When nightly news outpaces political satire, when death and

PRESS CONTACT: Dominic Del Bene • 415-543-4871 • [email protected]
BOOKING CONTACT: Dan Abbott • 510-313-8171 • [email protected]
When nightly news outpaces political satire, when death and despair are merely filler
between ads for erectile dysfunction pills, the world is ready for Bobby Joe Ebola and
the Children MacNuggits. The mutant offspring of poisonous pop culture, truthto-power punk rock and button-pushing standup comedy, guitarist Dan Abbott and
vocalist Corbett Redford watch from the deck of civilization’s sinking ship... and
laugh.
Bobby Joe Ebola and The Children MacNuggits began in 1995, in a trash-strewn fastfood parking lot in Pinole, CA. The band rose from humble circumstances as a satiric
folk rock duo that played for friends to their current majestic heights, with hilarious and
sometimes frightening acoustic performances.
The MacNuggits have gathered loyal legions of fans with their infamous combination
of searing social satire, soaring harmonies, outlandish and shocking truths, and poop
jokes. The songs draw upon a variety of pop culture, of global crises, of interpersonal
labyrinths, of nightmares and daydreams, skewering them on a rusty spit for the world
to see. With a nod to social satirists like Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, and musical
influences ranging from N.W.A. to They Might Be Giants, Bobby Joe Ebola is the
vaudeville routine for your personal apocalypse.
Bobby Joe Ebola began as a “living room band”, gaining underground notoriety as
flagship band of S.P.A.M. Records, and co-founders of Geekfest, with longtime
friend John Mink (better known as “John Geek”), who also provided occasional
backup vocals. Lacking the blasting amplifiers of the punk and rock bands with whom
they played, they found creative ways to react to the “novelty band” stigma, captivating
audiences with unpredictable and high energy performances. In recent years they are
frequently joined onstage by bassist Sean McTiernan and drummer Josh Wharton
(both of Mystic Knights of the Cobra), and second guitarist Craig Billmeier
(guitarist for Love Songs, Conquest For Death, What Happens Next?, and also
known as internationally renowned air guitarist “Hot Lixx Hulahan”).
Intensive touring schedules (the band has played over 1,500 national and international
shows in it’s existence) have taken them around the nation several times, and the
Ebola boys have had the opportunity to play with a very diverse array of artists, both
underground and mainstream including World/Inferno Friendship Society,
Screaming Females, The Frustrators (featuring Mike Dirnt from Green
Day), Negativland, W. Kamau Bell, NoMeansNo, Emily’s Army, Off With
Their Heads, Kyle Kinane, Bomb The Music Industry, !!! (pronounced Chk
Chk Chk), Night Birds, Alex Koll, Kim Lenz & Her Jaguars, Classics of Love
(featuring Jesse Michaels of Op Ivy), Moshe Kasher, Tornado Rider, Kyle
Gass Band (featuring Kyle Gass of Tenacious D), Dr. Frank of The Mr. T
Experience, American Steel, The Stripminers (feat. Brett from The Donnas
& DJ Bonebrake from X), Fleshies, Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven, Eddie
Spaghetti of Supersuckers, The Phenomenauts, Lemuria, Moon Zappa,
Long Beach Dub All-Stars (ex-Sublime), Fishbone, Behead The Prophet,
Cadillac Tramps, Kepi Ghoulie Band, Greg Attonito of Bouncing Souls,
Kevin Seconds, The Angry Samoans, Against All Authority, Your Mother,
Hickey, 50 Million, Captured! By Robots and The Evaporators at venues
such as The Independent (San Francisco), Cafe Du Nord (San Francisco), The
Troubadour (Los Angeles), Columbia City Theater (Seattle) Rickshaw Stop (San
Francisco), The Punchline (San Francisco), The New Parish (Oakland), Bottom of
the Hill (S.F.), Slim’s (S.F.), Crest Theater (Sacramento) and Phoenix Theater
(Petaluma).
Their first release, in 1996, was the Two Cats EP. It “sold” out very quickly (most were
given away to local high schoolers) and was played frequently on Dr. Demento’s radio
show as well as college radio up and down the West Coast. The band followed their EP
with the 1997 full length At One With The Dumb, a split 7” with Pleasanton hardcore
punk band, Your Mother, and appearances on several compilations. During this time
Bobby Joe Ebola embarked on the first of several regional and U.S. tours, partnering
with bands like Harbinger (feat. members of Fleshies, Blatz, & Crimpshrine), and
many others. The full-length masterpiece Carmelita Sings!: Visions of a Rock
Apocalypse was released in 2000, went to #1 on KALX (Berkeley) and the band broke
up shortly after.
In 2009, the band reformed and immediately began writing and recording new
material. 2010 saw the release of the “Freaky Baby” EP, and shortly after, the full
length album “F”, both on San Francisco-based label Silver Sprocket Bicycle Club.
The EP’s title track was made into the band’s first music video (directed by Emmynominated film crew Bent Lens, and featuring acclaimed bicycle dance troupe The
Bay Area Derailleurs), and has received over 30,000 online views.
Since the release of the critically-acclaimed F, which has found steady airplay on local
college radio stations, the band has been hard at work filming music videos for each
track on the album, and a DVD compilation is in the works. Each year since then, the
band has spent months on tour, including national and regional tours all over the
United States, with notable appearances at The Fest (Gainesville, FL), Art Outside
(Austin, TX) , Snob Theater at Noise Pop (San Francisco) Way Out West Fest
(Tucson AZ), Sketchfest SF (S.F.), Awesome Fest (San Diego), and Libertatia
(Northern CA). The MacNuggits also made a guest appearance on comedian Alex
Koll‘s “Wizard Hello” CD on the Rooftop Comedy label.
Meanwhile, the band continues to write, record and release an astonishing volume
of material, in music, print and video, grinding up pop culture into delicious audio
sausages for an unsuspecting public. In October 2012 the band released the Bone
Dagger 7” single (Suckerpunch Records), and the year ended with the December
release of Trainwreck to Narnia (Rooftop Comedy/Dirt Cult Records), Bobby Joe
Ebola’s long-awaited fourth full-length album.
Surprises await, some cute, some horrific, and whether you laugh or scream, Bobby
Joe Ebola is there for you, providing “pretty songs about awful things” for civilization’s
final years. And as the band likes to say, just because they’re funny doesn’t mean they’re
joking.