Years ago, when I was a tone-deaf musician, what I hated more than anything was the question: Who do you sound like? Panicked, I would flip back and forth between bands in my head, and list who I borrowed from: guitars this, lyrics that, keyboards this. When people expressed further confusion, I said defensive and overblown things like, “Sound is a concept, man.”
When I asked this question to local troupe Chick-fil-atio, bassist Bryan McCauley only laughed and said, “The B-52s beating up a clown on cocaine on a surfboard — with female vocals.”
For those of you who missed it, Chick-fil-atio performed this past weekend as the fourth act of Boca Fiesta’s Frankenstein-esque sound experiment, Band Roulette. The concept differs from its Russian counterpart in that no guns are involved, and no one is harmed physically — only mentally and emotionally via democratic elimination.
The idea: Local musicians drop their names and phone numbers into instrument-specific hats — guitars, drums, bass and vocals — after which they wait for a phone call to learn who they will be in a band with. They have three weeks to write three songs with three strangers, including at least one cover and one original, to compete against eight other bands for the grand prize: a free bottle of liquor for each (of-age) musician.
Before the show, I was put in touch with Rick McCauley, the drummer of Chick-fil-atio, who was kind enough to invite me to a practice. This afforded me the opportunity to ask what Band Roulette meant for local musicians and Gainesville’s music scene. The mishmash included Amanda Gonzales on vocals (picture Betty Page with glasses and a ponytail), Jacob Adams on guitar, who, with his giant frame, made his Fender look almost miniature, and Bryan and Rick McCauley, who are identical twins save for their haircuts. After asking how the brothers were drawn together, Gonzales explained, “Originally the person we got picked with in the draw dropped out. And Bryan plays bass, and he was around, so ....”
“He was just sitting there drinking,” Rick McCauley interjected, laughing. “And he’d already run through practice, so he just played with us.”
The band said it decided to participate in Band Roulette not only because the event promoted a good time, but because of the sense of community local music provides.
“I think it’s a positive, unifying thing for Gainesville,” Gonzales said, “because if it was anybody’s first time being in a band, like, this is their opportunity to try this. And they don’t have to go out of their way to find all these people.”
“I’ve been in Gainesville for over ten years,” Adams said. “So I’ve seen these guys around. I knew a lot of people they knew, and when [Rick and I] met up at Boca Fiesta the day after the drawing to get acquainted over beers, we both recognized each other and were like ....”
“Oh yeah,” Rick McCauley jumped in. “I’ve seen you around before.”
“I’m just glad it’s changing the sound of music. It’s such a positive thing for this town,” he said. “The sound has become all the same. And the Gainesville sound is amazing — it’s a great, recognizable sound — but this could open doors for a whole new kind of music.”
On Saturday, the night of the show, I found the band scattered around Boca, anxiously waiting its turn to perform. “I’m excited and nervous,” Adams said, tightly gripping his beer. “We put in a two-hour practice today.”
Rick McCauley, who works at a T-shirt company, printed dozens of shirts with the familiar Chick-fil-A logo on them, altered to say Chick-fil-atio.
“We’re going to throw the shirts out during the middle of our set,” Bryan McCauley said. “We’ve got a whole gimmick planned.”
The band’s performance incited righteous cheers, accompanied by Adams’ sing-a-long lyrics squealed by Gonzales, “Drink, smoke, fight, curse, slap an a** and yell out f**k!”
However, despite the band’s energy and chemistry, first place, and the liquor, went to the band Uncles. When asked how he felt about it, Rick McCauley had this to say: “It was still a blast.”
Chick-fil-atio singer Amanda Gonzales rocks out on stage at Boca Fiesta on Saturday night during Band Roulette. During their set, the band handed out free T-shirts printed with their logo.
Sound technician Mike Margarelli, 37, takes a break after running sound for four bands at Boca Fiesta on Saturday night during Band Roulette.
