<n:publication_date>2012-04-19
Story by Anne Erickson
Move over, Gorillaz. There’s a new cartoon band in town. Velvet Revolver guitarist Dave Kushner has put together a new side project, and it’s a cartoon rock supergroup of sorts called PusherJones. The band brings together Kushner, Weezer bass player Scott Shriner, Queens of the Stone Age drummer Joey Castillo, Camp Freddy singer Frankie Perez and, for the cartoon magic, The Simpsons‘ creative director Dave Warren.
Kushner says he got inspiration for the band from, you guessed it, Gorillaz. “The original concept was for a Gorillaz-type thing,” he told Rolling Stone. “Basically, me and Dave Warren became friends through Don Bernstein, who used to buy all the memorabilia for the Hard Rock. Dave worked on The Simpsons, and then he and I started talking about stories and different ideas. It eventually became an idea for a TV show, but then we thought, ‘The music has to be as good as the animation.’”
Fans can stream PusherJones’ debut single, “Count Me Out,” via Rolling Stone. As for the story behind the song, Kushner explained that, “[‘Count Me Out’ is] basically about a big, notorious rock band, and there’s a new guy that’s coming into the band. You’re basically seeing all of the dysfunction and insanity, and the things that make for great rock bands through the eyes of the new guy. A lot of it has been based on different stuff that has happened to me or stuff I’ve heard being in Velvet Revolver for eight years.”
“Count Me Out” will appear on the forthcoming soundtrack for The Avengers. In addition, Kushner promises to release a five-song EP with the group sometime this year.
