March 30, 2005 Music » Music Features

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Corporate Punks 

Yuppie Pricks enjoying spoils of Bush years

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click to enlarge Yuppie Pricks dining al fresco
  • Yuppie Pricks dining al fresco
If you can't beat them, join them. This is the message of the Yuppie Pricks, who have set aside their usual sloth and self-indulgence to raise the consciousness of those who have not yet submitted to their cultural dominance. They've already secured the support of Dead Kennedys frontman, former San Francisco mayoral candidate and liberal political agitator Jello Biafra, who's released the yuppie-punk band's debut album, Brokers Banquet, on his label, Alternative Tentacles. "Jello got ahold of some of the mixes from the album he just put out, and came to see us at South by Southwest in 2004. His label was in pretty shitty shape and he recognized the great marketing tool we could be for his label," says guitarist Deuce Hollingsworth. "It was a way for us to get some street cred with where he has come from and what he's done, and for him to become financially successful."

Hollingsworth, who lives in Austin, Texas, enjoys the benefits afforded by the annual hometown regional music shindig. He expresses little of the frustration most residents do about the week-long party of flacks, suits and rockers whose pursuit of buzz mimics a locust infestation of biblical proportions.

"It shows how god-like and rocking we are when you're going up against other bands that suck, have bad haircuts, and smell. It magnifies what we do and the great entertainment value we provide," says Hollingsworth. "Sure, maybe there's an extra 15-20 minutes of traffic, but it doesn't bother us because we're driven everywhere. So I'm still in my nice ride with my ladies, my scotch and my coke. What do I care?"

It's easy to see the appeal of the Pricks to Biafra (beyond their large trust funds). Their raw, shouted punk rock carries an echo of the Dead Kennedys, though the attack is more stripped-down and straight-forward than East Bay Ray's warped, reverb-heavy surf-punk riffs. Both bands share a similar playful sense of homage, as evidenced by cuts such as "New Rolls" (a take-off on The Damned's "New Rose") and "Damn It Feels Good To Be a Yuppie."

The latter, which boasts to "havin' coke parties on my yacht...let those stupid ass gangstas smoke pot," and offers advice to the "wannabe, gonnabe, cocksuckin', tux rentin' flunkies" from no less than the conservative head yuppie, our president.

"A movie house in town that does revival shows, were doing a thing with Office Space and asked us to play a set to open it off and help these office space type-people try to get ahead in life. Of course, we relish the opportunity to preach our message. As a result we decided it would be amusing for us to do a parody of the Geto Boys song 'It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta' for the show," Hollingsworth says. "We are a fan of the parody and like to pick up on the songs that we consider classics in any genre. Because they're popular, they're great teaching tools and help get our message across."

Coming out of Austin, which could be communist China compared to the rest of Texas, the Yuppie Pricks have had to deal with their share of hardship.

"There's a bunch of patchouli stink hippies that live in this town and a lot of liberals but we get to bash them every time we go out and every time we play a rock show. They show up to our gigs and spew their liberal filth and rhetoric. And we try to keep them straight with our lyrics and our educational teachings from the stage. We usually win over a few people," Hollingsworth opines.

Of course, the fact is, not everyone is cut out to be a yuppie.

"First of all you have to be born with incredibly good looks. Second, you have to be able to earn a lot of money or you have to be in a situation where you can inherit a lot of money. And you have to be well-groomed, which needs to start at an early age," Hollingsworth admits. "A vast majority of the people out there wouldn't even comprehend what it's like to be a yuppie or learn and be able to acquire the talents and wealth that a yuppie has. But they can still buy our merchandise and worship us."

It seems this is a good time to be a yuppie and, by extension, a Yuppie Prick.

"With the reelection of Bush things are going about as planned. More breaks for people with a lot of money. I can't complain," he says. "But please, don't hate us because we're beautiful — love us because we're brilliant."

The Yuppie Pricks play the Milestone Saturday along with Drat, Skull Soup, Legbone, Lived Like Murder and EMOTRON.

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