Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Music from the Little Street of Happiness

"We've been around for quite a while." Mark Calabio checks in by phone from L.A. His band, Platypus Egg, is readying for their CD release party in San Diego in September.

"Most of our shows have been in the East County. We used to play Second Wind twice a month." He says they also play acoustic shows at the Lazy Hummingbird in OB.

"We have a small following there."

He describes the band, which a listener will likely find insanely creative and eclectic as a joint effort between himself and his brother Kris, who is the Egg's guitarist and one of the vocalists as well.

From their own press release: "In addition to the standard rock instruments, we also incorporate melodica, contrabass, concertina, and hand drums. The end result is a hodge-podge of funky slap bass lines, sweet vocal harmonies, classical interludes, death growls, and metal guitar riffs."

"I play bass in half the songs," says Calabio, "and concertina in the other half," a concertina being one of those little hand accordions favored by gypsies and pirates of old.

And don't forget the flute, which stands out like a Hawaiian shirt at a formal wedding. But still, the flute does have its place in rock and roll.

Has Calabio ever listened to Stand Up?

"I have not."

Stand Up, Jethro Tull's second album, was first released in 1969. At the time Tull was a little- known British blues rock band fronted by a nappy-headed flautist wearing a bath robe. After Stand Up and its metallic hash of Celtic folk and classical-ness, everything changed -- that is, if you were a fan, or a woodwind musician, or both.

Flute, and in a hard rock band! It was as if all wind instruments (saxophone being the exception) had suddenly grown a pair over night.

But critics? Not so much. Robert Christgau, Dean of American Rock Critics gave Stand Up a grade of B-: "People who like the group think this is a great album. I don't like the group. I think it is an adequate album."

"I would expect a lot of people to compare us to Jethro Tull," Calabio says, "because of the flute." Instead, he lists sonic influences such as Ween, video game music, and the Beatles. "They're a big influence on our vocal harmonies.

"And the Zombies."

The P-Egg line up includes Michelle Louden on vocals and flute, Andre Beller on melodica, contrabass, guitar, bass, and vocals, and Bonjo (Michael Bongiovanni) the drummer.

"We want to make music that's unique. And we want to write about anything, even the mundane." For example, Calabio says, "Lemonade."

"It's about being hot in the suburbs."

Calabio, who currently lives in San Carlos says they once released a six-song EP of material they no longer play. Therefore, officially speaking, Platypus Egg's debut release is Little Street of Happiness, a name taken from a street they once lived on in La Jolla, Calle Felicidad.

I ask if he's grown weary of being asked to explain the origin of Platypus Egg. Not at all.

"I'm not sure if you're familiar, but the platypus is an amalgamation of many different animals," he says. "It's part reptile, part mammal, part duck. It's a good analogy for the band."

And Egg, he says, because there already was a band named Platypus.

Platypus Egg: CD release show, Saturday, Sept 8 at Electric Ladyland, 4944 Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach, info 619 222 0836

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/01/30676/

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Gonzo Report: Hockey Dad brings UCSD vets and Australians to the Quartyard

Bending the stage barriers in East Village

"We've been around for quite a while." Mark Calabio checks in by phone from L.A. His band, Platypus Egg, is readying for their CD release party in San Diego in September.

"Most of our shows have been in the East County. We used to play Second Wind twice a month." He says they also play acoustic shows at the Lazy Hummingbird in OB.

"We have a small following there."

He describes the band, which a listener will likely find insanely creative and eclectic as a joint effort between himself and his brother Kris, who is the Egg's guitarist and one of the vocalists as well.

From their own press release: "In addition to the standard rock instruments, we also incorporate melodica, contrabass, concertina, and hand drums. The end result is a hodge-podge of funky slap bass lines, sweet vocal harmonies, classical interludes, death growls, and metal guitar riffs."

"I play bass in half the songs," says Calabio, "and concertina in the other half," a concertina being one of those little hand accordions favored by gypsies and pirates of old.

And don't forget the flute, which stands out like a Hawaiian shirt at a formal wedding. But still, the flute does have its place in rock and roll.

Has Calabio ever listened to Stand Up?

"I have not."

Stand Up, Jethro Tull's second album, was first released in 1969. At the time Tull was a little- known British blues rock band fronted by a nappy-headed flautist wearing a bath robe. After Stand Up and its metallic hash of Celtic folk and classical-ness, everything changed -- that is, if you were a fan, or a woodwind musician, or both.

Flute, and in a hard rock band! It was as if all wind instruments (saxophone being the exception) had suddenly grown a pair over night.

But critics? Not so much. Robert Christgau, Dean of American Rock Critics gave Stand Up a grade of B-: "People who like the group think this is a great album. I don't like the group. I think it is an adequate album."

"I would expect a lot of people to compare us to Jethro Tull," Calabio says, "because of the flute." Instead, he lists sonic influences such as Ween, video game music, and the Beatles. "They're a big influence on our vocal harmonies.

"And the Zombies."

The P-Egg line up includes Michelle Louden on vocals and flute, Andre Beller on melodica, contrabass, guitar, bass, and vocals, and Bonjo (Michael Bongiovanni) the drummer.

"We want to make music that's unique. And we want to write about anything, even the mundane." For example, Calabio says, "Lemonade."

"It's about being hot in the suburbs."

Calabio, who currently lives in San Carlos says they once released a six-song EP of material they no longer play. Therefore, officially speaking, Platypus Egg's debut release is Little Street of Happiness, a name taken from a street they once lived on in La Jolla, Calle Felicidad.

I ask if he's grown weary of being asked to explain the origin of Platypus Egg. Not at all.

"I'm not sure if you're familiar, but the platypus is an amalgamation of many different animals," he says. "It's part reptile, part mammal, part duck. It's a good analogy for the band."

And Egg, he says, because there already was a band named Platypus.

Platypus Egg: CD release show, Saturday, Sept 8 at Electric Ladyland, 4944 Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach, info 619 222 0836

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/01/30676/

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Turetzky's tango experience in Little Italy

Next Article

Heavy, But Not Metal: Trailerpark Rockstar

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader