New Jersey Stage Issue 54 | Page 83

others, in the world of novelty mu- sic to begin with. The project was always intended to be a tribute to Dr. Demento, just as much as it is a tribute to the music he’s played over the years too. Our online radio station has received many very funny punk rock songs of the years.  Do you think punk music and comedy have always had a sort of connection? Yes, absolutely. Both punk and novelty music are rooted in out- siders who have a unique POV that differs from the mainstream. A lot of punk lyrics, particularly old-school punk rock of the 1970s, could just as easily pass for nov- elty songs if performed with a dif- ferent dynamic or arrangement. Punk classics like “Beat on the Brat” or “Now I wanna Sniff Some Glue” by The Ramones are prime examples. By the same token, if you take a novelty song and cover it with a punk attitude, the reverse rings true. I think its evident on Dr. Demento Covered in Punk. Listen to The Misfits cover “The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati” NJ STAGE - ISSUE 54 INDEX NEXT ARTICLE 83