon Brie, Frank Feta and Bobby Ricotta — have spent the last 10 years satirizing the pop songs that assault our ears day in and day out, every time we turn on our radios. Don't get me wrong, I have my own musical guilty pleasures (don't think for a second I'm going to divulge them here), but it never ceases to amaze me the range of songs that can race to the top of the charts and stay there indefinitely, some offering almost nothing of substance, while others are bound to be future classics. Richard Cheese seems to have a similar fascination with both the good and the bad that fill the airwaves. He refuses to lie down and accept the pageantry, attitude, emotion, chords, alliteration and sometimes sheer absurdity of today's music at face value. Covering everything from Nirvana's "Rape Me" to 2 Live Crew's "Me So Horny" to the "Three's Company" theme song, he chooses to engage songs by recording hilarious and, in my opinion, genius lounge-style renditions. I've been a fan of Richard Cheese for a long time, so naturally he's in my mental Rolodex when I started thinking about music for my movies. When I was looking for tracks for the "Dawn of the Dead" soundtrack, it was important to me that the music reinforce the film's underlying desire to break conventions and not be limited by the expectations placed on the film because of its roots in the genre world. Too often I think studios and filmmakers have a preconceived notion of what audiences' expectations will be based on a film's genre. I believe this approach often sets a course that funnels many projects down a familiar pathway with comfortable choices and safe decisions. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes this actually works, creating cinematic "comfort food" that delivers and satisfies. But more often than not, it leaves me as a viewer dissatisfied, wanting more and wishing I didn't know what was waiting for me around every corner. That is why I like creating projects that are self-aware. In my opinion, the trick is being self-aware without becoming self-conscious, having an awareness of a project's roots, but not being stifled by the typical genre pre-conceptions. I always say it was important to me while making "Dawn of the Dead" to "have fun with," but not "make fun of," the zombie and horror genres. Which brings me back to Richard Cheese. When I was cutting the scene in "Dawn of the Dead" where we find our survivors passing the time while trapped in the mall together, I immediately thought of Richard Cheese and his cover of the Disturbed song "Down With the Sickness." Don't get me wrong; I knew the typical song choice for that moment could have easily been the original version of the song. Ripe with all its testosterone-driven badass attitude and pounding drums, the original would have suited a montage of our characters that portrayed them as defiantly shrugging off the surrounding dangers. But, in this particular instance, I think it would have been the wrong message. There is an obvious symbolic lyrical "illness" tie-in, but more importantly, I was depending on the irony found in the lounge rendition of the song to play through. So, I dropped it into the cut, stepped back and let it play. There was something ironic as I watched the characters, in the dire situation they were, passing the time ever so casually in the face of a zombie apocalypse. Exposing these very alive people as strangely similar to the mindless creatures surrounding the mall, the song helped to reinforce the tone of the moment. It was the perfect fit. Even in the face of a potentially world-ending plague, they are still drawn to the mundane. In many ways, this is what Richard Cheese is all about: Peeling away the tough, polished exterior of a song dressed in its most aggressive riff or eardrum-rattling bass and exposing it to its core. He has the ability to look in the pop-culture mirror and see both the good and the bad and, without discriminating, have fun dissecting both. After all, what's not to like about a swanky lounge version of Slayer's "War Ensemble"? Then again, that's just my opinion. Check him out yourself ... www.richardcheese.com -Zack |
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"Three Questions With Richard Cheese"
Las Vegas Weekly 1/24/2008 by Spencer Patterson What’s the movie you’re filming this show for all about? It’s not gonna be some crazy movie with explosions and car chases. It’s more of a documentary showing what we’re like onstage and what happens in the audience. I haven’t really decided if we’re gonna put it in theaters or if we’re gonna put it on DVD or if we’re just gonna show it to people in their homes. Normally a ticket for a film at a movie theater is like $10 or so. If we show it in people’s houses, we’re going to try charging people $180 per person so we make the same amount of money. Plus we’ll get free food. What’s the latest in Cheese-land, musically speaking? We’re recording two new albums right now, one for the summer and another for the fall, and every single song has at least one swear word—that’s our new mantra. I think we’re doing “Gimme That Nut” by Eazy-E, which is a beautiful love song. And at our shows we even do brand new material—requests from the audience for things we’ve never played before. A lot of them I’ve never even heard of, ’cause you know, the kids that come to the shows know all this crazy stuff that they’re downloading on Limewire and exchanging in their dogfighting clubs. But my musicians are pretty talented at picking up the groove, and nowadays if I don’t know the lyrics, you can get them instantly on your iPhone, so I’m able to sing the songs spontaneously. Didn’t you officially retire from performing a few years ago? Oh yes, I have retired. I’ve been retired for four years. This is our third reunion tour. I learned a big lesson from the Eagles—tell people you’re breaking up the band and then do the reunion tour, ’cause boy, we make a lot more money that way. The truth is that I’m not really touring around the country as much as I used to. I’m really trying to stay in Vegas. So I guess you could say I’m retired from touring, but not from performing, from drinking or from taking groupies back to my hotel room. Why would you retire from that? |
Richard Cheese, lampooning lounge-pimp extraordinaire.
