The compilation is the latest proj-
ect by John Cafiero who grew up
in New Jersey and graduated from
North Bergen High School. The
record is basically a Dr. Demento
radio show from the novelty songs
down to the factoids and anec-
dotes by Dr. Demento himself
between songs. It also features
an impressive cast of artists includ-
ing the Misfits, Fred Schneider of
the B52s, Uncle Floyd, Weird Al
Yankovic, the late Adam Batman
West (in one of his final perfor-
mances), and Captain Kirk him-
self, William Shatner (to name just
a few). Over thirty of the songs
have never been released before,
including an absolute stunner by
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts. To-
gether they bring a punk mentality
to these songs of “mad music and
crazy comedy.”
The two-disc CD and three-disc
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 54
vinyl LP come with a full-color
booklet jam-packed with exten-
sive liner notes and quotes per-
sonally written by the artists, a
foreword by Cafiero, an afterword
by Dr. Demento, as well as facts,
photos, and an array of dynamic
paintings and illustrations cre-
ated specifically for the project by
a team of visual artists spanning
the world of comic books, classic
punk-rock album covers, Topps
Trading card series, Mad Maga-
zine and more.
Cafiero’s band, Osaka Popstar,
plays a prominent role including
covering “Fish Heads” — the most
requested song of all-time on the
Dr. Demento Show. Originally
done by Barnes and Barnes, the
song gets a new life and an amaz-
ing cartoon music video. New Jer-
sey Stage spoke with Cafiero about
the album and his band’s part in it.
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