It took almost 50 years for the Electric Mayhem Band — arguably one of the most influential rock bands of the past 50 years — to record their first studio album, a process that’s being chronicled in a new Disney+ series, The Muppets Mayhem. Veteran rockers are generally late bloomers: It wasn’t until 2016 that Dr. Teeth, Animal, Floyd Pepper, Janice, Zoot and Lips even made their live concert debut at San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival. And the timing of their new album is interesting, given that pop and hip-hop currently dominate the charts and streaming services, and many pundits claim that “rock is dead.”
However, speaking ahead The Muppets MayhemThe band’s premiere/keyboardist/vocalist Dr. Tate assures Yahoo Entertainment, “Rumours of the death of rock are greatly exaggerated. There’s no way rock bought the farm after we’ve been consistently maintaining it for decades!”
“I don’t think rock can ever die. It’s a timeless genre that continues to evolve and continues to attract new fans,” adds bassist Floyd.
“Oh sure,” says Janice. “And I really think our album is going to give rock an amazing new life.” The record features originals written by super-producer and songwriter to the stars Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes fame, as well as covers of Beach Boys classics, Cyndi Lauper, KISS, Simon & Garfunkel and John Hiatt.
“Rock rock rock ROCK!” screams drummer Animal, summing up the longtime band’s simple philosophy, while Teeth points out, “Animal will never stop pulling.”
Animal refutes decades-old rumors that he based his ferocious drumming style on the Who’s Keith Moon, Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham or perhaps Cream’s Ginger Baker, replying: “ham? Bon? Drum style? No no! Drum style [is] An animal style!”
“Animal is the original, you know what I’m saying?” Floyd clarifies, to which Teeth adds, “Yeah, really. You know, I actually believe the inspirational order is reversed: Do you have sometime eyed a drummer who is not been influenced by our beloved beast of burden?’
“Yes! An animal good influence!” yells the furry red guardian of the beat.
Janice, as a woman in rock who started in the 70s and played lead guitar, didn’t have many peers at the time. But she cites “absolutely amazing, really great role models,” including Debbie Harry, Tina Turner, Linda Ronstadt, Aretha Franklin, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, “and oh, Ladybug Johnson, of course!” (When Floyd points out that Ladybird Johnson wasn’t a musician, Janice explains, “Totally, but she was like a role model, you know?”)
There’s no doubt that like Animal, Janice inspired a generation, especially a generation of young girls, to take up music (and maybe even pick up a guitar after watching her shred The Muppet Show). But when Yahoo Entertainment asks her to share stories of female artists who have checked her out as an influence, Janice humbly replies, “Well, for example, I recently saw an artist who did an absolutely amazing design in the foam of my vegan half-coffee double soy latte this morning. She is like a true pioneer.”
Over the years Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem have worked with everyone from Alice Cooper and Janice’s aforementioned character Debbie Harry to Miley Cyrus and Weezer, and The Muppets Mayhem the series will feature a wide range of musical episodes that showcase the band’s universal appeal, including Chris Stapleton, Kesha, Lil Nas X, Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, Susannah Hoffs of the Bangles, Ziggy Marley, Zedd, Paula Abdul, Steve Aoki, the doll-headed deadmau5 and certainly one drummer who would cite Animal as a major influence, Tommy Lee. But Floyd says he and his bandmates have a “dream collaborator list 15 miles long,” so it looks like they’re already making up for lost time, looking forward to recording their all-star follow-up album and avoiding that dreaded sophomore slump.
“Oh, for sureJanice says, revealing she’d love to work with Olivia Rodrigo, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars, while Teeth’s wishlist includes Bono, The Weeknd, Stevie Wonder and even Sir Paul McCartney. Can you imagine it? It really is time to turn on the music and turn on the lights.
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