Right off the bat, \u00a0I should point out that I don\u2019t like clowns. \u00a0I never have. \u00a0I am not sure why I developed a negative reaction to greasepaint, \u00a0but I vividly remember when I became aware of it. \u00a0\u00a0My older brother dragged me to the circus set up in the field across from our house when I was around 6 \u00a0years old. \u00a0It was an occasion that ended abruptly when I had a near head on collision with a clown totting helium balloons for sale. \u00a0I will just say my choice was to leg it back home rather than spend the afternoon in an enclosed space with more clowns than I could imagine one circus could have! \u00a0Sure, the circus sounded like a lot of fun from a distance, but I just couldn\u2019t get over the fact that there were enough clowns there to fill a fleet of clown cars. \u00a0Even the pirate sword I was offered as a bribe couldn\u2019t get me to stick around. \u00a0Yep, I have never been a clown guy.<\/p>\n
In 1999, there was a band formed in Atlanta, GA called Greasepaint and if you haven\u2019t guessed it by now, they were a clown band. \u00a0Note the subtle difference between a \u2018band of clowns\u2019 and a \u2018clown band\u2019. \u00a0They were basically a rock band whose members dressed up in clown regalia and their lead singer was a 6\u20198\u201d giant of a clown named Puddles. \u00a0The man behind the Puddles greasepaint was Big Mike Geier who had migrated from his hometown of Richmond, VA with more irons on the fire than most seeking a career in music would dare to juggle. \u00a0Besides Greasepaint, Geier has a show band (Kingsized), a dance troupe called the Dames Aflame and a combined project whose handle (Elvis Royale) smacks of Vegas excess both musically and visually. \u00a0Just scanning the list of his talents (singer, musician, actor, performance artist, voice-over talent, master of ceremonies, chef, bartender and businessman) tells you that Big Mike is not just clowning around!<\/p>\n
Not content to just be really busy, Geier has also developed spin off groups like Bogey and the Viceroy, \u00a0the Kingsized Jazz Trio, and a Tiki Bar band called Tongo Hiti just to make sure that he is extremely busy. \u00a0His most recent persona as a cabaret clown act called Puddles Pity Party is easily his most visible gig outside of Atlanta, but more on that a little later.<\/p>\n
Geier and his wife Shannon (who does a continuing character in some of his productions named MonkeyZuma replete with her monkey mask and a bunch of bananas) obviously needed more business opportunities, so they made connections with folks at the Cartoon Network and found themselves contributing music for (and sometimes acting in) \u2018Adult Swim\u2019 programs like \u2018Aqua Teen Hunger Force\u2019 and \u2018Squidbillies\u2019. \u00a0\u00a0After landing an invitation to take part in the \u2018Aqua Teen Hunger Force Live\u2019 show in New Orleans, Big Mike and Shannon had to figure out exactly what they would do. \u00a0The Puddles schtick was reworked to fit into the show and the Puddles Pity Party segment of Big Mike\u2019s career kind of took off from there.<\/p>\n
For the New Orleans show, \u00a0Big Mike (as Puddles) took a page from Mark Twain and came out on stage, \u00a0said nothing for as long as he dared, and then picked up his guitar. \u00a0\u00a0His song progressed and he eventually waded into and over the seats, sending chairs and astonished audience members in all directions. \u00a0He spontaneously ended up planting a large, wet kiss (a \u2018Daffy Duck\u2019 kiss he called it) on the face of one unsuspecting fellow, generating a crowd reaction that lead Big Mike\/Puddles to the conclusion that he was on to something. \u00a0A quick check of his website at www.puddlespityparty.com<\/a> <\/span>shows that Big Mike and MonkeyZuma are now extremely busy and really well known outside of their southern stronghold. \u00a0A vexing problem for Geier as he is not a big fan of flying. \u00a0An opening slot on a European tour by the band Eels took the Pity Party world wide (presumably by air and not slow boat).<\/p>\n Enter the viral video that turned Puddles Pity Party into a juggernaut. \u00a0There is a whole side story that will need to be told about the band featured in this video (Scott Bradlee\u2019s Postmodern Jukebox project \u00a0(www.postmodernjukebox.com<\/a> )<\/span> (spoiler alert: sequel coming!)) , but it was a Puddles collaboration with PMJ on Lorde\u2019s hit Royals <\/i>that sent the Pity Party into overdrive. \u00a0I hadn\u2019t seen the clip at the time I read about a Puddles Pity Party show scheduled in Milwaukee in the spring of 2015, so naturally, I had to check it out. \u00a0I hadn\u2019t actually heard Lorde\u2019s version \u00a0(my wife claims I must have been living in a box not to have heard it during the baseball Royal\u2019s last playoff run) but after comparing the two, \u00a0I found I like Puddle\u2019s version better. \u00a0With YouTube views nearing 200,000 since it was posted in February of 2014, the Royals<\/i> clip has lead to a couple more PMJ videos and some live Puddles Pity Party \u00a0performances with PMJ. \u00a0You will just have to check it out for yourself because words alone can not paint an accurate picture of the whole Postmodern Jukebox \/ Puddles Pity Party collaboration. \u00a0It is \u00a0musically tight and pretty flawless for something recorded live and (apparently) in one take. (can be seen at www.youtube.com\/watch?v=23rJ4D44It0<\/a><\/span> ). \u00a0They call him \u2018The Sad Clown with the Golden Voice\u2019 and I can\u2019t disagree with that.<\/p>\n My clown fear must be ebbing because there is another clip out there from a radio talk show featuring a male and female broadcast team co-hosting a studio visit by Puddles. \u00a0It made me laugh and clowns don\u2019t usually have that effect on me. \u00a0The setup here has the woman co-host running down a list trying \u00a0to guess who their \u2018special guest\u2019 will be. \u00a0Enter Puddles and she instantly goes into a nervous rant I can relate to: \u00a0she hates clowns! \u00a0\u00a0So how does one conduct a radio interview with a clown who doesn\u2019t speak? \u00a0Puddles makes his presence known by slurping his coffee a few times. \u00a0He then takes out a party hat for the squealing co-host before breaking into his I-Phone backed version of Royals. \u00a0<\/i>By the end of the clip, she is snapping photos with her own phone and Puddles Pity Party has gained a roomful of new fans, including me.<\/p>\n Maybe Big Mike is really Dr. Phil under all that greasepaint. \u00a0Maybe he is just a comic genius with a great voice. \u00a0The truth is, Big Mike Geier is a hard working entrepreneur who has struck entertainment gold by flipping the whole \u2018hate\/fear of clowns\u2019 thing on its\u2019 ear. \u00a0I can now see a different side to the whole \u2018fear of clowns\u2019 thing. \u00a0I might not be ready to jump in the clown car quite yet, but I am looking forward to seeing what Big Mike does next. \u00a0\u00a0I am ready – cue the Judy Collins CD and Send in the Clowns! \u00a0<\/i>I wonder – would Big Mike even \u00a0fit into a clown car?