Blame it on Glamor. With a capital G.
Glamor Hornsby is an ex-Nintendo champion who, along with pal Bobby Jewell, aka Ultra Pulverize, was a member of the U.S. National Video Game Team.
Jewell and Hornsby shared a common love for gaming, but Glamor took his role more seriously than Jewell, who fancied himself a be-all, end-all ladies’ man. One day, Jewell vanished, never to be heard from again. Or did he?
This is but a piece of the origin of Ultra Pulverize — the band, not the player. Part kraut rock, part techno and part hip-hop, the team of Tony Robot, Ultra and Korgenbutz have turned what was inspired by these fictitious characters into a three-headed extension of their Nintendo- and Sega-influenced imaginations.
The three had never been in a band, but in Halloween 2004, they were out in front of fans with costumes, a drum machine and a mission. This week they celebrate the release of Unoriginals Get The Dose, their new offering that’s sure to expose you to the wonders of finger-tapping, to say nothing of Dracula-driven, black Chrysler Concordes.
LEO: So, about those costumes?
Ultra Pulverize: Most everyone wears a costume when they go out into society. Ours just happen to be cooler and more futuristic. We outgrew the old costumes, so it was time for an upgrade.
LEO: What do you guys do in your free time?
UP: We like to search the alligator pit at the zoo after-hours, collecting the pennies that accumulate down there. We actually financed the new album entirely in this way. So I guess those pennies were good luck for somebody after all. Besides that, we pretty much sit and listen to Jermaine Jackson’s “Escape from the Planet of the Ant Men” on repeat.
LEO: How is this album different from 2005’s Gorillas in the Fist?
UP: The new album has a lot more variety of sounds. We also put more thought into pacing it out, allowing the songs to either breathe or flow together with interludes. It’s fun to listen to as one piece. If Gorillas in the Fist was Ridley Scott’s “Alien,” then Unoriginals Get The Dose is James Cameron’s “Aliens” — relentless and vicious in an electronic way.
LEO: Your influences?
UP: Nintendo and Sega music is probably the biggest influence on our band, considering the insane amount of hours the three of us spent playing when we were younger. Some others include digestion trouble, love, miscommunication, sweat, day jobs and curb-turd alerts.
Contact the writer at
mherron@leoweekly.com
Ultra Pulverize w/ The Protomen
Friday, Feb. 8
The Underground @ Vernon Lanes
1575 Story Ave.
584-8460
$5; 11 p.m.
18+
This article appears in February 5, 2008.