Past Lineups: Musicians

Australia’s most awesome comedy band! They’ve blown away audiences across their home country and around the world with a mixture of original comedy songs and pop parodies. In addition to their epic show in the Doll Factory, they’ve played some minor venues like the Sydney Opera House. This trio includes lead vocalist Jordan Raskopoulos, keyboard player / backup vocalist Benny Davis, and guitarist / “way way backup vocalist” Lee Naimo. If you haven’t heard their Four Chord Song before, rush over to YouTube for a couple minutes of joy.

World wide warlords of rock and blues who just happen to be supporters of the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles! This band was founded in the late 90s after guitarist Peter Hayes left The Brian Jonestown Massacre to join up with bassist Robert Levon Been. The band began in San Francisco and later moved to Los Angeles. Since then they’ve traveled the world, including a stop at the Doll Factory for an insane set at TwentyWonder 2011. Note: fans of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are strongly advised to spread your love like a fever.

The Los Angeles Derby Dolls weren't the only ones on skates at TwentyWonder 2014. Joey Cheezhee—no relation to the fast-food mayor sued by H.R. Pufnstuf—has made a career of crooning while careening through audiences on golden rollerblades. He made a name for himself in the mid-90s LA scene at Kelbo’s Coco-Bowl before leaving for Melbourne. But this comedic performance artist came back for TwentyWonder with a space age punk-soul-lounge revue.

Usually, a bug bite doesn’t cause extraordinary changes in your life—except Peter Parker, obviously. But when Ethan Holtzman’s friend caught the aforementioned disease on a trip to Cambodia, he decided to turn those lemons into a band. Dengue Fever’s music is a hypnotic amalgam of 60s Cambodian pop, psychedelic rock, and Khmer lyrics. Their gifted lead vocalist Chhom Nimol sings in fluent Khmer, adding an international flair to their compelling stage presence. Check out this live performance of “Uku” at the Troubador to see why audiences everywhere are catching...their act.

The Gentlemen Callers of Los Angeles is the latest project from the LA-based production team of Atom Smith & Buck Down. The duo is most famous for their decade long stint as the writers, arrangers and producers of the twenty-piece electro-funk circus The Mutaytor. Atom and Buck have also performed or produced as The Dub Pscience Laboratory and Gorillionaire. Check out their sound, featured in the Way 2 Much Cirque Pavilion at TwentyWonder 2014.

Bandmates Val McCallum, Pete Thomas, and Davey Faragher form the hillybilly power trio known as Jackshit. They have performed with Bonnie Raitt, John Hyatt, Buddy Guy, Elvis Costello, and a zillion more. Val, Pete, and Davey each have successful solo projects, but when they get together under the Jackshit moniker they’ve been described by Los Angeles Magazine as the best bar band in LA. In 2003, Pete was inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In an article for the Guardian, Tom Waits described Pete as, “Still one of the best drummers alive.” At TwentyWonder 2012, Jackshit gave a fantastic performance on the main stage of the Doll Factory.

At TwentyWonder 2011, Lynda Kay kept the Chill Room warm with a sampling of her incredible voice, which was described by Fred Willard as “Maple syrup and black velvet, just gorgeous!” Find a way to catch this crooner with her 60s style—including beehive hairdo—and you’ll leave as impressed as the critics from Variety and LA Weekly. Fun Fact: In addition to her live shows, which you should find a way to see, you can see her in a guest appearance on the FX hit Justified, in the episode “Watching the Detectives.”

Cleo King is known for her parts in hit comedies like The Hangover, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Mike & Molly—alongside Friends of TwentyWonder Billy Gardell and Reno Wilson. She has also appeared in numerous dramatic hits including Lost, HBO’s acclaimed Deadwood, and FX’s Sons of Anarchy. But for TwentyWonder 2014 she showed off another of her many talents when she belted out the Star-spangled Banner before the Los Angeles Derby Dolls bout.

Widney High is a special education magnet school in the LAUSD. The band Kids of Widney High is composed of a group of Widney High students that write and perform original songs. Membership rotates as students come and go from Widney. Since its 1988 inception as a song writing class, the band has performed all around LA. It was even featured in the 2005 film The Ringer. In 2010 and 2012, Kids of Widney High played TwentyWonder and showed the crowd that every member of our community can contribute to the Carnival of the Mind.

Dave Alvin is a co-founder and principal songwriter for The Blasters, a critically successful band that has grown a large base of devoted fans. If you’re not among them yet, check out their most popular track “So Long Baby, Goodbye”—you’ll probably recognize it from one of the many soundtracks it’s on. Andy Kindler is a comic known for regular appearances on Letterman and The Daily Show. TwentyWonder 2012 brought this unlikely pair together on the TwentyWonder main stage for a one-off treat. If you missed it, you probably missed your only opportunity to hear a performance of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” involving a wooden train whistle.

Legendary music producer. Songwriter. Bandleader. Andy Paley is a busy man. He first appeared as The Sidewinders’ frontman before going on to produce music for the Ramones, Brian Wilson, Madonna, Jonathan Richman, the Shangri-Las, and many more. Since then he has produced soundtracks and written original music for movies and TV shows like Dick Tracy, Traveller, The L Word, and Spongebob Squarepants. At TwentyWonder 2013, Andy’s band played behind comedian David Koechner on the Doll Factory’s main stage.