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The Biggest Dick in Phoenix
New Times Phoenix 6/8/2008 Up On The Sun: Richard Cheese at Celebrity Theatre on Saturday, June 7 by Benjamin Leatherman Back in mid-1996, Zach de la Rocha and the rest of Rage Against the Machine ruled the alt-rock world, with stations like The Edge (then on 106.3/100.3 FM) broadcasting the foursome’s aggro agitprop songs from their second album Evil Empire on seemingly an hourly basis. In those pre-iPod days, the radio dial in my ’88 Ford Escort was usually tuned to The Edge, and after hearing about how “tha power dons” were rallying ‘round the family with a pocket full of shells for like the 999,999th time in a single day, I thought to myself, “I wonder what ‘Bulls on Parade’ would sound like as a swing song?” It wasn’t a cure for cancer or anything, but I thought it’d be pretty snazzy to neuter such a fiercely aggressive jam by rendering it as a jazzy, torched-out number with plenty of call-and-response. But like many random thoughts and ideas, this one was filed away in the back reaches of the mind under the “maybe someday, if you’ve got the time” header. Fast forward to 2002, when I first heard Richard Cheese croon out his loungy, parody version of Disturbed’s violently hostile chart-topper “Down with the Sickness,” and felt very much like the schnook in those invention-patenting commercials who failed to secure the rights to his new pasta pot, or some such device that could’ve made him a fortune. “Damn,” I thought, recalling my scheme of six years ago. “Somebody beat me to it.” (Turns out Cheese wasn’t the only one to give birth to the same brain child, as the Mike Flowers Pops over in England and Australia’s Frank Bennett have been doing jazzy send-ups of pop and rock hits since the mid-90s). But despite the fact I was suffering from a bad case of “woulda-shoulda-coulda,” I became an ardent fan of Cheese and his slick-sounding spoofs of rock, pop, and hip-hop anthems, and was very much looking forward to the lounge lampoon’s concert at the Celebrity Theatre. It’d be my last chance to watch the big Dick in action, as the singer was billing the current “Lounge the Vote” tour as a swan song to live performances due to “vocal chord problems,” and the concert didn’t disappoint in the least. The sell-out crowd was already feeling in the mood for swing and swank thanks to a smokin’ opening set by Phoenix jazz ensemble Sonorous (who were joined at one point by songstress Lonna Kelley), but when Cheese strode onto the Celebrity’s round stage with the three members of backing band Lounge Against the Machine, things really got rolling. Carrying an oversized martini glass with him (and getting plenty of hoots from the audience as a result of the prop), the singer started off with his comical versions of Nine Inch Nail’s “Closer” and Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass.” He scatted and snapped his way through the vulgar-sounding numbers with style, transforming the venue into a gonzo version of some smoky, barely-lit lounge. He seemed extra jazzed for the show, considering he was performing for his hometown crowd. Cheese is originally from the Valley and wore his Arizona affiliation on his sleeve by dropping references to local radio stations and businesses (even singing a loungy version of the jingle for a local Berge/Mazda/Volkswagen dealership). He also gave plenty of shout-outs to friends and family in attendance, including his parents. “Is everybody drunk? Are my parents in the back already drunk?” Cheese asked the crowd. “Somebody get them a drink. My mom likes a good Vodka and Geritol.” After a few profanity-laced songs, the swinging satirist made some amusing apologies to his folks for all his ribald and racy rantings. Later, he also presented his parents with a what appeared to be a fancy cake and fruit salad in honor of the upcoming Father’s Day holiday while LATM performed a dad-oriented song, which turned out to be the “Imperial March” from The Empire Strikes Back. Clever. But the audience got more than just aptly-timed recyclings of sci-fi themes, as the Cheese and company managed to jam more than 30 songs into a two-hour show (albeit some in abbreviated form) and gave ‘em more than their money’s worth. The set list featured a large number of TV themes (The Brady Bunch, Three’s Company, Aqua Teen Hunger Force), owing to the fact that Cheese’s latest disc Dick at Night is filled with said songs. He even gave another nod to the Valley by belting out the theme to 80s sitcom Alice, which was set in the