What's the best way to get recalcitrant band members to show up for practice? According to Keith LaFlamme of Beastie Boys tribute band Check Your Head, holding band practice in a strip club works like a charm. Tony Santaniello, son of Mardi Gras Nightclub owner James Santaniello, was the original drummer for Check Your Head, making it easy for the band to snag practice space in the mostly empty upstairs portion of the Gras.
"We pretty much owe where we are today to the Mardi Gras," said original Check Your Head member and MC Keith LaFlamme in a recent interview with the Advocate. "It was easy to get people to practice. [The band members] were like, 'Mardi Gras, Beastie Boys, we're there!'"
Although the idea of a Beastie Boys tribute band had been kicking around LaFlamme's head for roughly five years, the band didn't manifest until early 2007. Although the band's lineup went through numerous changes this year, it always retained its four original members: emcee LaFlamme, a.k.a. LA; DJ Jason Gonzalez, a.k.a. DJ Jay One; emcee Sean Betera, a.k.a. B-Tera; and emcee Mike Lamberton, a.k.a. MCA Skinz. The band roster now also includes drummer Joe Grenier, a.k.a. Handsome B Wonderful, and bass player Pete Harvey, a.k.a. Pistol Pete.
While the band's play list includes songs you might expect—Beastie staples like "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," "She's Crafty" and "Sabotage"—Check Your Head also performs mashups like "Sweat Leaf" by Black Sabbath mixed with "Rhymin' & Stealin,'" as well as songs by other artists like Eminem, Rage Against the Machine, Ice Cube and Korn.
"We usually do one or two songs by other artists to give the crowd variety, because we literally are the Beastie Boys on stage, so we do the other songs to have a break in the night," said LaFlamme.
By "literally," LaFlamme means that Check Your Head doesn't simply spit the words to songs by the Beastie Boys: the six-member band combines many theatrical elements to recreate a live show, including costumes (a single show often sees numerous costume changes), props (a man in a gorilla suit has been known to appear during "Brass Monkey"), skits and even audience participation—during "Girls," Check Your Head pulls as many dancing girls onstage as possible.
"We like to bring the crowd into the show," said LaFlamme. "We're trying to give everybody everything… we're like a really good frat band."
The members of Check Your Head, according to LaFlamme, believe they are the only existing Beastie Boys tribute band. While a quick hit on Google disproves this notion, Check Your Head is hoping to be one of the "most profitable tribute bands of all times" by perfecting its craft of mimicry.
While in many songs Check Your Head uses live instruments instead of electronic samples, like the B Boys did, a live show by this tribute band is quite convincing, not to mention a blast.
"We're non-stop," said LaFlamme. "Once we hit that stage, we are the Beastie Boys."
For more information on Check Your Head, log on to www.myspace.com/beastieboystribute.