Inspired by his Muskogee (Creek) descent, Grant-Lee Phillips’ songs gravitate towards conflicts at the heart of the American experience. This singer/songwriter emerged in the 90s as a member of the trio Grant Lee Buffalo, whose debut LP, Fuzzy, was described by R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe as, “The best album of the year hands down.” Phillips was also known as the sometimes troubadour of Stars Hollow on TV’s Gilmore Girls—which, incidentally, featured music from Friend of TwentyWonder Sam Phillips, no relation. At TwentyWonder 2010, he took the stage to play one of its most memorable sets.

Two time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Sam Phillips has released numerous critically acclaimed albums including the most recent, Push Any Button. She has also co-written music with REM and composed music for TV and films like the Gilmore Girls, Bunheads, and Crazy Heart. Though she rarely makes public appearances, in 2013 Sam Phillips generously agreed to perform at TwentyWonder. She took over the Doll Factory’s Chill Room for a remarkable session with her collaborator and husband Eric Gorfain, leader of The Section Quartet.

In 2006, Rohan Brooks began a series of music therapy sessions that evolved beyond anyone’s expectations into one of Australia’s catchiest bands. A Vice Magazine profile described their work as, “Extremely well-crafted music by a bunch of guys who happen to be diagnosed with slightly wonky sets of genes.” In the genetic cards for the group are Asperger’s and Down syndrome. United by shared challenges and Rohan, Rudely Interrupted has succeeded in the studio and on stages across the world.

With friends and fans like Tech Crunch, Foursquare, and WIRED, this mobile karaoke lounge is pretty much the funnest thing on wheels. It was a fan favorite at TwentyWonder 2011 as well as a standout at SXSW in Austin. {RV}IP describes itself as, “The latest thing. And we mean that literally: we’re open later than any other party. It’s always free, the top shelf liquor never runs out, and we have no closing time. You just have to find us.” {RV}IP is the brainchild of LA-based wife-and-husband team Kestrin Pantera and Jonathan Grubb.

Another longtime contributor, Eban is a prolific composer and songwriter who has created music for countless television shows including Spongebob Squarepants, Mr. Show, and the Academy Awards. He has also maintained a steady output of solo albums that explore a range of genres. A multi-instrumentalist, Eban performs on keyboards, drums, bass, and clarinet. But he is especially famous for his skill on the theremin. Eban has made appearances at TwentyWonder from 2010–2014 giving virtuoso theremin performances and hosting the Chill Room alongside The Poubelle Twins.

When LA natives Daphne Chen, Eric Gorfain, Lauren Chipman, and Richard Dodd unite and play Coachella, they’ve been described as the loudest string quartet in the world. Coveted as studio musicians, The Section Quartet has worked with artists like Dr. Dre, Kanye West, and fellow TwentyWonder supporter Foo Fighters. They also scored the roller derby movie Whip It!, which TwentyWonder contributors Alex “Axles of Evil” Cohen and Jennifer “Kasey Bomber” Barbee consulted on. For TwentyWonder 2012, The Section Quartet generously donated their talents to perform a memorable set in the Doll Factory’s Chill Room.

Alt-rock pioneer and balladeer Matthew Sweet first emerged as part of the 1980s Athens, Georgia music scene—which gave birth to REM, Let’s Active, and B-52’s. Matthew went on to gain commercial success in the early nineties with the acclaimed album Girlfriend. Its bone-dry, caterwauling sonics opened up a wild and picturesque new terrain for restless singer/songwriters to inhabit and explore. In recent years, Matthew has released numerous solo albums and co-productions with Pete Droge and Susannah Hoffs of The Bangles. Matthew was featured on the Doll Factory’s main stage at TwentyWonder 2013.

“As a second- or third-generation punk guy from Orange County, the kings of the music world for me were The Blasters, Los Lobos and X. That’s how I discovered music—basically, through those artists, the L.A. rockabilly scene, the L.A. roots-punk scene.” Jonny has made his own mark on the punk scene as lead guitarist for Social Distortion as well as playing for the Cadillac Tramps, Youth Brigade, the U.S. Bombs, and releasing a solo album, Salvation Town. This certified product of Southern California took over the main stage at TwentyWonder 2014.

Holy hell did these guys close out TwentyWonder 2013 in style! Vaud is a New Orleans-style 19-piece orchestra and cabaret show harkening back to the 1930s. Their performances are part concert, part revival show, part Americana Noire, and part Moulin Rouge. Vaud & the Villians was founded in 2008 by Andy Comeau and Dawn Lewis—an LA-based wife-and-husband team. Since then, they’ve headlined top LA venues like the Ford Amphitheatre and toured all over America. If you get a half a chance, you should definitely check them out.

Raised in Kentucky, identical twin sisters Chandra and Leigh Watson have developed a style of indie-folk that prominently features their signature sibling harmonies. The twins grew up in Louisville amidst country and roots traditions before relocating to LA in the late 90s. Since then they’ve performed with The Shins, Conor Oberst, Jenny Lewis, My Morning Jacket, Pegi Young, and Willie Nelson as well as releasing their own albums Fire Songs, Southern Manners, and Pioneer Lane. At TwentyWonder 2012 they sang two of their originals alongside Jackshit on the Doll Factory’s main stage.

Remember Terry the Pterodactyl and Floory the floorboard? From Wayne White’s mind was born all the menagerie of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. Since then, Wayne has had huge success wrecking the art world with comedic paintings that are smarter than New York. For TwentyWonder 2012 Wayne created a very limited edition “Hot Shots and Know-It-Alls”. He also spent the evening strolling through the crowd and playing banjo alongside his pal on the upright bass, Alison Mork—the voice of Pee-Wee’s Chairry.