On Halloween, two years ago, 5 peculiar, charming men in paper mache masks rendering the members of the band GWAR, carried their instruments -- a banjo, a weathered upright bass, a mandolin, a homemade drum set, an accordion -- into the open garage of a Los Angeles backyard. They stood in a small cluster and played until their fingers bled, while swarms of friends and fans danced to keep up.
At 2 am in Downtown, Los Angeles, this time sporting revealing Ghostbusters dresses, ripped fishnets, and smeared makeup, the same group of musicians subtly entered a party and played with earnest expressions of intense focus and enjoyment.
![2016-07-18-1468875461-3455142-2.jpg]()
Introducing: The Manx, a band whose absurd get-ups and performances are only a small bonus of listening to their music and watching them play.
The Manx, with their delightfully strange, punk-meets-Appalachian folk-meets-metal-meets-avant-garde experimental-rock sound, draws you in because frankly, you haven't heard anything like it. Fortunately, that's exactly what to look for in an up and coming band.
![2016-07-18-1468875495-7323974-1.jpg]()
The Manx are:
Tommy Meehan, banjo, composer for Cartoon Network
Myke Chilian, accordion, storyboard artist for Cartoon Network
Zach Zdziebko, mandolin, animatics editor at Cartoon Network
Max Winston, drums, stop-motion animator
Adam Barnes, bass, exporter/importer of anchors
![2016-07-18-1468875527-8790896-2d9a5f02e8f24397bd84d116ad4a527b.jpg]()
![2016-07-18-1468875589-5255108-3d822158201c4d64b694e904dbab4b01.jpg]()
![2016-07-18-1468875616-2206366-b1246bb29748468595b0b09bad55f273.jpg]()
![2016-07-18-1468875645-2561172-bb581ea2b3f54788a4ddc97616776c77.jpg]()
Within the last 6 years, The Manx have grown from a two man idea, to a three man side project, to a 5 man band. As a collective unit, they have released a few EP's, shared the stage with Gogol Bordello, Warbringer, Peach Kelli Pop, have done several tours- in their NASA themed van- including their most recent with Nekrogoblikon and Crimson Shadows. The Manx and their music have been part of numerous side projects such as having scored and costarred in a Nickelodeon pilot, performed as an alien house band for a canned Star Wars webseries, guested on various podcasts, had a song on Cartoon Network's "Uncle Grandpa", and created "The Animated Tales of Gwar", featuring Gwar and Weird Al. The list is long and outrageous. For a band with their first full length album (which they made possible through Kickstarter), The Manx are on their way to making a name for their weird, awesome band.
Their new, 12 song album, "Voyage In Bad Taste", is a result of truly finding their sound and working collectively as a band. The album was produced and engineered by Toshi Kasai (The Melvins, Tool, Tweak Bird) and is an incredibly fun, loud collection of top-notch quality.
"This isn't just a hodge-podge of The Manx. It's a well thought out, exploration of us as a band," Tommy, the band "nucleus" comments on the new album. "We maintain our individual voices, but the album is definitely cohesive. All of us are firing full steam and I can easily say that it's the most honest release we've ever put together."
At 2 am in Downtown, Los Angeles, this time sporting revealing Ghostbusters dresses, ripped fishnets, and smeared makeup, the same group of musicians subtly entered a party and played with earnest expressions of intense focus and enjoyment.
Introducing: The Manx, a band whose absurd get-ups and performances are only a small bonus of listening to their music and watching them play.
The Manx, with their delightfully strange, punk-meets-Appalachian folk-meets-metal-meets-avant-garde experimental-rock sound, draws you in because frankly, you haven't heard anything like it. Fortunately, that's exactly what to look for in an up and coming band.
The Manx are:
Tommy Meehan, banjo, composer for Cartoon Network
Myke Chilian, accordion, storyboard artist for Cartoon Network
Zach Zdziebko, mandolin, animatics editor at Cartoon Network
Max Winston, drums, stop-motion animator
Adam Barnes, bass, exporter/importer of anchors
Within the last 6 years, The Manx have grown from a two man idea, to a three man side project, to a 5 man band. As a collective unit, they have released a few EP's, shared the stage with Gogol Bordello, Warbringer, Peach Kelli Pop, have done several tours- in their NASA themed van- including their most recent with Nekrogoblikon and Crimson Shadows. The Manx and their music have been part of numerous side projects such as having scored and costarred in a Nickelodeon pilot, performed as an alien house band for a canned Star Wars webseries, guested on various podcasts, had a song on Cartoon Network's "Uncle Grandpa", and created "The Animated Tales of Gwar", featuring Gwar and Weird Al. The list is long and outrageous. For a band with their first full length album (which they made possible through Kickstarter), The Manx are on their way to making a name for their weird, awesome band.
Their new, 12 song album, "Voyage In Bad Taste", is a result of truly finding their sound and working collectively as a band. The album was produced and engineered by Toshi Kasai (The Melvins, Tool, Tweak Bird) and is an incredibly fun, loud collection of top-notch quality.
"This isn't just a hodge-podge of The Manx. It's a well thought out, exploration of us as a band," Tommy, the band "nucleus" comments on the new album. "We maintain our individual voices, but the album is definitely cohesive. All of us are firing full steam and I can easily say that it's the most honest release we've ever put together."