Local bands 'dress up' for Halloween to jam at Max's Place

On Friday night, Max’s Place featured bands Shaggy Wonda and Ladymoon.

Shaggy Wonda played the Pulp Fiction soundtrack for its second set, and each band member wore a black suit with a black tie, mimicking Samuel Jackson and John Travolta’s characters from the movie.

“That was awesome,” Ivy Tech student Max Boris said. “It shows that they have good taste.”

The band members in Ladymoon were dressed as rappers. They gave no reason for this.

The band mostly played its own songs, but its also covered old-school legendary artists such as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, the Beastie Boys and the Meters.

These songs involved the crowd, but not as much their original, “Mr. McMurphy,” a song that starts with a hard rock and funk style and then goes into a slow and smooth jam with no vocals for about seven minutes.

The song’s title is in reference to Jack Nicholson’s character in the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

“That was a tight jam,” Boris said. “You can’t even put that into a genre. It’s like Phish.”

Band members from both groups said their favorite bands are Phish, Umphrey’s McGee and Parliament, among others.

Ryan Brown, Ladymoon guitarist and vocalist, explained the band’s music.
“It sounds like a polar bear crapping a rainbow,” he said.

Ladymoon plans to continue playing shows, including a return to Max’s Place on Nov. 19.

“Our short-term goal is to make it so we don’t have to have jobs,” said Kris Potts, Ladymoon bassist and vocalist. “Long term, we want to play big venues.”

Band members of both Ladymoon and Shaggy Wonda expressed their realizations of the music industry’s change of direction that occurred in the 1990s.

“Huge conglomerates bought all the radio stations,” Brown said. “And then bands like Limp Bizkit just killed the radio.”

Steve Laine, Shaggy Wonda bassist and vocalist and IU alumnus, agreed with Brown.
“There’s nothing (on the radio) that makes your hair stand up,” Laine said.

Ladymoon and Shaggy Wonda both have albums that can be found on iTunes.