The Fantastic Wonderfuls (formerly known as Suppression)

The first time I was privy to the awe-inspiring madness of the Fantastic Wonderfuls (formerly known as Suppression) was on the bill of a March 2003 show in Philly with Mannequin, The Minor Times, and my friend’s emo-core band. While the other bands on the bill carefully sought to play it strictly paint-by-numbers in both their music and presentation, Suppression obliterated any and all preconceptions about what a performance could be. These guys were rude, confrontational, obnoxious, psychedelic, and completely exhilarating.

The bassist, Jason Hodges (member of the Amoeba Men and head of CNP Records) contorted his engorged, sweaty body into jagged shapes and approached audience members at uncomfortable, point blank distances, looking them in the eye and forcing them to come to terms with their fears and insecurities. All the while, the drummer, Ryan Parrish (also of the Darkest Hour) would periodically crack non-sequiturs from behind his kit, like some deranged stand-up comedy routine gone horribly awry.

It was hard to tell if this was some ridiculous, over-the-top joke band or if the audience itself was being rendered the joke. After listening to the frenzied groove the Fantastic Wonderfuls plug into on "Release The Piranha", it’s plain as day that this is no joke band...or maybe I’m just incredibly gullible.

The Fantastic Wonderfuls are a band that needs to seen live to be truly understood but hopefully the mp3s below will give you some insight into the brute force (not to mention deliciously off-kilter sense of humor) behind this band. In short, Jason and Ryan are national treasures.

Official Site
CNP Records Myspace

Mp3s/Videos:

Rape Myself
Release The Piranha
Release The Piranha (Music Video)