The Pizza Underground

From WikiMD's Wellness Encyclopedia

The Pizza Underground was an American comedy rock band based in New York City. Mainly parodying songs by The Velvet Underground with pizza-themed song names and lyrics, the band consisted of Macaulay Culkin (kazoo, percussion and vocals), Matt Colbourn (guitar, vocals), Phoebe Kreutz (glockenspiel, vocals), Deenah Vollmer (pizza box, vocals), and Austin Kilham (tambourine, vocals).

History[edit | edit source]

The Pizza Underground was formed in February 2012, but it was not until November 2013 that the band gained popularity when Macaulay Culkin was seen in a viral YouTube video eating a slice of pizza. The video was a parody of Andy Warhol eating a hamburger in Jørgen Leth's film 66 Scenes from America. Following the viral success, the band performed live shows and recorded an album.

Their debut concert was held at the Sidewalk Cafe in New York City in November 2013. In 2014, they embarked on their first tour, but were met with mixed reviews. During their performance at the Dot to Dot Festival in Nottingham, England, the band was reportedly booed off stage and pelted with beer.

The band announced on their Facebook page in January 2016 that they were splitting up and would be performing their last concert at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar on March 5, 2016.

Musical style and themes[edit | edit source]

The Pizza Underground's music was characterized by its comedic and satirical take on The Velvet Underground's songs. Their lyrics were often about pizza and included puns on the names of Velvet Underground songs. For example, "All Tomorrow's Parties" became "All Pizza Parties" and "Femme Fatale" was changed to "Pizza Gal".

Discography[edit | edit source]

The Pizza Underground demo (2013)

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD