The Superions are an American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

band formed in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

in 2006 as a

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize a ...

The B-52s The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, pe ...

frontman

Fred Schneider Frederick William Schneider III (born July 1, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, and musician, best known as the frontman of the rock band The B-52's, of which he is a founding member. Schneider is well known for his ''sprechge ...

with Noah Brodie and Dan Marshall.

History

Formation and early years (2006–2008)

The band, originally named The Del Morons, was founded in 2006 by Fred Schneider and friends Noah Brodie and Dan Marshall. Schneider first met Brodie and Marshall,

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

nuts like him, in 2002 through a mutual friend who has a record store in Orlando, Florida. Eventually, whenever in Orlando, Schneider began staying with Brodie and Marshall at their home and turned them on to

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

and tiki music. During a stay in December 2006, Brodie and Marshall played Schneider a track they had composed using

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

and asked Schneider if he would put words to it. Schneider came up with the lyrics for " Totally Nude Island" off the top of his head and, because of Brodie and Marshall's noisy pet azure

lovebird Lovebird is the common name for the genus ''Agapornis'', a small group of parrots in the Old World parrot family Psittaculidae. Of the nine species in the genus, all are native to the African continent, with the grey-headed lovebird being native ...

, Mr. Bird, recorded the vocals in the bathroom in two takes. It started out as Schneider, Brodie and Marshall just having a good time, but friends who heard the song suggested they put it out.

"Totally Nude Island", "Who Threw That Ham At Me" and ''The Superions'' EP (2008-2010)

A friend of Schneider's said, "No one's going to take you seriously if you call yourselves The Del Morons", so the trio changed their name to The Superions and released "Totally Nude Island" themselves as a

digital single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

on October 31, 2008. The Superions then asked Ursula 1000 to do a

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of "Totally Nude Island" and released " Totally Nude Island (Ursula 1000 Remix)" as a digital single on iTunes on December 18, 2008. The reaction was such that Schneider spoke to Mike Turner, founder of the

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

independent label

Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records is an American independent record label based in Athens, Georgia. Its catalogue features indie rock, indie pop and hip-hop music, with several of its artists associated with or influenced by The Elephant 6 Reco ...

, about putting out a limited edition vinyl single. A deal was hatched and it was decided to do a full EP release with the addition of two reworked songs from The Del Morons period, "Those Sexy Saucer Gals" and " Who Threw That Ham At Me", and remixes by The Lolligags,

Casper & The Cookies Casper & the Cookies is an American rock and pop band from Athens, Georgia, United States. History Multi-instrumentalist and singer Jason NeSmith (pronounced "KNEE-smith," no relation to Michael Nesmith of the Monkees), began using the pseudo ...

and

Marshmallow Coast Marshmallow Coast (formerly M Coast) is an indie pop band associated with the Elephant Six Collective. Background Marshmallow Coast began in 1996, with a self released cassette recorded by singer/songwriter Andy Gonzales, which featured contribu ...

. "Who Threw That Ham At Me" was released as a digital single on iTunes on November 24, 2009 and '' The Superions'' EP was released as a digital download on January 19, 2010. ''The Superions'' EP was released on CD and Limited Edition 12" on HHBTM Records in the US on February 23, 2010. In April 2010, Brodie and Marshall completed work on a remix of rapper

Shunda K Lashunda Nicole Flowers, better known as Shunda K, is an American rapper whose songs are noted both for their use of spiritual and sexually explicit lyrics. Career Current With her release of "The Return of Shunda K" EP in 2019, Shunda K is ...

's single, "I'm Da Best". From April–June 2010, The Superions held a remix contest for their song "Those Sexy Saucer Gals", the Swedish band WeHaveLove was chosen as the winner and " Those Sexy Saucer Gals (WeHaveLove Remix)" was released as a digital single on iTunes on August 24, 2010 and the video by Tom Yaz was released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on August 27, 2010. The remix was later released on the digital "Bonus Track Version" of ''The Superions'' EP.

"Fruitcake" and ''Destination... Christmas!'' (2010–2011)

The Superions began recording new material for a full-length album in January 2010, but during a 9-day session in May, they switched gears to focus on a full-length

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

album, '' Destination... Christmas!''. They put the finishing touches on ''Destination... Christmas!'' during another recording session in June and completed mixing in July. The Superions signed with

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Fanatic Records distributed by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Caroline Distribution Virgin Music Label & Artist Services is a music distributor of independent artists and record labels, owned by Universal Music Group. The subsidiary focuses on the distribution of new or emerging partners. Started by Virgin Records as Carolin ...

for the release of ''Destination... Christmas!''. Schneider says the 11 original tracks "cover all the Christmas themes: yetis, avalanches, fruitcake. It's not traditional." The digital single "

Fruitcake Fruitcake (or fruit cake or fruit bread) is a cake made with candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and optionally soaked in spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated. Fruitcakes are typically served ...

" was released on iTunes on September 21, 2010 followed by the release of ''Destination... Christmas!'' on October 25, 2010 on CD, LP and as a digital download. ''Destination... Christmas!'' debuted at #13 on the ''Billboard'' Comedy Albums Chart on December 18, 2010. "Fruitcake (

Yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

Remix)" was released on December 20, 2010 as a free download on Yacht's website. In February 2011 The Superions continued working on songs for a proper full-length album during a week-long recording session, they then resumed recording in May 2011.

"Batbaby" and ''Batbaby'' EP (2011)

" Batbaby", a song which was recorded in May 2010, was planned as the group's next single for Halloween. The '' Batbaby'' EP, released September 13, 2011 on iTunes, also features remixes by DJ Beekeeni, DJ Butterface, Phylr and Umpff. In an interview with ''Atlanta'' magazine, Schneider attempted to explain his lyrical inspiration: "Oh, I don't know. Some songwriters come up with incredibly smart commercial things and I come up with "Batbaby." The music video for " Batbaby" pays homage to B-movies, and was filmed on the birthday of

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

"Konnichiwa" and ''The Vertical Mind'' (2014–present)

" Konnichiwa" was released to

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

s as a digital download on May 12, 2014 and was the first single to be released from the album '' The Vertical Mind''. ''The Vertical Mind'' was released June 23, 2017 on

Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records is an American independent record label based in Athens, Georgia. Its catalogue features indie rock, indie pop and hip-hop music, with several of its artists associated with or influenced by The Elephant 6 Reco ...

. Tracks (vinyl pressing): The Vertical Mind, Konnichiwa, Glitter Gulch, Albóndigas (Meatballs Olé!), Sleeping Booty, Stampede at the Petting Zoo, When the Dingoes Ate the Babies, Passport Wallet Cellphone, Strip Search, Kiss Me To Heaven, (Underpants) In the Rain, Savage Kiss.

Members

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Noah Brodie –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

electronic drum Electronic drums is a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sounds ...

s and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Dan Marshall – programming and

Discography

Albums

* '' Destination... Christmas!'' (2010) * '' The Vertical Mind'' (2017)

EPs

* '' The Superions'' (2010) * '' Batbaby'' (2011)

Singles

* " Totally Nude Island" (2008) * " Totally Nude Island (Ursula 1000 Remix)" (2008) * " Who Threw That Ham At Me" (2009) * " Those Sexy Saucer Gals (WeHaveLove Remix)" (2010) * "

" (2010) * " Batbaby" (2011) * " Konnichiwa" (2014) * "Glitter Gulch" (2018)

Remixes

"I'm Da Best (The Superions Remix)" (2010)

References

External links

thesuperions.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Superions, The Electronic music groups from Florida American comedy musical groups American synth-pop groups