Cool and down to Earth, that's how I would describe Josh Brussell, one of the lead singers of Little Head Thinks, an East End-based band that performed the late show at the Talkhouse in Amagansett Saturday night.
Coincidentally, that's also how I would describe
Little Head Thinks--cool and down to Earth. In fact, when I asked Brussell to describe LHT, he said, "That's a tough question. Some times I just describe us as alternative party rock."
I couldn't agree more. Fortunately, the group is located in a perfect place--the Hamptons--for their laid back rap/rock party that they throw while on stage.
Putting their fingerprints all over an eclectic mix of covers from the 70's, 80's and 90's while intertwining some of their own catchy originals, LHT performed for a solid two hours plus, undeterred by oppressive heat (which snapped two guitar strings during the course of the evening) to keep the party moving, the drinks flowing and the dancefloor packed.
Led by Brussell--teaches Science at East Hampton High School (where he's also the volleyball coach), pretty much cementing him as the coolest teacher in Suffolk County--and Matt Daugh--who moonlights as the bartender at the Talkhouse's back bar--the band kicked off the evening covering Eagle Eye Cherry's Save Tonight and didn't look back, with some fun takes on Biz Markie's Just a Friend and the 1980's classic Revenge of the Nerds (not a typo).
Brussell says that this flexibility "comes from listening to kick ass music. We are just like anyone else, and we have our phases of listening to different genres of music at times. We try and play songs that eveyone knows and loves."
The highlight of the night was an unique cover of Jack Johnson's Bubble Toes, where they improbably found a way to honor the likes of Ozzy, Zepplin and others thanks to the nifty guitar work of Peter "Bosco" Michne and drummer, Ed Drohan (you gotta see it to fully appreciate it).
Back from the break, the group wasted no time blowing the roof off with a solid cover of A-Ha's Take on Me before performing a mind-numbing shout out to the Beastie Boys and Run D.M.C., paying homage on a number of hits from the two NYC-based music institutions.
"We try and think of songs that people would least expect coming at them, and be hopefully psyched to hear because they haven't heard them in a while," said Brussell.
One of the highlights of the second set was a cover of Sublime's What I Got, which featured a guest appearance of some familiar Fresh Prince lyrics and Outkast's Hey Ya!, which is never a disappointment.
In fact, my only disappointment was that LHT wasn't selling CDs, but hope is on the way. Brussell says that the CD is recorded and being mixed and should be ready by the end of the summer. In the meantime, some of their original stuff is available on their
MySpace page (the group's also planning to update its Web site in the near future).
CHECK OUT: Circle of Shade, which sounds like the marriage of Sublime/Jack Johnson/G-Love that the group cites as its creative influences.
NOTES: According to Brussell, Little Head Thinks is not a reference to thinking with one's little head (as opposed to the big one), but more a commentary on society...I went to the front door, paid the cover and showed my ID as a proof of age. Then they gave me my money back, because it was a military ID. You had me at hello,
Stephen Talkhouse!...Outside, they were promoting the
Wounded Warrior Project (which is getting my cover charge), and is a terrific cause...Little Head Thinks returns to the Talkhouse July 5.
Labels: Little Head Thinks, Music, Stephen Talkhouse
Cool and down to Earth, that's how I would describe Josh Brussell, one of the lead singers of Little Head Thinks, an East End-based band that performed the late show at the Talkhouse in Amagansett Saturday night. 
