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Party Like a Rock Star

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David Karr ’09 rocks with his band Joppa

November 16, 2007 - 1:00am
By Sammy Perlmutter

If I were to have a party, I would hire Joppa to perform. Its influences are clear: Dave Matthews and Red Hot Chili Peppers come straight to mind. Certainly “Chill Out Gorilla” references these groups — Ramzy Suleiman rap-sings in the style Anthony Kiedis made famous and G. Love does best. Think Jack Johnson hyped-up on some ketamine, the drug said to increase energy, better known as Special K. In fact, Su-leiman rap-sings, “That Special K makes things so clear / And in the jungle they’re always near,” in “Chill Out Gorilla,” and uses bananas and potassium — whose periodic table symbol is K — as a euphemism.

What else brings a party to mind? Right: KC & The Sunshine Band (“Do a little dance / Make a little love / Get down tonight! / Get down tonight!”) and Kool & The Gang (“Celebrate good times! / Come on!”). But Joppa is definitely not disco. There’s a heavy nod to Jimi Hendrix (see: “Driftin’”) and a little lighter nod to Sly and the Family Stone (see: the Fender Rhodes keyboard sound on “Just Another River Song”).

So, throw your hands in the air if you just don’t care: it’s time to par-tay!