Film + TV
Fred Armisen and Bill Hader rock softly as The Blue Jean Committee
by Dan MacRae
August 20, 2015
"The pride of mid-70s Northampton, MA is BACK."
Finally, you can now enjoy a little “Catalina Breeze” in the comfort of your own home.
The non-threatening soft-rock sounds of The Blue Jean Committee are here to whisk you away as summer comes to a close. Fred Armisen previously fronted this faux group on SNL and now he’s brought the outfit (with a tweaked lineup that includes Bill Hader) to the IFC series Democracy Now! with a proper EP release in tow.
Catalina Breeze features the, er, breezy title track, plus offerings like “Going Out to Hollywood” and “Gentle and Soft” as a 12″ release on Drag City due out this November.
“Inspired by such laid back duos as Loggins & Messina, Seals & Crofts, Becker & Fagan and England Dan and John Ford Coley and well-versed in the “Lido Shuffle” to boot, The Blue Jean Committee were the proud products of the late ’70s Northampton, Massachusetts music scene,” proclaims a slice of press accompanying the EP release news.
The group displayed their talents and their signature song on a recent episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers.
We’d mention that Fred Armisen’s the official bandleader of Late Night‘s 8G Band, but he has a habit of being away from the show for weeks at a time, so it can be kinda hard to remember that detail.
Anyway, this isn’t the first time Armisen’s trotted out a musical release from an alter-ego. (Heck, The Blue Jean Committee released “Massachusetts Afternoon” last year.) Drag City put out Fist Fight! from the SNL-spawned hardcore band Crisis of Conformity and Armisen’s Thatcher-loving punk vets Ian Rubbish and the Bizzaros have an EP of tracks that are free to download. Oh, and don’t forget The Bjelland Brothers.