Like the love child of The Mentors and Frank Zappa, Gomer Hendrix strikes a cocky pose on his album Guitar Hero with a dozen tongue-in-cheek songs tweaking everything from the abortion debate to gay sensibilities.

"Guitar Hero" mocks electronic music and the video game of the same name, observing, "Much too lame to learn real guitar / Push 5 buttons down and be a star." A bit later: "Go, Guitar Hero, watch him as he scores / Go Guitar Hero, he’s not gay."

Fast food comes in for a right round slap-down with "Dicky in a Box," a guitar thrash anthem narrated with slapstick, Cheech-and-Chong style dialogue in the background. 

"I Didn’t Mean to Do Your Mom" takes aim at teen suburbia (image Bill and Ted trying to karaoke to a funky disco tune and getting it hilariously wrong), while "Hey Joe" sharpens community anomie by profiling the neighborhood pedophile and "Think So" dances on the graves of high art and last-century standards while yearning for a cultural apocalypse: "Next time you’re at the monster truck demolition / You might assume a more advanced position," teases Hendrix, adding, "Nothing could be easier to fall in love again." The kicker is the music, which contrasts with the words with a driving, sincere, sweetly melodic sound that contrasts with much of the other music on the disc.

Romance is in the air with "Tantra Baby," which takes the form of a good old fashioned duet--with Hendrix singing both parts.

Hendrix both honors and thumbs his nose at classic rock acts: "Fetus With No Name" plays like a distorted, manic echo of U2’s "Where the Streets Have No Name," appropriating the tune and dropping a healthy dollop of Monty Pythonesque banter into the mix; "Sweet Home Alabama" gets bitch-slapped in "Shrimp Home on the Playa", as does "Summer Wind" in the song "Playa Wind." Meantime, "Baby in a Jar" delves into classic guitar-riffing rock and stays there, happily rollicking away, unfazed by the tough, growling vocals.

Hendrix shows a musical inventiveness throughout: "Metal Cello" takes the pounding beat of spy-movie music and runs it through a slack-key sounding reinvention--and yes, that does sound like a cello being put through its paces. 

There’s even a nod to Celtic folk music: the CD’s final track, "Metal Butterfly," sounds like it gets its wings from Donal Lunny.

Old-fashioned rock licks and dizzying parodic lyrics make Guitar Hero an acerbic, sometimes campy riff on pop music: as familiar as blue jeans, and as scuffed to match, Guitar Hero wears its musical influences on its sleeve, but offers a wildly skewed take on Americana.


by Gomer Hendrix

Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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Guitar Hero begins with the title cut, a new take on The Foo Fighters My Hero, parodying the popularity of video games that promote no skill, only virtual pomp for the poseur. A clear influence for this song is the South Park episode Guitar Queero, where the Guitar Hero champs were declared to be “fags.” Gomer impersonates the cartoon characters and includes the Brown Noise at the end. Eight of the twelve songs are parodies of well-known hits by artists as divergent as Alice In Chains (Dicky in a Box) to Frank Sinatra (Playa Wind.) Gomer Hendrix takes these hits and makes them his own, both in his mastery of the music and his original interpretation of it; all the while making us laugh. Think So, Tantra Baby and Metal Cello are his originals and showcase Gomer Hendrix at the height of his powers; even the funniest parts have compelling melodies and rich harmonies. Tantra Baby once again shows Gomer Hendrix to be a shameless comedian. The final song is Metal Butterfly, a modern take on an old Celtic folk song. The guitar of Gomer Hendrix is lyrical, complex and true to the beauty of this ancient song. This guitar solo, like others on this exceptional album, leaves no doubt as to who is the true Guitar Hero here.
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Guitar Hero begins with the title cut, a new take on The Foo Fighters My Hero, parodying the popularity of video games that promote no skill, only virtual pomp for the poseur. A clear influence for this song is the South Park episode Guitar Queero, where the Guitar Hero champs were declared to be “fags.” Gomer impersonates the cartoon characters and includes the Brown Noise at the end. Eight of the twelve songs are parodies of well-known hits by artists as divergent as Alice In Chains (Dicky in a Box) to Frank Sinatra (Playa Wind.) Gomer Hendrix takes these hits and makes them his own, both in his mastery of the music and his original interpretation of it; all the while making us laugh. Think So, Tantra Baby and Metal Cello are his originals and showcase Gomer Hendrix at the height of his powers; even the funniest parts have compelling melodies and rich harmonies. Tantra Baby once again shows Gomer Hendrix to be a shameless comedian. The final song is Metal Butterfly, a modern take on an old Celtic folk song. The guitar of Gomer Hendrix is lyrical, complex and true to the beauty of this ancient song. This guitar solo, like others on this exceptional album, leaves no doubt as to who is the true Guitar Hero here.
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I haven't heard the CD yet, but I've heard most of these songs live at a Gomer gig. This is the Gomer Man at his finest! Songs you love, mashed together, with a large dose of humorous parody lyrics. Plus, there are the shredding guitar solos sprinkled in liberally where Gomer proves his worth as "Hendrix".
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