The Name & Story
The Really Cooks was the next iteration of “The Josh and Pete Band“. As we were recording Dr. Lemonade Stand, we decided to rebrand. We spent months trying to think of a name until one day I said “We just need to come up with a band name that really cooks”, a reference to the famous scene in Back to the Future. The name was sticky.
We ran an entire campaign leading up to the reveal of the name that explained how The Josh & Pete Band turned into chefs who saved all the world from Mister Badman, an evil man that wanted to rid King Alon’s castle of food. It was quite elaborate.
The Album Release
The rebrand campaign went great and we leaned into the animated food band concept 100%. King Alon & Dr. Lemonade remained but Josh and Pete were now chefs and we dressed up in chef outfits on stage.
Our first venture was releasing the album Dr. Lemonade Stand which was made up of songs that we had created that were not a part of O’Captain. It was an 11 piece album and full of complex song arrangements. We recorded in the same studio that was the home of the Disco Biscuits. The songs on this album are definitely on the stranger side but it was super fun to make. I want to remix and remaster the album at some point, as I still feel there is untapped potential in the recording but it was a great first album project.
Once the album was completed, we hosted an album release party. And Ironically, the poster for this release party was the first collaboration between me and my wife.
The album release party was a great success. We played a few of our oldies:
The Really Cooks – Miscommunication
And then some off the new album:
The Really Cooks – Mr. Badman
After the album, we experimented with the brand by writing food blogs and pairing with music album. We had all sorts of schticks including custom fortune cookie business cards and kids menus.
Moving On
Over the next few years we gigged at a bunch of exciting places and had a blast with our branding.
Unfortunately, after being on the scene for about 6 years, we were tired of being a band. We took a quick run at being a Muppets Cover Band (yeah that happened) and then went all in on the creative project SpringBreakVid.
After the music video project, we decided to stop the band but once a year for the last 10 years, we get together and kept the music a live. Some notable appearances:
The March for Science
The entire experience was awesome and I look back on that time fondly. Playing music is the best and I can’t wait to revisit the album songs in the future!