After the demise of several metal influenced rock bands, Michigan native Ben Igrisan wrote and recorded several Punk and Thrash Metal influenced Rock songs under the project title of Coke Dick with the help of a dozen or so musician friends.
The original 10 song self titled album was self released in September of 2004, where as the live band played it's first show in March of 2005. We have since played hundreds of shows in Michigan and have done several small tours covering the entire eastern half of the US. We have played with acts such as Chiodos, Mushroomhead, Heads Will Roll, Love Hate Hero, Hed(pe), NRA, Powerman 5000, EveryTime I Die, and Calico System. In the Spring of 2006 Lakehouse Records released "Whore Island" our second full length effort.
In September of 2006 Ben moved to the West Coast but continues to be as active in the band as he can be, flying back to play as many shows as he can, and continuing to write, help booking and management.
We have a new record in the works for late summer, and some limited touring planned for 2007. We are currently looking for U.S. distribution and any and all endorsements you can throw at us.
Our current line up (as of March 2008) has
3 or 4 guitarists: Brad Downs (Adrenachrome)
Mike (The Book Was Better, Joe Fate)
Marc "Mutt" Loisselle (Bela Lugosi's Dead, The Mutt Project)
Bass: A.C. (Sidestreet Getaway)
Drums: David Smith (Mason's Case, Vega)
Vocals: Jerame Arnold (KoKaino's, Conniption)
For booking and info please contact:
COKEDICK@gmail.com
The Detroit METRO TIMES says:
"A rocked nuts six-piece with, get this, three, and sometimes, four guitars
With such an exclamatory, stupendously percussive band name, you might expect a performance by Coke Dick Motorcycle Awesome to feature bass-playing grizzly bears, death-defying rocketbike feats and 16-ton anvils dropping randomly from the sky. Yes, There are some expectations you have to live up to, Coke Dick principal Ben Igrisan says. His solution for the Ypsilanti groups upcoming MC2 show? You havent seen this many guitar cabinets in a restaurant before. We usually have a minimum of three guitar players, sometimes four.
CDMAs songs are a tension headache of metal, hardcore and every loud subgenre listed in between, with crushing death metal breaks regularly meeting double-time boot-stamp drums or even buoyant, nearly punk-pop melodies. The handclaps and crazed energy of Cause I Can suggest Seattles Blood Brothers, while Ypsilanti Jaxxy, besides its great title, is a heady blast of classicist hardcore. Frequent twists of lowbrow humor hold together CDMAs frenetic sonic mix (Jaxxy begins with a classic quote from Dark Helmet). But the greatest thing about Coke Dick Motorcycle Awesome is the constant sense that theyre barely in control. One too many chord changes and that rocketbike will careen into the parking lot. And thats the way Igrisan and his (currently) six bandmates like it. Weve all been in really serious, stressful groups, he says. So we try to keep things fun by being really loud and working up a sweat. Their burgeoning MySpace friends list seems to like it. Coke Dick Motorcycle Awesome rocked nuts! chirped one excited commenter, and that seems like the perfect compliment." Johnny Loftus
View Coke Dick Motorcycle Awesome's EPK
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www.Nowontour.com said:
With a name like Coke Dick Motorcycle Awesome, you can bank on two things:
1. They ain't goin' for mainstream airplay
2. They ain't gonna play bubble gum pop
I was fortunate to happen upon this Detroit-based band at a club I frequent in Nashville. They had played there a few months earlier but I wasn't in attendance - all my friends told me what a great show I missed. I caught the band on their next time through town and was blown away by their live show. I was so impressed that I scooped up a copy of their new CD Whore Island! for a mere five bucks.
Normally I don't get into bands that can fall into the "Hardcore" category but somethin' was different about these cats that made me want to hear and learn more. Their album is a lot like their live performance in that they don't take themselves too seriously but aren't so carefree they come across as a joke.
This CD is eleven tracks of unrestrained energy plus two others I'll go into later. It begins with a punk intro - everybody yelling "Coke dick!" "Dick Army's Last Stand" officially kicks things off with earsplitting vocals, straight ahead drum beats and frantic guitars as it proclaims "Sleep when you're dead!"
The title track is a lighthearted song about the band not being accepted into any one certain musical genre.and why. Plus, it has a "Vicious Halftime Viking Riff" and ends with a little classical guitar riff (this isn't the only song that does). "Third Strike" is the song that shook the foundation of the club when they played it live. This song is fuckin' insane and drummer David Smith destroys the kit. My personal favorite on the album, by far.
Musically, "The Nightingale" reminds me of a song from ALL's Pummel. Walking a thin line of being poppy, it still remains hard enough not to fall into the safe zone. Great vocals and solid drums are combined with clean and distorted guitars. Mind you, I did not call this a pop song. Hell, to me it's one of the best songs on the album as it shows versatility and even defines the lyrics in the previously mentioned title track.
Now, I stated earlier that there was something different about this band to me just by seeing them live. I saw them as a quintet, but they had two members that weren't present that night. I bought the CD at the show, opened it, sat at the bar to get one last brew before closing time and that's when I saw that one member, Justin Johnston, is listed as the groups classical guitarist. Some songs end with classical guitar but "The Relentless Pursuit Of." and closing track "Possibly Our Zenith" are instrumental classical guitar pieces. How cool and gutsy is that for a band with such a brash name?
Detroit is the Motor City and CDMA is running on high octane. It's been said the true measure of a band is in their live shows. While I encourage purchasing this album, I can't stress enough to find out when they come to your city. You should go se them. They are truly CDMAwesome!
