In addition to their colorful music, a Daddies live show is truly a grand experience. With energy that doesn't seem quite human, lead singer Steve Perry spends the entire duration of a two-hour set singing, dancing, and leaping around the stage. His face contorts with almost rubber-like expressions while adopting the persona of whatever character each song requires. It's not uncommon to find him mounting his microphone or even breaking into splits. Meanwhile, the rest of the band works hard at pounding out some of the best modern swing around.

I was lucky enough to catch up with several members of the band at their December 6th show at LaLuna. The following is the result of my interview with lead vocalist/songwriter Steve Perry; keyboardist, Dustin Lanker; alto/tenor sax player, Ian Early; and the silent but present tenor sax player, Sean Flannery.

How did you come up with your band's name?
Steve: When we first started out, in 1989, we lived in a big house of three bands. And we were going to do our first show at the WOW Hall in Eugene. We were all sitting around drinking beer after practicing one night, and we tried to get ready to make a poster for the show. Well, there was this record on. It was this old time rhythm and blues record where the singer was singing along and he said I'll be your Cherry Poppin' blah blah blah...something like that. Andy was sitting near the record player and he said, "Hey, you should call yourselves the Cherry Poppin' Daddies." We all laughed and thought, "Okay, that's ridiculous." A couple days passed and the poster had to be done. So we thought, let's just do it and be called the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. We didn't think we were going to turn it into being 1997 and we'd still be playing.

Has it caused any problems?
Steve: Yes, it has. It did immediately, especially in Eugene. What happened was we got through the show, and at the end of the show we go "Thank you!" And like the balloons came down from the ceiling, and everybody liked us, and we were like, "God damn!" We didn't expect people to like us. So this guy comes backstage and he says, he says, "I want to do an interview with you." Fairly soon afterwards he put in this article and said we were really great. And it said Cherry Poppin' Daddies. And it was in the normal paper, for normal people. The next day I was like, "That's cool! People wrote about us in the paper. Wow! Cool!" And as I walked around it started to dawn on me. "Man, did you see? Everybody's talking. Those people are all pissed at you, man." For the rest of the day, these dark clouds kind of gathered. It was like "What?!" you know? Apparently, people just totally hated the name and everyone was upset. It was like a big huge controversy for a long time. We played at this place called Taylor's and they got a bomb threat and they had to empty it out like four times. Pretty soon it was, "We can't book you. It's the Cherry Poppin' Daddies." And our manager at the time says, "Well, shit, everyone knows who you are by now. You call yourselves the Daddies in town and we'll just give you your shows that way." And after a while it kind of calmed people down. It doesn't happen much anymore.

How would you describe your music style?
Steve: We're a swing-ska band, I'd say. All of our earlier records have all kinds of musical styles. Like country songs and funky songs. We've always been a band that reserved the right to use different styles of songs as opposed to being part of a scene. We started playing the kind of swing we're doing now pretty early on, so I think that's what we're known for mostly.

How do you think the music scene has changed since you guys started playing? Where do you fit in?
Steve: Wow, it's changed about 15 times. In fact, I was just going to the bathroom in there, and I looked at the wall. I mean, we've been playing here (at LaLuna) for a long time. And I realized that it's totally different bands that are on the wall now. The bands that I remember from a couple years ago are gone and now there's new bands. I'd say it's changed probably about four or five times since we've started. We started before grunge was around. Then it was like there were a lot of metal bands and no one ever got signed or anything. And then grunge happened. And that alternative music, which happened for like 1991 to 1996. And now it's kind of diversifying out. There's pop. There's like ska-core bands. Swing dancing is starting to happen which is really crazy. The time now reminds me of the new wave scene of the early 80s or late 70s.

Are there any new bands you've been listening to lately? What do you listen to in your spare time?
Steve: I have the new Big 6 record. They're a swing band from England. They play some ska type stuff, too. I listen to a lot of bands from South America and Central America right now. Like, there's this band called Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and they're from Argentina. They put out a ska record a long time ago and now they're kind of heavy and then they switch gears a lot. They'll play a hard rockin' song and then a more traditional folky type thing and then they'll play some salsa. They just go all over the place. That stuff seems really inspiring to me. The bands who are not sticking to a particular style. Those bands are coming out of Central America from what I can tell. So, that's what I've been listening to lately.

