Nekrogoblikon, a band with a goblin mascot, once famously sang “We Need a Gimmick.” Phoenix band Okilly Dokilly have found one, and it’s blowing up the internet. The five-piece band are entirely inspired by and about Homer Simpson’s neighbor Ned Flanders. They’re hardly the first band to be inspired by The Simpsons (hello, Fall Out Boy), or even the first metal band to take their name from the show (what’s up, Evergreen Terrace?), but the world’s only “Nedal” band are fully committed to their shtick. All five of them dress like Homer’s nemesis (green sweaters, gray pants and spectacles, and three of them even have mustaches.
The band apparently formed when singer Head Ned and drummer Bled Ned were in line at a grocery store “entertaining ourselves by coming up with really cutesy names for really hardcore, brutal bands,” he tells Australian site Ripitup:
“The name Okilly Dokilly came up and was very funny to us,” he says.”We ran with it. I contacted a few friends (Red Ned, Thread Ned and Stead Ned), and here we are. Most of us have played in other bands around our hometown,” he explains. “This is definitely the heaviest sounding project any of us Neds have done.”
As far as the music, they have a four song demo, Okilly Demos, streaming on Bandcamp. It’s, um, not particularly good. The band claim via their Facebook page that “most of our songs are direct Ned quotes.” “All That Is Left,” for example, is about Ned’s ill-fated store, The Leftorium. With the exception of the screamed vocals from singer Head Ned (the other members are Red Ned, Thread Ned, Stead Ned and Bled Ned), it’s not super heavy, or like, produced. In fact, they haven’t even played their first show yet (that’ll be on September 5). But hey, if you live near Phoenix (in Springfield, perhaps), you might want to follow them on Facebook.
