Professor Murder

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Professor Murder
Genres	Dance funk
Labels	Kanine Records
Members	Jesse Cohen, Andy Craven, Michael Bell-Smith and Tony Plunkett
Website(s)	[1]

Professor Murder is a dance-funk quartet from New York City that mixes synthesizers and percussion-based compositions in a method inspired by the post-punk bands of the late '70s and early '80s. They released critically hailed debut EP, Professor Murder Rides the Subway, on Kanine Records in July of 2006. Members of the band are Jesse Cohen (keyboards), Andy Craven (drums), Michael Bell-Smith (vocals, percussion, bass, keys), and Tony Plunkett (bass, melodica).

[edit] Discography

• EPs
  • Professor Murder Rides the Subway Kanine Records (July 25, 2006)
    • 1. Champion
    • 2. Pedigree
    • 3. The Mountain
    • 4. Camron's New Color (Pt. 3)
    • 5. Free Stress Test

[edit] Trivia

Professor Murder was also a character in two comedy sketches on HBO's "Mr. Show" in the 1990s. He was a rapper who was featured in a sketch about the East Coast ventriloquists' feud with the West Coast ventriloquists, which mirrored the same regional divide in the world of rap music. Professor Murder made a second appearance in another sketch as a ringer brought in by the rich kids from the fat camp when they wanted to win a rapping contest against a group of Buddhist monks. Professor Murder was played by Sam Sarpong. It is not known if The Mr. Show sketch of the same name inspired the band's name. It is rumored that Tony Plunkett was asked to tour with the John Mayer Trio but turned it down to work exclusively with Professor Murder, but this has not been confirmed.

[edit] External links

• Pitchfork's review of Professor Murder Rides the Subway