What are your influences?
Steve: We take from a lot of different genres. Influences are more, to me, more like styles. You know if you're a writer, say, you'd be interested by the idea writing fiction or say like a fantasy type thing or you'd be interested in writing a biography or so on. Maybe you'd be interested in all those things, but you'd try to lump them into one type of book that was kind of none of the above. That's kind of where we're at. For me I like the faster, more rockin', jitterbuggin' kind of swing dance. And as far as the ska stuff, I really like bluebeat. Early Jamaican ska stuff. But for us, we try to fuck it up. We don't have to be traditional. Punk rock. I like the energy of punk rock. That's kind of what I started playing.

You guys seem to be constantly touring. What's your favorite place to play?
Steve: Ever? What do you think, Dustin?
Dustin: Mine's actually the Crystal Ballroom (in Portland, Oregon).
Steve: Really? Yeah, it's nice. I really like the Crystal Ballroom, too. The dance floor is so happening.
Dustin: Yeah. It's just beautiful.
Steve: I could agree with that one.

When did you decide to become a musician?
Steve: For me it was pretty late. I was, it was right about when I was 20...21? Before that I didn't play music at all. What about you, Dustin?
Dustin: When I was about six.
Steve: And that was about when I was 20 or 21.
Dustin: Yeah.
(laughter)
Steve: Literally.
Dustin: Yeah.

Do you believe there is life on other planets?
Steve: I guess I don't. I mean, not nearby, anyway.
Dustin: I do. Mars. I mean, not anymore, but there used to be for sure, I think.
Steve: No, see, this is why I don't believe there's life on Mars because this, there was this big controversy in the paper the other day. It said that it wasn't necessarily that rock. It wasn't necessarily life forms, that it could have been something--
Dustin: That's not what they said in the Star, man.
Steve: Oh, yeah. (laughs) You're talking about like Elvis, right? I'm sure there's life on other planets that are outside of our solar system. Don't you think?
Dustin: I think there's probably like a second Earth somewhere. With people much like us--
Steve: Except wearing purple coats.
Dustin: Except no, they've evolved just slightly differently. So that they're just totally fucked up. Their mouth is where their asshole should be and their asshole is where their mouth should be.
Steve: I thought that was this Earth.
Dustin: It is. Except for them, it's actual, physical reality.

Where do you get your songwriting ideas?
Steve: Well, all over the place. One time, a carpenter friend of mine was tearing down a house. He pulled down the dry wall and he found this old paper from 1945 or something. A long time ago. He picked it up and it said, "Ding-Dong Daddy gets Short-Term." He cut it out for me and told me, "I thought you could make a song out of this thing." So, I read it and I wrote that song out of it. It's all over the place. Life experience. Or I'll see somebody walk down the street and I'll just go, "God, that person totally fascinates me," and then I make something up about them. And then I write them a scenario.

What's the weirdest dream you ever had?
Steve: I remember one dream I had where I was at 7-11, and Ernest Borgnine was behind the counter and I paid with a nickel the size of a manhole lid. Thing was huge. Then I got a hard-on and threw up.
(laughter)
Dustin: I don't know what I can really follow that up with.
Ian: I blew up L.A. Me, Sean and Dustin blew up L.A. with my girlfriend. It was great. Three triangulated nuclear warheads and we annihilated the entire city. And then I woke up.
Steve: And you had a hard-on and threw up.
Dustin: I had a dream that I had a hard-on and threw up.
Ian: I thought you had a hard-on and then I threw up?
Steve: No, you threw up on my hard-on.
Ian: How do you know what happened?
Steve: I'm a professional hard-onist. Okay, we're drifting. I have a degree in hard-onistry. We gotta clean this up a little bit now.

If you were a garden tool, which one would you be and why?
Steve: Good one. Don't say hoe, Dustin.
(laughter)
Dustin: Man, I just have no good jokes anymore!
Steve: See these shoes? (points at his shoes) I'd have to say rake because look at how rake-ish these shoes are. I am just a manly rake. A rack on tour. Okay, but can't say hoe, what are you going to be?
Dustin: I'm going to say that I would be a trowel. Because, you know I--
Steve: Couldn't think of anything else.
Dustin: Dig holes.
Steve: Wow. That was pretty good.
Dustin: I mean, I don't know!
Steve: That was so lame I didn't even get it.

