Break out your left handed scissors and your green sweaters, Okilly Dokilly, the nation’s only Ned Flanders tribute band (or heavy Nedal) is coming to the Broadberry this Thursday, 3/30.
The Phoenix-based band’s members include Head Ned, Red Ned, Thread Ned, Stead Ned and Bled Ned, and in an interview with RVAMag, Head Ned broke down how the unique project came to pass.
“The original idea came from myself and our drummer Bled Ned, coming up with a goofy name. It all came from the name ‘Okilly dokilly,’ we were trying to envision the heaviest, craziest, Metalocalypse-ish band you could think of, and then also the goofiest, completely unrelated name to it,” he said.
It turned out access to green sweaters and pink polos, as well as the ability to grow mustaches, helped lead them to the Ned Flanders motif.
“We’re Simpsons fans. We just kept going with it and suddenly we’re on tour.” he said.
Before long the concept went viral locally. They only had one show booked at a local DIY space but it was soon to be massive. They ended up with 20,000 facebook fans in less than two weeks. Then they produced a video with a production company that employed some of the band members.
It was a grueling almost-24 hour shoot, but the final product for “White Wine Spritzer” also went viral:
If you couldn’t tell, the song consists of the same Ned Flanders quote repeated ad nauseum while the band rips in the background.
“It was all just friends of ours who came together,” said Head Ned. “It was brutal, we were all really tired… but we were excited to do something unique and pumped to have so many eye balls on us”
That video hit the front page of Reddit which built up even more of a following.
Head Ned said he and other members had been in bands in the past, but nothing quite as hard as Okilly Dokilly. They were metal fans, but had mostly worked on indie projects – but they struck a cord this time.
“The show itself [The Simpsons] is a year older than I am,” he joked, remembering how he fell in love with the longest running show in television history. “I kind of grew up with the Simpsons, it was kind of a staple in our house. It was something my dad watched a lot of. It was just kind of always there. I remember some of the early episode and kind of relating to Bart.”
The band still lacks label support – Head Ned called them in-ned-pendent – but they were contacted by the manager for the headline acts on Thursday’s bill, Mac Sabbath (A McDonald’s-themed Black Sabbith tribute) and Metalachi, a metal mariachi band. They’ve been on tour with the other two acts since mid-March and have been enjoying themselves as they embark on their first US tour.
“It’s been great, a ton of great musicians and great people, and stage props for us to trip over…” said Head Ned. “You never know when you’re gonna have to weave around a huge donut or burger to find a place to change your pants.”
As for the show itself, expect tracks from the band’s first album, Howdilly Doodilly, available now on Bandcamp, as well as some Flanders jokes and a few other good time gimmicks.
They’ve never been to Richmond before, but they’re also excited to play in the hometown of GWAR, a similarly-themed metal project which continues to rule stages.
“We didn’t know what to expect for this first tour so we’ve just been throwing these ideas out there,” said Head Ned. “We’ve gotten a lot of really good responses though.”
