Richard Cheese

Richard Cheese
Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine performing live in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Mark Jonathan Davis
Born	(1965-11-27) November 27, 1965 (age 46)
Origin	Los Angeles, California, USA
Genres	Lounge, comedy
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Coverage, Surfdog, Oglio, Ideatown
Website	www.richardcheese.com
Members
Richard Cheese (Mark Jonathan Davis)[1] Bobby Ricotta (Noel Melanio) Frank Feta (Brian Fishler) Billy Bleu
Past members
Ron Belcher Charles Byler David Adler Christopher Monaco Louis Allen Jeff Novack John Hatton Pablo Motta Todd LeValley

Mark Jonathan Davis (born November 27, 1965)^[2], known by his stage name Richard Cheese, is an American musician and comedian. He was born in New York. He fronts Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine, a Los Angeles based cover band and comedy act, performing popular songs in a lounge/swing style reminiscent of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Tony Bennett.

Style

Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine specialize in playing lounge-style arrangements of recent popular rock, metal, rap and hip hop songs, sung in a croony traditional swing vocal style, contrasting an elegant jazz treatment of the music with often profane and ribald lyrics to create a humorous dissonance.^[3]

History

Since 2000, the band has released ten albums, and played in concerts around the United States, two concerts in Europe, and has made numerous television appearances, including performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Fox & Friends on Fox News Channel, Anderson Cooper 360° on CNN, NBC's Las Vegas series, NBC's Passions soap opera, and as the house band on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly and MTV's Say What? Karaoke series. Richard Cheese has also been featured on radio morning shows and syndicated radio programs such as Opie and Anthony, KROQ-FM's Kevin and Bean, The Howard Stern Show, The Bob and Sheri Show, The Adam Carolla Show, and Gonzo in the Morning. The band also performed at events for singer Brian Setzer, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, 300 and Sucker Punch director Zack Snyder, and the Creative Arts Daytime Emmy Awards. The band gained exposure after their cover of Disturbed's "Down with the Sickness" was featured in the 2004 remake (directed by Snyder), Dawn of the Dead.

The band's first CD (Lounge Against the Machine) was released in 2000 by Oglio Records. Cheese's next two albums (Tuxicity and I'd Like a Virgin) were independently released in 2002 and 2004 by Cheese's own label, Coverage Records. From 2004-2006, Surfdog Records released three new Richard Cheese CDs (Aperitif for Destruction, The Sunny Side of the Moon: The Best of Richard Cheese, and Silent Nightclub), and re-released Tuxicity and I'd Like a Virgin. In 2007, Cheese returned to releasing his own albums through Coverage Records: Dick at Nite in 2007, Viva la Vodka: Richard Cheese Live in 2009, OK Bartender in 2010, and Johnny Aloha: Lavapalooza in 2010.

Cheese produced an album by "Johnny Aloha" called Lavapalooza, with a band of Hawaiian musicians performing tiki-style versions of rock and rap songs.

Members

The present line-up of the band consists of:

• Richard Cheese: vocals
• Bobby Ricotta: piano and keyboards
• Frank Feta: drums and percussion
• Billy Bleu: bass
• Becky Running Bear (bongos)

Plus a rotating roster of other bass players, including Gordon Brie, Skip Neufchatal, Nacho, and Wayne String.

The names are all pseudonyms that refer to types of cheese (Ricotta, Feta, Bleu) and new band members either adopt the pseudonym of the player they replace, or new names are developed. The name Richard Cheese itself is a pun on "dick cheese", a slang term for smegma; "Lounge Against the Machine" is a wordplay on Rage Against the Machine.