On your first CD, you called yourself M.C. Large Drink. Does that mean anything? Or how did you get that nickname?
Steve: Oh, I had this great idea that we were going to come on stage as a Happy Meal. The horn section was going to be the french fries and Dana (Heitman, who plays trumpet) was going to be the Hamburglar or something. So, that was my idea and everybody thought I was stupid for thinking those things up. But I really liked the idea of no one knowing who I was at the time. And I thought M.C. Large Drink was the stupidest thing thing I've ever thought up in my life. It made me laugh really hard. 'Cause it made no sense at all.

What's your favorite thing about being in the Daddies?
Steve: Ooooh. Well, there's so many things.
Dustin: The company of men.
Steve: Constant company of smelly menz. I don't know. It's probably the best job you could get.
Dustin: Group showers. No. It really is. I would really have to agree with that. Absolutely.
Steve: This is what everybody wants to do with their life.
Dustin: It is.
Steve: If they don't, they should. We play music and drink beer and drive around the country and not work at a regular job. You know. I'd probably put a bow and arrow through my head if I didn't.

What was your most embarrassing moment on stage?
Steve: I crapped my pants once. It was a long time ago. I think we were opening for Fishbone and I had these electric blue pants on and I was drunk. And I was jumping around. I think I had, at that time, red, white, and blue hair, too, which makes it even more disturbing. It was like flag hair. Most of my hair was long with red and white stripes and then on my side I had shaved. It was blue with a star in it. I was rockin' out so hard and screaming so hard, I crapped my pants. But, nobody knew it so it really wasn't that embarrassing. I just sort of did the rest of the show and then I peeled my pants gently off, crawled into the van, and we drove away.

What's been your worst experience in the studio? Like have you ever had one of those really bad days where you just wanted to die?
Steve: The constant lack of money is pretty bad. Kids on the Street was pretty bad for me. We didn't have a drummer at the time. We recorded with three drummers. You know, having a couple rehearsals, and then going in and having them not know the parts. Not playing the feel, you could say. You know, you're going, "I have no more money. I hope this works out." You know, that's like a permanent record.
Dustin: And having somebody just not constantly playing in tune.
Steve: Yeah. Or you yourself not playing in tune. My guitar was fucked up on that recording and we had to throw one of the songs out. And that was really a bummer because of that sort of shit. It's just little stuff.
Dustin: What song was that?
Steve: "Billy Liar" was on it. Which was good actually because now we're going to play it a different way on the next record. So it probably all worked out for the best.

When is your next record coming out?
Steve: I bet they'll put it out in September. We're actually not doing very much right now. We just got back from a bunch of tours and we're at home and in the recording studio through January or February. And during the week, we're trying to get ourselves together for the recording.

I also heard you were going to release a 7" with Reel Big Fish?
Steve: Yeah. That'll actually be out pretty soon here. It was held up by some radio guy or something. It was like Reel Big Fish, they wanted to use this song from this show in California and this guy was being a dick about it. Finally they got it taken care of. Actually, I know Aaron mixed their tracks like a couple of weeks ago. So, it should be out pretty soon.

Who did you admire as a child?
Steve: Uh-oh. Let's see. Who did I admire as a child? I admired a man with male pattern baldness who played for the Dallas Cowboys. I don't know why, either. His name is Mel Renfro. He's from Portland, I think. Weird enough. I didn't know that. I grew up in Binghamton, New York. He was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. I don't even know why I admired him really, but I did. I wanted to be Mel Renfro. He had hair around here (motions the side of his head) and a total bald spot and stuff like that. But I thought he looked really cool.
Dustin: Cat Stevens. I wanted to be Cat Stevens. For many years. I still want to be Cat Stevens. I also wanted to be Billy Joel, too. I got to admit that. You can imagine that. An eight year old boy singing "Pressure" at the top of his lungs. That's not a pretty sight.
Steve: Eight year old boy! PRESSURE! BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP!