Biography
Boston's the Upper Crust fuse hard rock with high-camp aristocratic foppery, taking the stage in powdered wigs and full 18th-century noble regalia while delivering matching lyrical conceits. The group coalesced in 1994 after its members had performed as the surf outfit the Clamdiggers, and its power-pop capers have been likened to "AC/DC meets the Buzzcocks at a theater showing of This Is Spinal Tap." Their signature approach first appeared on the 1995 album Let Them Eat Rock, prompting Emperor Norton Records to sign the band and issue the 1997 successor The Decline & Fall of the Upper Crust. Drawing equal influence from Kiss and Bon Scott-era AC/DC as from the European nobility they lampoon, the four-piece performs under the pseudonyms Lord Bendover (guitar, vocals), Count Bassie (bass, vocals), The Duc D'istortion (guitar, vocals), and Jackie Kickassis (drums). A 2000 live double album titled Entitled preceded the third studio effort, 2001's Once More into the Breeches. While maintaining steady U.S. and European touring schedules, the quartet became the focus of the documentary Let Them Eat Rock and placed the track "Eureka, I've Found Love" in the Guitar Hero video game. Before the decade closed they issued two further LPs, Cream of the Crust in 2006 and Revenge for Imagined Slights in 2009. Additional festival and late-night television slots followed, along with the theme song they composed for The History Channel's 2014 series American Daredevils.
Albums