The role of pianist and musical director Bobby Ricotta is currently played by Noel Melanio, but was previously portrayed by David Adler. When the drummer Buddy Gouda (Charles Byler) left the band in 2004, he was replaced by Brian Fishler and the stage name was changed to Frank Feta. The role of bass player Gordon Brie was portrayed by Louis Allen and was previously portrayed by Christopher Monaco. The band now has a new bass player, Billy Bleu, portrayed by Ron Belcher. The band has also worked with numerous session musicians and performers, including horn players Eric Jorgensen, Terry Landry, and Lee Thornburg, theremin player Pamelia Kurstin, vocalist Joshua Path, and singer "Weird Al" Yankovic. The only constant band member is Cheese himself.

Discography

Studio albums

• Lounge Against the Machine (2000)
• Tuxicity (2002)
• I'd Like a Virgin (2004)
• Aperitif for Destruction (2005)
• The Sunny Side of the Moon: The Best of Richard Cheese (2006)
• Silent Nightclub (2006)
• Dick at Nite (2007)
• OK Bartender (2010)
• Lavapalooza (2010) (as Richard Cheese presents Johnny Aloha)
• A Lounge Supreme (2011)
• Back In Black Tie (2012; projected)
• Let It Brie: A Tribute to The Beatles (2013; projected)

Live albums

• Viva la Vodka (2009)
• Richard Cheese Live at the Royal Wedding (digital release May 4, 2011; CD release July 26, 2011)

Singles

• "Indiana Jones Theme" (a.k.a. "The Raiders March") (2008)
• "Friday" (2011)

Unreleased songs

• "One Is The Loneliest Number" (Harry Nilsson) (from the soundtrack of the film "The Comedy Team Of Pete & James")
• "Come Dancing" (The Kinks) (unreleased studio recording)
• "Shitdick" (People Haters) (live on Opie & Anthony Show)
• "Hash Pipe" (Weezer) (unreleased studio recording)
• "Elevation" (U2) (unreleased radio recording)
• "Renegades of Funk" (Rage Against the Machine) (unreleased live recording)
• "Star Wars Cantina (Copacabana)" (Barry Manilow) (as Mark Jonathan Davis, NOT Richard Cheese; unreleased recording)
• "SpongeBob SquarePants" (unreleased live recording)

Appearances

Television

• CNN Showbiz Today – Richard Cheese interview (2000)
• Last Call with Carson Daly
• Fox News Channel – Fox & Friends Morning Show (fall 2002) (performed "Baby Got Back" live on the streets of New York City)
• VH1's Rock & Roll Jeopardy! (2001–2002)
• Jimmy Kimmel Live (April 2004) (performed "Baby Got Back" and "Personal Jesus")
• NBC's Las Vegas ("Christmas in Las Vegas")
• CNN Anderson Cooper 360° – Richard Cheese performance in Las Vegas (New Year's Eve 2007)

Radio

• KROQ-FM Kevin and Bean (various dates, various songs)
• The Dr. Demento Show (various dates, various songs)
• The Howard Stern Show (March 13, 2003)
• The Opie & Anthony Show (June 17, 2005and various other dates prior to 2005, performed "Shitdick" and other songs live)
• The Jonathon Brandmeier Show (various dates, various songs)
• The Frank Show, KFMA Tucson, AZ and KDOT Reno, NV (various dates, various songs)
• The Adam Carolla Show July 31, 2008; December 2, 2008
• The Johnny Dare Morning Show (various dates, various songs)
• The Rod Ryan Show (various dates, various songs)
• Rick Emerson Show (various dates, various songs)
• Tommy & Rumble Show (March 9, 2006)
• Premiere Radio Networks Rock Comedy Channel (syndicated 2002-2005)

Film

• Dawn of the Dead ("Down with the Sickness")

Podcasts

• Coverville (April 5, 2006) Richard Cheese interview
• Club 301 (November 30, 2006) Richard Cheese interview and music selections from "Silent Nightclub"

Other media

• Richard Cheese collaborated with Michael J. Nelson in the RiffTrax for the movie Ocean's Eleven

See also

• The Mike Flowers Pops
• Frank Bennett
• Rock Swings

References

External links

• Official website
• Official FaceBook page