PHX. Like any good lounge singer, Cheese knew how to the work the room, and did so with snazzy style. Ever the showman, Cheese also had his between-song (and even in-song) patter down pat. He moved through the aisles at various points, interacting with the crowd, humorously hitting on married women in front of their husbands, or dragging audience members up to the stage (including bringing three bro’s in tuxedo tee shirts up to dance with him, Rockettes-style, to “Down with the Sickness”). In order to stave off drunken requests for songs from being shouted out during the affair (which they were anyway), Cheese also placed a “suggestion box” made from tiger skin-like fabric (natch) at the edge of the stage.The dapper dood also changed his tux jacket three times during the concert, switching from basic black to one covered in martini glasses, then a faux tiger skin model, and finally a more silvery deal. Other hilarious hi-jinks included: -- Before performing audience favorite “Baby Got Back,” he pulled one bootylicious lady onto the stage and requesting she use the mic stand as a stripper pole. -- During a performance of the theme to SpongeBob SquarePants, Cheese had some in the first few rows blow bubbles and asked everyone else to wave their arms around like kelp. -- After performing a medley of Beastie Boy songs (“Brass Monkey”/“So Whatcha Want”/”Sabotage”), Cheese noticed some 14-year-olds in one of the front rows and asked them if they’d heard of the Beastie Boys. “Tell you what, go out and buy Ill Communication, Check Your Head, and Hello Nasty and you’ll get laid next year like that,” he said. -- In the middle of the Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha,” Cheese began doing hilariously spot-on impersonations of how singers like Bob Dylan, Michael McDonald, or Bjork would sing the song. (We really wish we had some pictures to show you of the some of these shenanigans, but the singer hates having snapshots taken of him during gigs, so the photo Nazis, err…ushers repeatedly put the smackdown on anyone daring to raise a camera). Cheese finally wrapped up the show around 11 p.m. after a three-song encore, thanking us for helping “spread the Cheese” and finished with a rendition of the chorus from “Viva Las Vegas Phoenix.” If it indeed was his final show in Phoenix, (and not just some marketing ploy), it was a helluva way to go out. - Personal bias: I wish I owned a swank tiger skin tux and an oversized martini glass. Better than: Hanging out with the dicks in Scottsdale. Overheard outside: “I think Richard Cheese is the new Danny Elfman.” Random detail: Before Cheese took the stage, the P.A. system was playing the original versions of many of the songs he’s parodied, including Limp Bizkit’s “Nookie,” Green Day’s “American Idiot,” and Beastie Boys “Brass Monkey.” Richard Cheese at Celebrity Theatre on Saturday, June 7, 2008
Set list (and the originators of each song): 1. “Closer” (Nine Inch Nails) 2. “Shake Ya Ass” (Mystikal) 3. “Another Brick in the Wall” (Pink Floyd) 4. “You Shook Me All Night Long” (AC/DC) 5. “Smack My Bitch Up” (Prodigy) 6. “War Ensemble” (Slayer)* 7. “Crazy Bitch” (Buckcherry) 8. “Indiana Jones theme” (John Williams)** 9. “Brass Monkey”/“So Whatcha Want”/”Sabotage” (Beastie Boys) 10. “Ice Ice Baby” (Vanilla Ice) 11. “Theme from Three’s Company” (Joe Raposo) 12. “Me So Horny” (2 Live Crew) 13. “99 Luftballons” (Nena)* 14. “Airbag” (Radiohead) 15. “Theme song from Alice” (Linda Lavin) 16. “Gin & Juice” (Snoop Dogg) 17. Medley of tidbits of audience-requested songs, including “White Room” (Cream), “Hollaback Girl” (Gwen Stefani), “P.W.A.” (5th Ward Boyz), “Hot For Teacher” (Van Halen), “My Humps” (Black Eye Peas), “Theme from The Love Boat” (Jack Jones), and “Amie” (Pure Prairie League)* 18. “Chop Suey” (System of a Down) 19. Jingle for Clorox 2 (“Mama’s got the magic of Clorox 2”)* 20. “Theme from SpongeBob SquarePants” (Patrick Pinney) 21. “Eye of the Tiger” (Survivor)** 22. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nirvana) 23. “Toxic” (Britney Spears) 24. “Don't Cha” (Pussycat Dolls) 25. “Baby Got Back” (Sir Mix-A-Lot) 26. “Theme from Aqua Teen Hunger Force” (Schoolly D) 27. “Theme from The Brady Bunch” (Sherwood Schwartz) 28. “Imperial March” (John Williams)** 29. “People Equals Shit” (SlipKnot) 30. “You're the Inspiration” (Chicago) 31. Encore: “Down with the Sickness” (Disturbed) 32. Encore: “Careless Whisper” (George Michael) 33. Encore: “Creep” (Radiohead) 34. Encore: “Viva Las Vegas Phoenix” (Elvis Presley)* * Abbreviated version of the song ** Instrumental |
