Chad Parks & The Near Death Experience

Described as a “neo-surf punk blues trio with a naturally gifted baritone reminiscent of Johnny Cash or Nick Cave singing wine-soaked lyricism, Chad Parks and The Near Death Experience group was formed over the past year coming out of Brooklyn’s fertile alt-country and gypsy-punk scenes. It is the latest departure for the somewhat veteran singer songwriter Chad Parks whose background reads like a bedtime story composed by William S Borroughs and John Stienbeck read to nuclear winter orphans. Son of military chaplain and grandson of a dust-bowl Southern Baptist missionary raised all over the world Mr.Parks’ music has a worldly wise conviction and dark humor born of his experience. The moniker ‘Near Death Experience’ is intended as a Buddhist reference rather than an existentialist one, though that line is admittedly thin.

In describing the group, Chad has this to say: “We’re trying to write songs people can party to, that aren’t cookie cutter or a blatant bid to join the ranks of corporate rock (while its become almost cliché for ‘indies’ to dis corporate rock, we fucking hate it hate it hate it!).“

He goes on to say: “I’d hate to say its ‘message music’ but we do write about the times we live in, and not just clever pop ditties about how cute our girlfriends are (though they are). Sometimes people say our stuff is really dark and confrontative and all I can say to that is “have you looked around yourself lately?” Oddly I find a lot of humor in songs like “God is Out to Get You” or “Love in the Apocalypse” though I’ve had people think I was dead serious.”

Joining Mr. Parks is Bassist Aaron Goldsmith who comes from an array of eclectic projects such as gypsy punk tango quintet, The Luminescent Orchestrii who toured the Europe in 2004 and the Americana/Old Tyme project The Strung Out String Band who toured Ireland and the UK in 2005. It is with great pleasure that Aaron is getting back to his roots playing electric bass and ‘rockin’ out in a minor key’.

Drummer Benjamin Ironside just recently returned from a “lost year” in South East Asia where he claims to have played music, though no one really knows for sure what happened to him out there…We are just told that that now he’s “different”.

and

Muddum’s 2nd Birthday celebration will be a great way to check out some new music, get your drink on, and become familiarized with Muddum, and what they have to offer!