It's hard to describe the music of Goober & The Peas, unless you've had the pleasure of experiencing it for yourself. It's most often referred to as "cowpunk", and I guess that's about as accurate as you can get.
The band, led by Dan John "Goober" Miller, formed in Detroit in the late eighties. They pretty quickly became local favorites, thanks not only to the great music, but also their humorous, energetic, and messy, stage show.
While they obviously aped Hank Williams' fashion sense, they also had a bit of a Spinal Tap thing going with their drummer, "Doc". I can't really say how many Docs there were over the years, but the one most often mentioned is a guy who was only a Pea briefly, but would later change his name to Jack White and form The White Stripes.
During their time together, the band put out two full length albums, and a couple of EPs. Although everything is out of print at the moment, I'm not going to put anything up from the albums. Those can still be found in the used record stores.
The first EP was only available on vinyl for a short time, and is now downloadable for free from their website (or, now, from mine). All of the songs on the EP were later re-recorded and put on the debut album.
They also had a total of two songs on compilations. Between those two, and the six tracks from the first EP, here's nearly all the Goober rarities I've come across:
(files expired)
Goober & The Peas - "Dear Grandpa" (EP version)
Goober & The Peas - "Funky Cowboy" (EP version) - one of their biggest hits
Goober & The Peas - "Druthers" (EP version) - one of my personal favorites
Goober & The Peas - "Consider Me" (EP version)
Goober & The Peas - "Hot Women (Cold Beer)" (EP version) - another big hit
Goober & The Peas - "Dear Grandpa (Reprise)" (EP version)
Goober & The Peas - "MacArthur Park" (Richard Harris cover) From 20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions! compilation.
Goober & The Peas - "Consider Me" (live) From the Live at the Hamtramck Pub compilation.
Here's the video for "Funky Cowboy", so you can get an idea of what the live show was like:
Keep an eye out for these:
The Complete Works of Goober & The Peas, 1990 (EP)
The Complete Works of Goober & The Peas, 1992
A Christmas Eve Get Together with Goober & The Peas, 1992 (EP)
The Jet-Age Genius of Goober & The Peas, 1995
These days Goober is fronting a new band, Blanche, along side his wife, Tracee. He has also appeared in a handfull of movies, most notably as Luther Perkins in Walk The Line.
The band, led by Dan John "Goober" Miller, formed in Detroit in the late eighties. They pretty quickly became local favorites, thanks not only to the great music, but also their humorous, energetic, and messy, stage show.
While they obviously aped Hank Williams' fashion sense, they also had a bit of a Spinal Tap thing going with their drummer, "Doc". I can't really say how many Docs there were over the years, but the one most often mentioned is a guy who was only a Pea briefly, but would later change his name to Jack White and form The White Stripes.
During their time together, the band put out two full length albums, and a couple of EPs. Although everything is out of print at the moment, I'm not going to put anything up from the albums. Those can still be found in the used record stores.
The first EP was only available on vinyl for a short time, and is now downloadable for free from their website (or, now, from mine). All of the songs on the EP were later re-recorded and put on the debut album.
They also had a total of two songs on compilations. Between those two, and the six tracks from the first EP, here's nearly all the Goober rarities I've come across:
(files expired)
Goober & The Peas - "Dear Grandpa" (EP version)
Goober & The Peas - "Funky Cowboy" (EP version) - one of their biggest hits
Goober & The Peas - "Druthers" (EP version) - one of my personal favorites
Goober & The Peas - "Consider Me" (EP version)
Goober & The Peas - "Hot Women (Cold Beer)" (EP version) - another big hit
Goober & The Peas - "Dear Grandpa (Reprise)" (EP version)
Goober & The Peas - "MacArthur Park" (Richard Harris cover) From 20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions! compilation.
Goober & The Peas - "Consider Me" (live) From the Live at the Hamtramck Pub compilation.
Here's the video for "Funky Cowboy", so you can get an idea of what the live show was like:
Keep an eye out for these:
The Complete Works of Goober & The Peas, 1990 (EP)
The Complete Works of Goober & The Peas, 1992
A Christmas Eve Get Together with Goober & The Peas, 1992 (EP)
The Jet-Age Genius of Goober & The Peas, 1995
These days Goober is fronting a new band, Blanche, along side his wife, Tracee. He has also appeared in a handfull of movies, most notably as Luther Perkins in Walk The Line.
1 comment:
I managed a band in Detroit out of high school named Sometimes Why. We played from 1990 through about 1995 & only played one show with Goober & The Peas, but I saw them play a couple times in the city, & "Hot Women & Cold Beer" was played often on local Detroit radio. What a fun band to see live, & a great reason to go out & see live local music. They don't all make it to the national stage, but there are some great shows out there.
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