"Nipplepalooza" Comedy Music Showcase Returns to Rochester

Rochester, NY, November 17, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Following the success of its first two installments in Rochester, the Nipplepalooza comedy music showcase is returning this month, with a bigger venue and a new lineup.

Returning this year is Rochester’s own Worm Quartet, a one-man band known for spewing hyperspeed lyrical lunacy over catchy synthesized punk. Worm Quartet is a regular on the syndicated Dr. Demento radio show, had the most requested song of 2004 with the ex-girlfriend ode "Great Idea For A Song," and collaborated on the second most requested song of 2005, “Inner Voice,” with fellow demented outfit Sudden Death.

Sudden Death is also performing this year, marking their first time ever on a Rochester stage, although frontman Tom Rockwell is an RIT alumnus and the former co-host of WITR’s “Friggin’ Here.” The group hails from New Jersey, and combines hard hitting hip hop beats with what Dr. Demento calls "some of the funniest hip hop lyrics I've ever heard,” and performs along with videos and animations synchronized with the music. The show often features costume changes, props, and even puppets. The end result is a hilarious show that goes over very well for a variety of audiences. They currently have the most requested song of 2007 on the Dr. Demento show with their cell phone rant “Cellular Degeneration.”

Professional Smart Aleck Carla Ulbrich, when told this show was called “Nipplepalooza," apologized for having no songs about that topic. She did, however, offer to sing a song about wedgies, and / or another about a butt. This South Carolina native has been compared to Chet Atkins and a bologna sandwich. A better guitar player than most bologna sandwiches, her songs also cover such socially relevant topics as dating for food, the Guinness Book of Records, and a duet with a Klingon. She is frequently heard on XM, Sirius, Dr. Demento and various NPR stations.

Rob Balder first gained notoriety as the creator of the comic strip PartiallyClips (www.partiallyclips.com), then later as author of the webcomic Erfworld (www.erfworld.com). But he is also a fabulously funny and talented filk singer. He performs regularly at science fiction conventions, where he can be seen belting out such hits as "Always A Goth Chick" and "Sympathy for George Lucas.” With two CDs and a newly aquired Pegasus award for “Best Filk Song” of 2007 under his belt, the sky is the limit for Rob's offshoot musical career. He is the progenitor of the Funny Music Project (www.thefump.com). He also has an English degree, which makes him immensely comfortable with words like "progenitor."

Headlining this year’s Nipplepalooza is Ookla the Mok, Buffalo’s beloved purveyors of “Rock Music For Nerds.” The band, fronted by librarian Rand Bellavia and cartoonist Adam English, plays almost exclusively at Science Fiction and Comic Book Conventions...which is extremely fortunate, as an awful lot of their songs are about superheroes and Star Trek. You’ve never heard of them, but at any Science Fiction Convention in North America they're huge rock stars with groupies and everything. Their clever, media-savvy lyrics and catchy powerpop sound have earned them thousands of fans worldwide.

Nipplepalooza is being presented by FIDIM Interactive, LLC for The Funny Music Project (www.thefump.com), a collaboration of several funny musicians which releases new songs for free twice a week under a Creative Commons license. The FuMP was founded in January of this year by FIDIM Interactive, LLC, and in that time has grown to getting 40,000 unique hits a month. All of the performers this year are members of The FuMP.

“Lots of people don’t even know there’s a comedy music scene, or think it disappeared years ago” explains Tim “Shoebox” Crist, the 6’4” 280-lb. bemulleted brain behind Worm Quartet. “But like most scenes that refuse to die, it just went underground. We’ve got a strong internet presence, we’re infesting sci-fi conventions, we’re sabotaging comedy clubs, and we’re latching onto live shows with non-funny artists in our own respective scenes whenever we can. Nipplepalooza is an effort to show off some of the new faces in funny music, both local musicians and touring weirdos from afar. We packed the place with a really energetic audience for our last two shows, so we’re psyched about doing it at a bigger venue this year. Hopefully this is only the beginning. Prepare your nipples for launch, Rochester.”

The acts will be performing at the California Brew Haus on West Ridge Road on November 30th, 2007, starting at 9:30 PM. $5 over 21, $7 under. More information can be found at www.wormquartet.com – general questions about Nipplepalooza can be directed to shoebox@wormquartet.com

Contacts:
Worm Quartet – website: www.wormquartet.com
Sudden Death – website: www.suddendeath.org
Rob Balder – website: www.robbalder.com
Carla Ulbrich – website: www.carlau.com
Ookla The Mok – website: www.ooklathemok.com

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