The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 20, 1996, Page 6, Image 6
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Complete with Immaculate dress sense, t
members' names.
Too Shinnee
We combine the flamboyance of Elton John
with the lyrics of rap, mixed with the
psychic inspiration of Dionne Warwick."
So savs Special J. vocalist with the
Brooklyn band Too Skinnee J's. From
this you may gather that these are not your
average underground American band...
From their name, to the way they dress, to
their music, Too Skinnee J's ooze class and
flamboyance. They get their name from the
appearance of their two frontmen, the
aforementioned Special J and J Guevara, and
according to the ever quotable Special J, they
have been together for four years "on earth," but
are intergalactically famous.
The band walks onstage to a noisy reception
from an expectant crowd, and do not disappoint.
They don't simply play guitar and sing a few
songs, as far as too many bands seem to do, but
rather they put on the type of performance that
is rare these days. Both Special J and J Guevara
jump around the stage with an infectious
exuberance, which quickly transfers to the crowd
and makes for a great atmosphere inside the
packed venue.
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he Too SMnnee J's are mado their mark on
J's approach
Central to the bands' live appeal is their
immaculate dress sense, which appears to be
chosen from an extensive wardrobe that does not
seem to consist of anything made prior to 1979.
Their presence on stage is matched perfectly with
their funky style, complete with polyester leisure
suits and 'old school' adidas track uniforms.
This contrasts superbly with the self-styled
"manager, owner and spiritual advisor," of Too
Skinnee J's, A J. "Stumpy" Johnson, who simply
stands casually on the centre of the stage, smoking
a cigarette and drinking his beer, while wearing
a white polyester suit that would make even John
Travolta jealous.
He is the epitome of cool; an integral member
of the band who does precisely nothing. "Stumpy"
claims that he won the right to manage the band
in a card game with the bassist's brother in Las
Vegas. You can make your own mind up whether
to believe this or not, but anyway, it makes for
a great story.
The band opened up with a song called "force"
which is good enough, but it is the subsequent
song, "the best" that really sticks in the mind.
Any band who calls a track "The best" certainly
act. one of [he things that mahes Too Shinr
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the Columbia music scon# whan they appe
iig... Big
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does not lack self confidence, but rather than
falling flat on their faces, Too Skinnee J's pulls
the song off with a style and swagger all their
own. The memorable chorus featuring the lines,
"Ain't nobody/Does it better" is an admirable
statement of intent in a similar vein to The Stone
Roses "I wanna be adored," whom Special J
mentions in passing when we are discussing the
band's influences.
In fact, one of the things that makes Too
Skinnee J's so intriguing is that they appear to
draw from such a wide range of influences. Special
J mentions everything from Tribe Called Quest
to Metallica, and this enables them to produce
a sound which is equal parts funk, hip-hop and
rap, with a little bit of ska and punk thrown in
for good measure.
"Pit boss" is another highlight of the bands' s
performance, during which the bands' keyboardist s
makes great use of his trombone playing ability,
and is quickly followed by arguably the best 1
received song the band played, namely "You're i
a champion." 1
Perhaps inevitably after this, the latter half
of the bands' set somewhat fails to live up to those i
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a rod at th? Elbow Room Sept. 13. Tho bt
fat si
irresistible early songs. This is not to say that
the tunes played are bad, far from it, but they
seem to lack the dynamics of some of those that
have gone before.
However, this is quickly forgotten when the
band closes their set with the once heard, never
forgotten "seven one eight," which is not only the
bands' most commercially viable song, but also
their best. The ensuing encore somewhat passes
me by after such a moment.
For many in the crowd, including myself, this
was their first glimpse of the band, but several
had seen them on their previous three visits to
Columbia. Nicole McCabe was one of those that
had seen the band before and said that tonighf s
jxcellent performance was typical.
"They never let you down. Four times I've
seen than and they've always been killer," McCabe
said.
The general feeling was that it was great
"or music fans in the city that the Elbow Room
was managing to attract such a wide variety of
oands.
"Columbia is finally starting to diversify
musically a little," Irvin Thompson said. "This
Iraui from such amide range of influenc
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Friday, September 20, 1996
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SPECIAL TO THE QAMECOCK
ind got tholr nam# from two of tholr band
iccess
is more like metal funk and the crowd here is
accepting it. It's cool that this is happening."
The band has been touring almost continuosly
for nearly three years, and when they finish their
current tour they are going out to the mid-west
for the first time as the support act for the Phunk
Junkeez. They said they are excited at the prospect
of taking their unique brand of music to a different
area, and hope to win over new fans.
They do not have a record qontract as of yet,
but have put together a five track CD, which can
be purchased from the Elbow Room, and plan to
have another CD out in the Bear future.
While the prospect of "seven one eight" blasting
out of the radio may seem somewhat remote at
the moment, given time, and a break from a
record company, you never know what might
happen.
But for the moment let us be content with
the band as they are: a great, energetic, live act
with several insanely hook-laden, yet highly
original, tunes. What a refreshing change from
the many drab alternative guitar acts that currently
litter the top 40.
Susan Franks contributed to this article.
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