With the latest chapter of the Star Wars saga opening today, everyone is partying like it’s 1977. Seriously, who doesn't A) have Star Wars fever and B) already have their tickets? The Force Awakens is going to be — nope — it IS an international phenomenon already and it seems like every outlet on the planet and/or creative entity has contributed to the hype. Local entity The Rebel Scumbags are the latest to hop on the Star Wars craze.
Featuring Robin Davey and Greta Valenti of Well Hung Heart, along with Kevin Beatty from Beneath The Buried, Mike Bedard from Lucky Lonely and Danielle Lehman formerly of Fiction Reform, the group recently made a pretty kickass video and dropped just ahead of The Force Awakens premiere. In fact, the local supergroup made the video only a week ago. Inspired by “a few glasses of Monkey Shoulder Whiskey, served neat,” the group of musicians thought it would be cool to start a Star Wars themed band. As you can see, were right.
“Kevin, Greta and I were having drinks after a Well Heart Heart show and just started talking about all the geeky things we were into,” Davey says of the budding outfit’s beginnings. “That developed into the idea of a band and really born out of the fact that it seemed like it would be a really fun thing to do.
“Greta texted Danielle, I texted Mike and they both said instantly yes plus sent a barrage of obscure Star Wars references to boot. So within a few days we had a band a song and then shot the video.”
When they joined together in the studio, the force was with them. The group had instant chemistry and immediately felt like a band. This video is the first — if Disney's word holds true — of what will be many collaborations between the band.
The Rebel Scumbags thus, is a name that would be definitely on Han Solo’s radar. The group’s first song, “I Love You (I Know)” isn’t just the back-and-forth dialogue between Han and Princess Leia, but is the a heavy-riff-laden ode to their on-again/off-again relationship.
Hopefully The Rebel Scumbags will release more material as the week’s go on, and that they won’t go the way of an X-wing pilot not named Luke Skywalker trying to take out the Death Star in A New Hope.
Daniel Kohn is a writer based in Southern California. With bylines in an assortment of outlets, Kohn primarily specializes in music with other interests ranging from sports to food. As a transplant, Kohn loves the beautiful weather and is glad he no longer has to deal with brutal winters. If you see him, say hi and of course, he’s always willing to down a beer or two…if you’re paying.