Tuffcurls

Rod Tuffcurls and the Bench Press aren’t from around here.

It’s not even close. They’re from an alternate universe.

They’re unsure of the name of this universe. It might be Zinidion 7. Or Kreblon. That’s a phonetic spelling —apparently the proper way includes a silent J. There are no carbs where they’re from, and Jennifer Lawrence is everywhere.

“I think the alternate universe exists inside of cells existing in Jennifer Lawrence’s nose hairs,” said Rod Tuffcurls, the band’s namesake and lead guitarist.

Tuffcurls, along with drummer Dick Celebrity, guitarist Happy Masterson and bassist CC Ryder, makes up the Bench Press, which hails from Chicago and tours the Midwest. But Bloomington is a special place for the cover band. They’ve played the Bluebird Nightclub three times this semester already, and they’ll play again this Saturday night, as well as two nights during Little 500 weekend.

Looking at the band at the Bluebird, it’s not hard to tell they’re imported. As they play on March 12, temperatures outside are in the 20s, but they still wear baseball T-shirts with their names written on them and short-shorts that don’t even come halfway to their knees.

During one song, Tuffcurls sticks his thumbs into his shirt to make it look like his nipples are protruding. Bassist CC Ryder stands on top of an amp stack as he plays another song. Ryder, Tuffcurls and Masterson perform synchronized dance moves during Modest Mouse’s “Float On.”

“They’re all front guys, but everybody’s got their different personality,” Celebrity said. “They do different types of joking on stage.”

Celebrity said Ryder is the crooner of the group. He’s a “bass destroyer” and can lay down a mean bass line. But he’s also a “heart destroyer” and sings many of the ballads on the band’s setlist.

Masterson is the single guy.

“So he’s a swinger,” Ryder said.

He joined the band just eight months ago, mostly on the basis that girls would like him. He sings most of the girl songs.

“Not the songs that girls like,” Masterson said. “The songs sung by girls. Men seem to like them.”

Tuffcurls is the “spastic one,” according to Celebrity. For much of the interview, he responds only in tweets he’s reading off of his phone. Ryder says he sings most of the “idiosyncratic” vocals.

Drummer Celebrity is a model, actor and musician. He keeps the band in time behind the drumset and is sometimes responsible for keeping them on track during their set.

They all have extensive musical experience, having taken music lessons since childhood. Some of them have music degrees, others in theater. Celebrity has a master’s degree in jazz drumming from DePaul University.

Ryder’s mother is a voice teacher, so he’s been exposed to music for as long as he can remember. Before he joined the band, Masterson was music director for Chicago’s Second City comedy troupe.

The Bluebird becomes a diverse melting pot on nights when the Bench Press plays.

You’ll see bros with their jerseys and backwards hats, hippie girls with baggy clothing and dreads, and the regular college folks in hoodies and glasses.

You’ll even see uncategorizable wildcards like the guy who’s wearing an orange paisley suit with a bolo tie.

The band knows this, and they try to include something for everyone. Their setlists include everything from songs of the 1960s to the pop hits of today.

On March 12, they opened with “Everything Is Awesome,” from “The Lego Movie.”  Then they went in to the Beatles’ “She Loves You,” doing the head shakes on the “woos” like John and Paul did.

They performed “Runaround Sue,” a No. 1 hit from 1961. But then they switched gears and played Haim’s “The Wire,” a top 40 hit released less than a year ago, a few songs later.

And while their energy and enthusiasm drive their shows, their virtuosity is always present, too. They morph “Go Your Own Way” into “Sultans of Swing” at the end, with Masterson taking a slick, Mark Knopfler-style solo. Masterson, Ryder and Tuffcurls layer three different a capella vocal lines during “Kiss From A Rose.”

“We all like a lot of different music,” Celebrity said. “But our overlapping taste is what we play.”

Even though “Ants Marching” is frequently on the setlist at their shows, Celebrity seems to be the only member of the band who likes Dave Matthews. Ryder says Matthews is a huge influence.

“It’s like, ‘what should I not do as a musician or songwriter,” Celebrity said.
Masterson plays Television’s “Marquee Moon” during some down time at the sound check before the show. But Tuffcurls doesn’t like that band.

Despite their differences, they succeed in picking songs their audiences will like. The audience screams along to the chorus of Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble.”

During Wilson Phillips’ “Hold On,” one concertgoer jumps up and down and waves his arms.

Unlike most concerts, you’ll rarely see someone taking a picture with a phone at a Bench Press show. Rather, the audience engages in the performance, dancing and smiling and turning to their friends to sing their favorite parts.

The audience has a great time at the band’s shows, but so do the band members.

They all say that Bloomington is their favorite place to play.

“That’s not bullshit. We love coming here,” Masterson said. Celebrity said Bloomington has a certain “je ne sais quoi” that puts it above other frequent tour stops.

They’ve made friends here. They’ve spent tons of money at the record stores in town, and they love the food at Village Deli.

But even though they’ve grown fond of the places along Kirkwood Avenue, it’s not the stores and restaurants that makes Bloomington their favorite place. It’s the people, especially the IU students who come to the Bluebird for their shows.

“Kids are smart here,” Ryder said. “They get our sense of humor really well.”

While people in other places might get confused by their references to memes and the Internet, Masterson says that doesn’t happen in Bloomington.

“We just kind of do whatever we want,”  Tuffcurls said. “We don’t have to explain it to them.”

IU students stay in touch with the band even after they graduate. The band has started playing at weddings of IU alumni. At shows in Chicago, Celebrity said IU alumni make up a significant chunk of the audience.

Above all, the band just wants to party and have fun. They say Bloomington is a good fit for them because IU students share that sentiment.

And that alternate universe? It turns out to be closer than they first thought.

“I’m trying to think of the alternate universe where there’s no consequences and we can drink all we want,” Ryder said.

But Celebrity already knows the place.

“You mean Bloomington, Indiana?” he said. The band all agrees.