Professor Murder

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Professor Murder
Origin New York City, New York
Flag of the United States United States
Genre(s) Indie Rock, Dance punk
Label(s) Kanine Records, RCRD LBL
Website http://www.professormurder.com
Members
Jesse Cohen
Andy Craven
Michael Bell-Smith
Tony Plunkett

Professor Murder is a dance punk quartet from New York City that mixes synthesizers and percussion-based compositions in a method that has drawn comparison to post-punk and new-wave bands of the early 1980's and late 70's[1]. They released their critically hailed[2] 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).

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[edit] Name Origin

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 has been said that The Mr. Show sketch of the same name inspired the band's name. It was rumored that Tony Plunkett was asked to tour with the John Mayer Trio but turned it down to work exclusively with Professor Murder, but Plunkett denied this rumor at the Pitchfork Music Festival.

[edit] Discography

EPs

  • Professor Murder On a Desert Island (Late 2007-Beginning 2008) RCRDLBL.com
  • Professor Murder Rides the Subway (July 25, 2006) Kanine Records
  • Professor Murder Vs. The Magazine Culture (2004)

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ All Music Band Description
  2. ^ Professor Murder reviewed on Pitchforkmedia