On this episode we chat with Zarate Zaalo (aka Squiggly Finesse), keyboardist, vocalist and mastermind of the Bourgeois Mystics. This fantastically eclectic group of intergalactic eccentrics currently reside at their 38 acre Austin-based commune (definitely not a cult) and make outer worldly music to inspire (or conquer?) us mere mortals here on Earth. With names like Countess Von Boopenstein, Tonto Luigi, Oochie Galluccio, and Mathilda Bilderberg, you can expect the unexpected from this Zappa-esque orchestra that ranges from a 5 to 12 piece ensemble. But here's the kicker, be ready to dance! For as progressive as the band gets, they always keep your feet moving. 

Founded in 2014, the Bourgeois Mystics released their debut, self-produced album Eureka! in 2017. Their cover of Bollywood classic, “Jaan Pehechan Ho” won the Keepin’ It Weird Award at the 2018 Austin Music Video Fest and best music video at the Austin Music Video Festival. They have since released a string of singles including "The Most Spiritual" and "Biomimicry" along with music videos and are currently in post production on a new full-length album. 

Zaalo (a name that will be endlessly mispronounced throughout the podcast) tells us about the core band members and their unique names and roles at the commune (definitely not a cult). He discusses his love of dance and hip-hop and cites some lyrical and phonetic influences like MF Doom. However, the band incorporates just about every genre under the sun. Picture Eminem hiring Mr. Bungle as a backing band and that's a start. From Prog-Rock, Hip-Hop, Surf, Afro-Beat, Dance, Disco, Funk, Fusion and everything in between, the Mystics leave practically no sonic stone unturned. Well, maybe Pop Punk and Bro Country. Their idiosyncratic sound and local popularity has lead to national tours where the band performed over 150 shows sharing bills with a wide variety of underground bands (Zaalo cites Trap Rabbit as personal favorite) as well as musical giants like George Clinton.

This podcast was particularly fun (and juvenile), ridden with dick jokes, tentacle porn talk, and a bizarre strip show. We learned of an adult site called Fuck for Forests (yet to google) and what life is like in a commune (definitely not a cult). We talk veganism and the art of herbivorious over-indulgence, Skunk's under-indulgent poverty stricken Vegas trip, Zaalo's reasons for moving to Austin, a biomimetic chicken labor force, investments in Oat Milk, guns, Sacha Baran Cohen, Curb Your Enthusiasm, nerdy Sci-fi shows and God forbid, Nickelback. This podcast may not be for the faint of heart or easily offended, but if you want to have a laugh along with some musicians embracing their eternal adolescence, then it just might be for you. And seriously, do yourself a favor and check out the Bourgeois Mystics! They are "a genre-defying dance party waiting to explode" and a band who "display the tongue-in-cheek humor of a psychedelic Monty Python and an absurdist splatter of funk-rock, hip-hop, and jazz."

Thanks for listening!

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