Alexis Gideon previewed

Alexis Gideon
Reversible Eye Gallery, Chicago
Saturday, December 2, 2006

Meet Alexis Gideon. Possibly the most schizo motherfucker making music today. You might remember Gideon as one half of Chicago bizarre cross dressing rap duo Princess, and if you do, you likely don’t think his solo project, Welcome Song (Sick Room, January 9th), could possibly be any stranger. Wrong.

Describing Welcome Song is like being asked to keep stats during a basketball game you only get to watch in fast forward. That said, how about Sufjan Stevens with a head full of mushrooms, naked in his bedroom, banging on his little brother’s Casio keyboard, and spewing whatever rhymes come to mind into a microphone?

In a good way. From the dusty country of “Sometimes” to the cheesy keyboard pop of “Casio Elation” (thought we were making up that Casio bit?) to the trippy “Underwater Carousel” and hip-hop of “Triumvirate,” Welcome Song is all over the place. No matter what genre Gideon chooses to molest, though, the results are generally hilarious thanks to the man’s sometimes juvenile, sometimes brilliant, sometimes nonsensical lyrics. On “Triumvirate,” a hip-hop supergroup consisting of Flames Bond, Snuffleupagus Smooth, and Lazy Pants — all voiced by Gideon — lays down lyrics like “listen to my hip-hop ’til the tape pops and poop plops out ya asshole” and “you better run son/I’ll bit your toenails off and sell ’em to your pops for a bag of gum drops.” On “Casio Elation” he describes rising on “ring modulation/sound manipulation/pizza party situation/dance articulation/ninja gyrations.” And our favorite, from “Oh No (Song for Aay)”: “Oh yeah/oh no/hitting like the po po/slo mo fo sho up ‘n’ down like a yo yo/contact was gradual ho hos ding dongs/straight business casual spirits sing songs.” Mmmmm . . . Ding Dongs.

Gideon is part of a lineup that includes Bird Names, Aloke, Dan Deacon, and Reds And Blues.

— Trevor Fisher

Click here to download Alexis Gideon’s “Triumvirate.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly