Check out this article from the Washington Post: They haven't gone away at all!
PROFESSOR MURDER'S KILLER BEAT
Saturday, August 18, 2007; Page C06
D.C. concertgoers regularly get grief for not dancing enough. Maybe the problem isn't that the locals are uptight; they just save their shimmying for worthy acts. Rhythmic rockers Professor Murder, who kicked off an eight-city tour with a show at the Black Cat's backstage Wednesday night, more than fit the bill. There was a whole lot of shaking going on as the Brooklyn quartet delivered a dynamic performance filled with propulsive drum-circle jams.
During most of the evening's eight songs, three of the group's members could be found pounding on something. Professor Murder is a fine name (taken from the cult HBO comedy "Mr. Show"), but you might as well call them White Man Group. Drummer Andy Craven bashed away on his standard kit, Jesse Cohen handled electro sounds on a drum pad and frontman Michael Bell-Smith took turns on snare, tom, cymbals and cowbell. Instead of blurring into one cacophonous rumble, the beats were perfectly complementary, and the slinky grooves provided by bassist Tony Plunkett held everything together, especially on the standouts "Champion" and "200,000."
Bell-Smith's vocals were mostly chanted, and he broke out a whistle on a few occasions, which only added to the tribal feel. At times it felt more like something you'd hear at a soccer match than a nightclub. There were definite hints of Animal Collective's percussion-heavy folk and the Rapture's energetic dance-punk, but Professor Murder was mostly working with a sound all its own. It was never boring, always funky and, perhaps most telling, made 100 or so folks in the nation's capital dance.
-- David Malitz
I know Andy Craven! I went to a Yankee game with him when I was 9 or 10. Crazy!
Professor Murder - Free Stress Test (always a nice song)
PROFESSOR MURDER'S KILLER BEAT
Saturday, August 18, 2007; Page C06
D.C. concertgoers regularly get grief for not dancing enough. Maybe the problem isn't that the locals are uptight; they just save their shimmying for worthy acts. Rhythmic rockers Professor Murder, who kicked off an eight-city tour with a show at the Black Cat's backstage Wednesday night, more than fit the bill. There was a whole lot of shaking going on as the Brooklyn quartet delivered a dynamic performance filled with propulsive drum-circle jams.
During most of the evening's eight songs, three of the group's members could be found pounding on something. Professor Murder is a fine name (taken from the cult HBO comedy "Mr. Show"), but you might as well call them White Man Group. Drummer Andy Craven bashed away on his standard kit, Jesse Cohen handled electro sounds on a drum pad and frontman Michael Bell-Smith took turns on snare, tom, cymbals and cowbell. Instead of blurring into one cacophonous rumble, the beats were perfectly complementary, and the slinky grooves provided by bassist Tony Plunkett held everything together, especially on the standouts "Champion" and "200,000."
Bell-Smith's vocals were mostly chanted, and he broke out a whistle on a few occasions, which only added to the tribal feel. At times it felt more like something you'd hear at a soccer match than a nightclub. There were definite hints of Animal Collective's percussion-heavy folk and the Rapture's energetic dance-punk, but Professor Murder was mostly working with a sound all its own. It was never boring, always funky and, perhaps most telling, made 100 or so folks in the nation's capital dance.
-- David Malitz
I know Andy Craven! I went to a Yankee game with him when I was 9 or 10. Crazy!
Professor Murder - Free Stress Test (always a nice song)
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