GIANT DALLOWAYS BLOW UP DOLLS, NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE 'GIRL ON A BIKE', ALL-TIME DESERT ISLAND BAKERSFIELD TOP FIVE, AND AN APPEARANCE AT GIGANTIC - BY N.L. BELARDES February 20, 2005 11:30 am If someone twisted my arm, put a damn gun to my head, stuck a rabid chinchilla on my back, I would grit my teeth and resist playing favorites; but under such duress AND since I’m just a big baby after all I would say, “Yes, dammit, my top five desert island all time favorite Bakersfield bands so far are, but not in this order (only worse tortures could get such out of me) the lonely, DIM, Angry Asphalt Machine, the Filthies, Liars and Thieves, and the Dalloways. For the sake of this mini-article and live review and to escape any further tortuous talk, let’s take a look at the Dalloways and a few of its talents: Aaron, front man MC rapper of 40WattHype (one of the biggest sensations in the Central Valley); he’s a percussion expert, production guru, and all around cool-as-hell guy and makes drumming in a Brit Pop band look as easy as cooking up tricky HIP HOP tempos for 40Watt. He really is cool as hell and when he talks its like talking shop—a true musical genius in percussion genres... You can feel it in the vibe he projects and see it in his eyes, one of those genuine good people out to create for the masses. Then there’s Dalloways frontman, Gerhard Enns. Take the haunting lyrical wisdom of Lloyd Cole and slam it with double-sided Velcro tape to Morrissey’s melodious singing and songwriting and you will have a hint of what this band is all about. The Dalloways played Gigantic on Friday night. If you haven’t listened to the best-packaged cd by any Bakersfield Band I have seen since being back on the scene, you need to. Penalty Crusade is a great cd as well as a live song that is exciting to see played out by a bass player just as animated as drummer Nick from Liars and Thieves... A class act, nowhere else can you see Enrique, Latino guitarist fuel Santana-riffs into a sound once thought exclusively European. Gerhard, young creative boy grown up with the idea to ‘just create, man’ has taken a British sound that so influenced him and infused it with styles purely Central Californian. These guys have to get exposed to the crowds that surround the Filthies and Ridicule (Hey, you guys might make my top five desert island if I ever get to hear ya) They should cross pollinate, you know? All in all, a great show by a truly internationally flavored band.

*Liner note: The Dalloways and Napoleon Dynamite?? Yes, Penalty Crusade meets Napoleon Dynamite in cd packaging that has an exclusive photo of ‘the girl on the bike’ from the movie. Did you know the fan club has over 150,000 members?? And more than that, there are further ties to the guy who played Kip (his photo site). Apparently he knows the girl on the bike and is an actor, writer, photographer. If you haven’t seen Napoleon Dynamite, then you have to. The adventures of weird carry this movie about strange people with normal lives gone to the basket case. The movie is a rage and has a cult following and the Dalloways are hip to it. Go watch the movie, then buy the cd so you can be a totally freaked out fan for both the band, and the flicka. Oh, and sorry, didn't actually mention any giant blow up dolls of the Dalloways. Maybe should have some made into Macy-esque balloons and float them down Central CA streets... Meet them, greet them, be them.