Okay…So did Stars Wars or Star Trek get it’s own sub genre of music? Not that I’m aware of and would that make Harry Potter fans the bigger fanatic?
(Photo above by: Nate Backous)
Nope I’m not kidding, Wizard Rock……and supposedly it has more than 500 bands bashing out tunes about Dumbledore and the rest of the Potter gang. Notable acts such as “Harry & The Potters” and “Draco & The Malfoys” are pushing this new found genre into the public’s eye and getting some mainstream attention from USA Today.
Okay…So did Stars Wars or Star Trek get it’s own sub genre of music? Not that I’m aware of and would that make Harry Potter fans the bigger fanatic? Does Revivl need to create a new sub category for Wizard Rock? I don’t think so, not yet anyway, but the fact that more than one band actual exists in wizard rock is enough for me to call it a phenomenon. Like Christian rock, there is already a built in fanbase with a targeted audience, but cash in while you can. The books are done and with one (or two if they break it up) movies left,Wizard Rock made fade away as fast as Shatner’s hairline did.
The video below is the trailer for “The Wizard Rockumentary”. It gives a better understanding of the genre.
Jerry Shriver from the USA Today breaks down some of the more popular “Wizard Rock” bands.
Harry & The Potters
- About the band: Brothers Joe DeGeorge, 22, (keyboards) and Paul DeGeorge, 30, (guitar) formed the Norwood, Mass.-based punk-rock group in 2002 and are considered the pioneers of wizard rock. Both brothers adopt a Potter persona onstage, though their Harrys are several years apart in age. They’ve released three albums of original material and will play 15 to 20 shows this year. “We love these books, but we’re not so serious about them that we can’t have a little fun,” Paul says.
- Current album: Priori Incantatem, a two-disc collection of demos and rarities (iTunes, harryandthepotters.com)
- How they greeted the movie: The brothers played an early evening acoustic show at a cave in Purgatory Chasm State Reservation, near Sutton, Mass., then joined fans at a local theater to watch the film.
- Half-Blood Prince-inspired song: Dumbledore (Listen to a clip from the song.)
- Sample lyric: Dumbledore, we all fight for you tonight/In our hearts we’ll never let you die/Your love is keeping us alive
Draco & The Malfoys
- About the band: Brothers Bradley Mehlenbacher, 29, (vocals, guitar) and Brian Ross, 34, (vocals, guitar) formed their rock/bluegrass group in Woonsocket, R.I., in 2005. They’ve released four albums and will do about two dozen shows this year, often with Harry & The Potters, for whom they serve as antagonists. “We’re definitely irreverent,” Ross says. “We give Harry holy hell onstage.”
- Current album: It’s a Slytherin World! and Anthology of Slytherin Folk Music (iTunes, evilwizardrock.com)
- How they greeted the movie: They didn’t. “We are much more about the books rather than the movies,” Ross says.
- Half-Blood Prince-inspired song: I Couldn’t Kill Albus Dumbledore. (Listen to a clip from another song by the band, We’re Slytherins.)
- Sample lyric: (From I Couldn’t Kill Albus Dumbledore) He never gave me the attention he gave Harry/He never showed an interest in me/I watched him from afar, wishing I had a scar/So he would see the great wizard I could be
The Whomping Willows
- About the band: The “band” is a solo project from Matt Maggiacomo (multi-instrumentalist/vocals), 30, of Providence, who began performing wizard rock in 2005. His four albums range in style from rock to folk to alt-country, and he’ll play about 140 shows this year. “The Whomping Willow is a limited character, a magical creature … so I have injected myself into the persona and do songs that include humor and politics,” Maggiacomo says.
- Current album: Demons at the Helm (iTunes, myspace.com/thewhompingwillows)
- How he greeted the movie: Played with fellow wizard bands at a Howard Hughes Center show in L.A. After seeing the movie, Maggiacomo resumed his summer West Coast tour, which runs through Tuesday.
- Half-Blood Prince-inspired song: Stay By My Side (Draco Malfoy “is 16 and has just been given a task that’s beyond his years,” Maggiacomo says. “The Willow tells him he is perfectly justified in stepping away and being a kid instead of being used by adults who don’t respect youth.”) (Listen to a clip from the song.)
- Sample lyric: Draco, lay your weary head to rest/You need release now, so don’t protest/Let my friendship be your recompense/For this tragic loss of innocence
The Remus Lupins
- About the band: Alex Carpenter, 26, (vocals, guitar) started as a solo act in 2005 in Los Angeles, then over the next two years added Tyler Nicholas, 20, (bass) and Toby Karlin, 24 (drums). The rock band, which has released four albums, is amid a 50-date West Coast tour and will perform nearly 100 shows this year. Says Carpenter: “Our motto is ‘Read books, fight evil.’ “
- Current album: The Rest Is Silence (myspace.com/theremuslupins)
- How they greeted the movie: Performed as part of an all-day Potter show at the Howard Hughes Center in Los Angeles, which led up to a midnight showing of the film.
- Half-Blood Prince-inspired song: Looking for Trouble (“It’s about Harry getting ready to go and defeat (Lord) Voldemort,” Carpenter says.) (Listen to a clip from the song.)
- Sample lyric: Before we had our reasons, but this time it’s personal/We’re going looking for trouble, and we’re going to finish this once and for all
