Band/Fan Blog

Originally published on 2.28.08 

Prescott, Az. - After 13 hours of deliberation, a Prescott jury has found The CheekTones guilty of 8 counts of shameless pandering to commercial taste.  Charges had been brought against the band in the wake of a Christmas show at the Grand Canyon, in which they allegedly played a medley that included the Chuck Berry classic, “Run Rudolph Run”.  Yavapai District Attorney Willie Pruvit, discussing the case, said, “This Rudolph thing was just one in a long line of CheekTones assaults on the public cool quotient; we’re elated by this verdict.”  Juror Amanda Haight, when interviewed, said, “Just the fact that they learned that song was enough for me to convict.”

Members of the band declined to comment, but their attorney, Izzy A. Finagler, made this statement:  “While it’s true the boys are up to 5 Stones and 4 Dylan covers, they believe there is enough “interpretation” in these covers to warrant a verdict of not guilty.  And although the Rudolph song was in their setlist, they didn’t even play it.  In their defense, I would ask:  What about their original songs, and their unique arrangements of music from such obscure songwriters as JJ Cale, James McMurtry, Bob Schneider, and the inscrutable Tom Waits? What about their reggae rendition of David Crosby’s “Long Time Gone”? Have you heard anyone else play Danny Okeefe’s “Along For The Ride?” And, to top it off, they steadfastly refuse to honor requests to play “Mustang Sally.”  Surely these aren’t the signs of a band who has completely sold out to commerce. They don’t even have a merch box, or a cd to sell. We’ll be filing an appeal in the district court in Jerome on Monday.”

The conviction, if upheld on appeal, carries a sentence of up to six months of playing only jazz versions of Hannah Montana songs.

See for yourself if this legal setback affects the performance, or the playlist, of The CheekTones.