Elastic No-No Band was a musical group based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

anti-folk Anti-folk (sometimes referred to as unfolk) is a music genre that emerged in the 1980s in response to the remnants of the 1960s folk music scene. Anti-folk music was made to mock the perceived seriousness of the time's mainstream music scene, a ...

scene. Started in the mid-2000s, the band's name was initially just a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

for its leader and main

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, Justin Remer. After 2005, Elastic No-No Band's line-up also included pianist Herb Scher and multi-instrumentalist Preston Spurlock. In 2005 and 2006, the band would perform sporadically with Clint Scheibner, who would play a

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

attached to his chest, as though he were in a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

. In 2007, the band added drummer Doug Johnson (who plays a standard

drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsti ...

) as a regular member. During the recording sessions for the band's 2010 album, '' Fustercluck!!!'', electric guitarist John Mulcahy was also added. Remer did a solo US tour as Elastic No-No Band during spring of 2008.

Film Music

Remer initially used the name Elastic No-No Band as a personal pseudonym when he wrote and performed

songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

and

film scores A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

for some of his

short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

. These films include ''In Defense of Lemmings'' (2004) and ''Loved and/or Laid'' (2006). Remer also contributed songs to the

Troma Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...

films ''

Tales from the Crapper ''Tales from the Crapper'' is a 2004 straight-to-video anthology film that was a spoof of the ''Tales from the Crypt'' comics. The film was released by Troma Entertainment. Plot Troma Entertainment co-founder and B-movie director and producer ...

'' (2004) and '' Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead'' (2007) as Elastic No-No Band.

Lo-fi/home recordings

While he was studying film at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, Remer used the facilities intended for recording

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...

for film projects to create four

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

albums. These albums were ''Songs from a Poorly-Soundproofed Room'' (2004) (the title is a parody of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

's ''

Songs from a Room ''Songs from a Room'' is the second album by Canadian musician Leonard Cohen, released in 1969. It reached No. 63 on the US ''Billboard'' Top LPs and No. 2 on the UK charts. Background The recording sessions for ''Songs From a Room'' began in ...

''), ''More Songs About Cowboys and Moisture'' (2004) (the title is a parody of

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

' ''

More Songs About Buildings and Food ''More Songs About Buildings and Food'' is the second studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on July 14, 1978, by Sire Records. It was the first of three albums produced by collaborator Brian Eno, and saw the band move toward ...

''), an album of

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

covers called ''Every Elvis Has His Army: ENB Does EC'' (2005), and ''(Previously Otherwise) Uncollected Songs'' (2005). These albums were initially distributed using the

CD-R CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) are readable by most CD readers manufactured prior to the in ...

format, then were made available as a free

music download A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. Thi ...

from Elastic No-No Band's

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

. When the website was shut down at the end of 2011, Remer compiled the website tracks into a two-volume compilation, collectively titled ''Not Like Most Folkies''. Remer began performing at the Anti-hootenanny

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether the ...

run by Lach at the Sidewalk Cafe (the center of New York's East Village anti-folk scene). This is where he met Scher, Spurlock, and Scheibner. The men performed shows together and made

home recording Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narrat ...

s of some of their rehearsals. Five of these rehearsal recordings, featuring the trio of Remer, Scher, and Spurlock are featured on Elastic No-No Band's first official CD release, ''

The Very Best of Elastic No-No Band So Far ''The Very Best of Elastic No-No Band So Far'' is the first official CD release of the antifolk group Elastic No-No Band. It is a compilation of home-recorded tracks taken from the four lo-fi CD-R albums that Justin Remer recorded using the name ...

'' (2006). Scheibner is credited on the release with "silent drumming." The remainder of the CD consists of songs from the four CD-R albums Remer recorded alone and a newer solo recording titled "

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

." In 2007, the band issued ''

No-No's (Leftovers and Live Songs) {{italic title, all=yes, noerror ''No-No's (Leftovers and Live Songs)'' is the second official CD release by the antifolk group Elastic No-No Band. It is a compilation of songs that were never intended for a specific album and includes many live ...

'', which consists of previously unreleased material, live performances, and previously issued one-off recordings from compilations. According to Remer, the songs are called "leftovers" instead of "B-sides" or "rarities" because they're no rarer than any of the band's other songs. This CD includes the first recorded live performances with the band's second drummer, Doug Johnson.

''My 3 Addictions''

This new quartet line-up created Elastic No-No Band's first

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, titled '' My 3 Addictions''. It was produced by

Major Matt Mason USA Major Matt Mason USA is the recording project of Matt Roth, an American musician and record producer active in the anti-folk and DIY music scene of New York's East Village.(May 28, 2004). "Matt at front of 'anti-folk'", ''Coventry Evening Teleg ...

. It was released on October 16, 2007. Justin Remer set up a

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

in advance of the album's release called "''My 3 Addictions'': An interactive album". Starting September 3, 2007, Remer posted a new entry every other day, including an audio stream of one of the album's songs. Since September 23, 2007, all eleven songs have been available for listening from the blog.

''Fustercluck!!!''

Elastic No-No Band released their second studio album, a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

called '' Fustercluck!!!'' in January 2010. It featured numerous guest appearances from other antifolk acts, like

Toby Goodshank Toby Goodshank is a musician and visual artist based out of New York City. In addition to his solo work, he performs regularly with New York City-based bands Double Deuce, the Tri-Lambs, and the Christian Pirate Puppets. Biography Toby Goodshank ...

The Moldy Peaches The Moldy Peaches were an American indie group founded by Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band has been on hiatus since 2004. The appearance of their song " Anyone Else but You" in the film ''Juno'' s ...

