Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine
Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine performing live in 2011
Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine performing live in 2011
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active2000–present
LabelsCoverage Records (current), Surfdog, Oglio
MembersRichard Cheese (Mark Jonathan Davis)
Bobby Ricotta (Noel Melanio)
Frank Feta (Brian Fishler)
Billy Bleu (Ron Belcher)
Websiterichardcheese.com

Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine (or simply Richard Cheese) is a cover band and comedy act, performing popular songs in a lounge/swing style. Lounge singer Richard Cheese is a character created and portrayed by Los Angeles–based actor/comedian/singer Mark Jonathan Davis.

History

Davis developed the Richard Cheese lounge singer idea in the mid-1990s. The band's work was first broadcast in 2000 by KROQ-FM and the Dr. Demento show.[1]

Releases

The band's debut album Lounge Against the Machine was released in 2000 by Oglio Records.[2] Cheese's second and third albums, Tuxicity and I'd Like a Virgin were independently released in 2002 and 2004 by Cheese's own label, Ideatown Entertainment (later renamed to Coverage Records). From 2004 to 2006, Surfdog Records released three Richard Cheese CDs: Aperitif for Destruction, a studio album, Silent Nightclub, a collection of songs tangentially related to the holiday season, and The Sunny Side of the Moon: The Best of Richard Cheese, which included newly re-recorded versions of six covers plus three new covers. Surfdog also re-released the Richard Cheese albums Tuxicity and I'd Like a Virgin on their label.

Beginning in 2007, the band returned to releasing its own albums through its independent Coverage Records label: Dick at Nite, Viva La Vodka: Richard Cheese Live, OK Bartender, A Lounge Supreme, Live at the Royal Wedding and its companion behind-the-scenes album The Royal Baby Album, Back in Black Tie, and a Christmas album, Cocktails with Santa. Cheese released a studio album on CD titled Licensed to Spill in 2017, and a greatest hits digital compilation titled Lord of the Swings: The Best of Richard Cheese, Volume 2 in 2018. In 2019, the band released Richard Cheese's Big Swingin' Organ, an album of instrumental organ versions of nine of their songs. Also, in 2019 it released a one-track parody album titled Richard Cheese: Live on Titan which satirized the ending of the motion picture Avengers: Infinity War. A studio album titled Numbers Of The Beast was released digitally on July 31, 2020, and another studio album titled Big Cheese Energy was released digitally on February 26, 2021.

Since 2000, Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine band has released 28 albums.

Film work

Richard Cheese's cover of Disturbed's "Down with the Sickness" was featured in the 2004 Zack Snyder-directed remake of Dawn of the Dead.[3] In 2016, the band had two songs in the motion picture Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and released a one-track parody album called Live at Wayne Financial Tower in which the band's performance is cut short by Superman's heat vision. Warner Bros. hired the band to perform and appear as animated LEGO mini-figs in the 2017 film The Lego Batman Movie. In May 2021, Snyder's Army of the Dead movie featured Richard Cheese singing the opening song "Viva Las Vegas" in a duet with Allison Crowe.

The character of Richard Cheese appeared in the Kristen Wiig comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, released in February 2021.

Band members

As of 2015 the lineup of the Lounge Against the Machine band was:

  • Richard Cheese – vocals
  • Bobby Ricotta – piano, keyboards
  • Frank Feta – drums, percussion
  • Billy Bleu – upright bass, bass

The names are all pseudonyms that refer to types of cheese (ricotta, feta, bleu).[1]

The role of pianist and musical director Bobby Ricotta is currently played by Noel Melanio. The band's first drummer Buddy Gouda was played by Todd LaValley, and then by Charles Byler. Byler left the band in 2004; he was replaced by Brian Fishler and the drummer's stage name was changed to Frank Feta. The current bass player, Billy Bleu, is portrayed by Ron Belcher.

Discography

All self-released as Coverage Records except where noted.

Studio albums and singles

  • Lounge Against the Machine (2000) (Oglio Records)[4]
  • Tuxicity (2003) (Surfdog Records)[4] [upper-alpha 1]
  • Aperitif for Destruction (2005) (Surfdog Records)[4]
  • Silent Nightclub (2006) (Surfdog Records)[4]
  • I'd Like a Virgin (2006) (Surfdog Records)[4] [upper-alpha 2]
  • Dick at Nite (2007)[4]
  • Viva la Vodka (2009)[4]
  • OK Bartender[4] (2010)[5]
  • Lavapalooza[4] (2010) (as Richard Cheese presents Johnny Aloha)
  • Richard Cheese: Live at the Royal Wedding[4] (2011)
  • Cocktails with Santa[4]
  • A Lounge Supreme[4] (2011)
  • Back in Black Tie[4] (2012)
  • The Lounge Awakens[4] (2015)
  • Supermassive Black Tux[4] (2015)
  • Bakin' at the Boulder [Live at the Boulder Theater][4] (2015)
  • Licensed to Spill[4] (2017)
  • The Royal Baby Album[4]
  • Richard Cheese's Big Swingin' Organ![4] (2019)
  • Numbers of the Beast[4] (2020)[6]
  • Big Cheese Energy (2021)[7]
  • Snappier Than Ever: The Original Songs (2021)
  • Besame Queso (2022)
  • Pussy Party (2022)
  • Live From Hollywood (2023)
  1. ↑ originally released in 2002 by Ideatown/Coverage Records
  2. ↑ originally released in 2004 by Ideatown/Coverage Records

Compilation albums

  • The Sunny Side of the Moon: The Best of Richard Cheese (2006) (Surfdog Records)[4]
  • Hail to the Cheese: Richard Cheese's All-American Greatest Hits (digital only) (2012)
  • Down With the Dickness: Richard Cheese's Dirtiest Greatest Hits (digital only) (2012)
  • Lord of the Swings: The Best of Richard Cheese, Vol. 2 (digital only)[4] (2018)

Film soundtracks

Charts

  • The Sunny Side of the Moon – No. 9 on Billboard Comedy Album Chart, March 17, 2006[8]
  • OK Bartender – No. 15 on Billboard Comedy Album Chart, April 9, 2010[5]
  • Numbers of the Beast – No. 6 on Billboard Comedy Album Chart, August 15, 2020[6]
  • Big Cheese Energy – No. 10 on Billboard Comedy Album Chart, March 13, 2021[7]

See also

  • The Lounge Kittens, an English comedy band who performed rock and heavy metal songs in a lounge music style.
  • Black Velvet Flag, an American trio who performed punk rock songs in a lounge music style.
  • Frank Bennett, an Australian jazz singer who recorded several big band arrangements of popular songs.

References

  1. 1 2 Stapleton, Susan (February 3, 2015). "Cheese whiz Richard Cheese slices two sets in Las Vegas". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  2. ↑ Turner, Katherine (March 3, 2016). This is the Sound of Irony: Music, Politics and Popular Culture. Routledge. p. 171. ISBN 9781317010548. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  3. ↑ Snyder, Zach (2017-08-02). "'Watchmen' Director Zack Snyder Reaches For A Slice Of Cheese". MTV News. Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Richard Cheese discography at AllMusic
  5. 1 2 "Comedy Albums (week of April 10, 2010)". Billboard. 10 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-07-11. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  6. 1 2 "Comedy Albums (week of August 15, 2020)". Billboard. 15 August 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-07-13. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  7. 1 2 "Comedy Albums (week of March 13, 2021)". Billboard. 13 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-07-13. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  8. ↑ "Comedy Albums (week of March 18, 2006)". Billboard. 18 March 2006. Archived from the original on 2021-07-11. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
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