File this one under “Cults.”
Dunlap High School recently had a Battle of the Bands competition. The winner? “The Gary V. Sandberg Project.”
Really. I’m not making this up. I couldn’t possibly ever, in a million years, make this up.
The Gary V. Sandberg Project is a bluegrass band, and they even have their own MySpace page (who doesn’t?). Apparently, there’s a group of kids at Dunlap High who watch every Peoria City Council meeting, then get together to discuss them. And Gary is their hero.
They even wrote a song about him called, “Our Friend.” You can hear a recording of it on their page, and here’s a live version:
If you can’t make out the lyrics, they are:
Who’s the man on the TV with the smiling face?
Who’s the man with the filled up trophy case?
Who’s the man who eats all his greens?
Who’s the man with a parrot named Jellybeans?He’s our friend, he’s our friend
But he doesn’t even know it, he’s our friend
He’s our friend, he’s our friend
Won’t you be his friend too?Sand is on the beach, ice is on the berg
But it doesn’t even matter because we’re friendsWho’s the man with the black bow tie?
Who’s the man who will tell no lie?
Who’s the man with the poofed up hair?
Who’s the man you cannot scare?He’s our friend, he’s our friend
But he doesn’t even know it, he’s our friend
He’s our friend, he’s our friend
Won’t you be his friend too?Sand is on the beach, ice is on the berg
But it doens’t even matter because we’re friends
Gary was invited to the Battle of the Bands competition to introduce the group that bears his name. He obliged. It was the first time he had heard them, and he was truly moved by their homage to his work on the council.
Wow. I think if I were Gary, I’d be flattered, but would probably take out an order of protection just to be on the safe side….
How long do you think it will be before Markley and Luciano are playing this song regularly on their WMBD afternoon show?
As a Gary fan, I love it. This song is inspiring, it makes me want to get a T-Shirt that says “What Would Gary Do” with some sort of sandy iceburg logo.
Dear BeanCounter – Let me know where to send money for the shirts – I’ll take 4.
I wonder how many of these kids would hero-worship the guy if they knew he was a damn Yankees fan?
What a wonderful tribute! I understand that Black Oak Arkansas follows this band and would like to add this new song to their repertoire.
1. I think it’s brilliant that these kids are getting into local government! Not many of us (hell, not many of anyone)attend city council meetings. In addition to musically talented, they’ve gotta be smart!
2. Gary is quite worthy of the hero worship. He’s damn smart and has balls – a great combination.
3. I’m originally from New York. Sorry.
there are indeed Gary V. Sandberg tee-shirts. The shirts say “The Gary V. Sandberg Project” on the front upper right (when facing the shirt) corner, and have the picture of Gary V. thats at the top of this page on the back
They were intended to promote the band for the upcoming battle, and I’m not quite sure but there might be some left……… 😛
the gary sandberg band is the best band eva. they r 1337 and u r t3h n00b. they pwn all commers!!!1 U r just jeluz uf there sw33t l1cks!11 🙂 nobody can touch th3m. They rock the jeezy on the big mac breezy fool.