, Nan Turner of

Schwervon! Schwervon! is a two-piece American indie rock band. The band members are Matt Roth (Major Matt Mason USA) on electric guitar and Nan Turner on drums; the pair share singing duties. They started the band in 1999 on the Lower East Side of New York C ...

, and Brook Pridemore. The album also marked the addition of electric guitarist John Mulcahy to the band. It would turn out to be their last proper studio album, as the band dissolved in late 2011. A final "leftovers" compilation, ''Black No-No's'' was scheduled to be released in May 2012.

Pop culture references

Many of Elastic No-No Band's songs feature humorous lyrics based on

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

references. "

" mentions the titular hip-hop group, as well as fellow hip-hoppers Eric B. & Rakim, R&B singer

Bobby "Blue" Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was descr ...

, and actor

Mr. T Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud, May 21, 1952), is an American actor. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A-Team'' and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film ''Rocky III''. He is also known for his dis ...

. "I Am

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...

(And This Is My Song)" is told from the point of view of the famed

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and mentions his squabbles with his frequent collaborator, the German

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...

. "A Modest Proposal (For Laura Cantrell)" has Remer proposing marriage to the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Laura Cantrell Laura Cantrell (born July 16, 1967) is a country singer-songwriter and DJ from Nashville, Tennessee. Biography Cantrell moved to New York City from her native Nashville to study English at Columbia University. She briefly recorded songs with ...

and mentioning past romantic crushes on female musicians like

Liz Phair Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to start a musical career ...

Juliana Hatfield Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls (band), Some Girls, and The Lemonheads. She also fronted her own band, The Julia ...

, and

Meg White Megan Martha White (born December 10, 1974) is an American former musician and singer who was the drummer of Detroit rock duo The White Stripes. Her music career began when, on a whim, she played on her future White Stripes bandmate Jack White' ...

. "Woody Allen Surrogate (Kenneth Branagh's Blues)" is from the point of view of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

actor and director

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus t ...

, who starred in

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's film ''Celebrity''. The song discusses actors who have played the "Woody Allen part" in movies that Allen has directed but not starred in, such as

John Cusack John Paul Cusack (; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and political activist. He is a son of filmmaker Dick Cusack, and his ol ...

(in ''

Bullets Over Broadway ''Bullets Over Broadway'' is a 1994 American black comedy crime film directed by Woody Allen, written by Allen and Douglas McGrath and starring an ensemble cast including John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, Chazz Palminteri and Jennifer Tilly. The film ...

'') and

Jason Biggs Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Jim Levenstein in the '' American Pie'' comedy film series and Larry Bloom in the Netflix original series '' Orange Is the New Black''. He al ...

(in ''

Anything Else ''Anything Else'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen, produced by Letty Aronson, and starring Jason Biggs, Christina Ricci, Allen, Stockard Channing, Danny DeVito, Jimmy Fallon, Erica Leerhsen and KaDee Stri ...

'').

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

is noted in the song for "avoiding it" in his performance in ''

Sweet and Lowdown ''Sweet and Lowdown'' is a 1999 American comedy-drama mockumentary film written and directed by Woody Allen. Loosely based on Federico Fellini's film ''La Strada'', the film tells the fictional story, set in the 1930s, of self-confident jazz guit ...

''.

Discography

Albums

*''Songs from a Poorly-Soundproofed Room'' (2004) (CD-R) *''More Songs About Cowboys and Moisture'' (2004) (CD-R) *''Every Elvis Has His Army: ENB Does EC'' (2005) (CD-R) *''(Previously Otherwise) Uncollected Songs'' (2005) (CD-R) *''

'' (2006) *''

'' (2007) *'' My 3 Addictions'' (2007) *'' Fustercluck!!!'' (2010) *''Charmingly Shambolic and Mostly Live'' (2011) *''Not Like Most Folkies - Part 1: The First Two Albums & Other Early Originals'' (2012) ompilation taken from the CD-R albums and the first 2 official CD releases*''Not Like Most Folkies - Part 2: Early Covers'' (2012) ompilation taken from the CD-R albums*''Black No-No's'' (2012) *''Anthology: Cheese Fries, Klaus Kinski, and Manboobs'' (2014) 0th anniversary career-spanning compilation*''Decayed: A Re-Fuster-Dux Deluxe'' (2020) *''Fuster No-No's: Sessions, Demos, Ephemera 2008-2011'' (2020)

EPs & Singles

*'' The Meow Bits'' (2008) *''Every Elvis Has His Impersonators: 7 Homemade Remade Elvis Costello Songs'' (2008) *"

Paradise by the Dashboard Light "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was released in 1977 on the album ''Bat Out of Hell'', with vocals by the American musician Meat Loaf alongside Ellen Foley. An uncommonly long song for a single, it has bec ...

" (2011)

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

7-inch single/Meat Loaf cover version, cover with Huggabroomstik,

, and The Leader] *"

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is a popular Christmas song written in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle. It was recorded and released that year by pop singer Andy Williams for his first Christmas album, ''The Andy Williams Christm ...

" (2013) ustin Remer solo digital single, using the Elastic No-No Band name*''Phoning It In on Valentine's Day, 2008'' (2020)

Compilation Appearances

*'' Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead''

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

(2006) - "Lone Gay Man's Last Words" *''

Anticomp Folkilation ''Anticomp Folkilation'' is a 2-CD compilation album featuring a variety of artists from New York's anti-folk scene. Sounds and Themes This album itself has been described as incongruous yet in line with traditional Folk and Punk sensibilities. ...

'' (2007) - "Sally's Strut"

References

External links

Elastic No-No Band websiteElastic No-No Band Facebook pageElastic No-No Band Myspace pageMy 3 Addictions: An interactive album blog
* Elastic No-No Band on allmusic.com {{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City