It's another duo this week. Rüss Rögers and Rhöd Dürre (the umlauts are optional, so don't bust a vein trying to find them on the keyboard!). Russ competed in Song Fu 3 as "
Rusty's Rocking Jamboree". Shortly thereafter he paired with Rhod and they burst into Song Fu 4 as
Gödz Pöödlz. And what an entrance! In successive rounds they delivered
Bad Penny,
Gödz Pöödlz on Parade, and the iconic
Bomb Squad Girl. In particular,
Gödz Pöödlz on Parade estabished a certain... attitude... that defines the Pöödlz.
I first "discovered" Song Fu in the following competition, where the Pöödlz offered up such polished gems as
Captain Dane Frostline,
3455316008, and
A Gift from Gödz Pöödlz. I have to admit to some stupidity on my part when it came to
3455316008, their answer to the challenge "Write a song about a number". It wasn't until after the voting that I realized that every word in their apparently numberless "song about a number" was written upside-down on a calculator! In other words, the
entire song was a number, the title of which resembles "She Boogies"!
A Gift from Gödz Pöödlz takes the self-promotional attitude of
Gödz Pöödlz on Parade to a new height:
A fine bit of hubris from a band that had at the time a grand total of two competitions and six songs under their belt! But it's all in good fun... these guys are all about pleasing the crowd. That's something they've continued to do through successive competitions, both Song Fu and SpinTunes. They've a loyal (you might say,
rabid) fan following with whom they communicate on Twitter and Facebook.
GöDZ PööDLZ on the Web:
And of course, in various songwriting
competitions, like SpinTunes
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At this point I'll mention that they've set a goal to appear on the Doctor Demento show,
as well they should. So click through the Facebook link above and find out how you can help make that happen!
I have no segue for this next piece... it's just that my wife wanted to make absolutely certain that you heard it, because she's a Pöödlz fan, too, and this is a really nice piece of music:
When I announced that the purpose of the
Periodic Table of Geek Musicians was to benefit
Rite Care Centers for Childhood Language Disorders, the Pöödlz were easily the most enthusiastic volunteers. I soon found out why, but I'll let Rhod Durre tell that story himself:
"When one of my daughters was diagnosed with speech apraxia when she was 3 years old, we exhausted all apparent options without much noticeable improvement. Despite receiving intensive speech therapy at home and through our health insurance, she was still unintelligible to even immediate family members. We learned about Rite Care through our school district speech therapy and were placed on the waiting list. When an opening was finally available, the local Rite Care evaluated and accepted two of our children for therapy twice a week. The improvement in my daughters' speech was dramatic and was immediately noticeable! The therapists engaged our children and made speech therapy fun for them in a way no previous teacher had. Not only did their speech improve immensely, but they really bonded with the therapists and started to actually look forward to speech lessons. As their therapy progressed, my children gained self-confidence because they were finally able to communicate with others. Three of my children have now received therapy through Rite Care and their transformation has been incredible! Especially in the case of the child who was diagnosed with apraxia, I credit Rite Care for helping her to overcome this very serious disorder. If not for the early intervention she received, I don't know that she would be understandable to this day. Because of Rite Care, however, she is now doing extremely well both scholastically and socially. Thank you, Rite Care, for everything you have done for my family!
-Rhod Durre
St. Michael, MN"
Normally at this point you'd get a disclaimer saying that so-and-so's results are atypical. While Rite Care cannot do the impossible, what is certain is that your donations go to pay for the very best, most dedicated therapists possible. The monies we collect here go directly to therapy. They don't even pay for the administrative costs of this web domain or the Cafepress store. Rite Care services are offered without cost to the families, but that doesn't mean they're free. Rite Care receives exactly
zero government funding... everything happens as a result of fundraising projects like this one. So please support a great band that supports a great cause and buy some of their merchandise. When it comes to your home and you open the box, know that you're part of something
wonderful. If you can't afford the merchandise, no problem... we've got a Paypal donation link for smaller amounts, and if nothing else you can click through a few ads. Every little bit helps!
In keeping with their enthusiasm for the project, and their flair for self-promotion
(and keep in mind that they're letting me do this to benefit other people!),
Gödz Pöödlz have THIRTEEN products for sale, including some really SPECIAL items! I'm going to list some of them, but give you the link to the PeriodicGeek shop for the whole list. Partly because I knew this was coming, I've partitioned the PeriodicGeek shop by band. It's now a lot easier to find the particular stuff you're looking for.
I'm going to start with the mug, because I
like mugs! I like them so much that I'm running out of room in my cabinets. I like them so much I
may have to take up drinking coffee! This is a really fun design featuring Len Peralta's "Monster by Mail" image of the Pöödlz, and a reference to a possibly-recognizable jingle.
What's not immediately apparent in these photos is the notice on the cups:
"No PööDLZ were harmed in the making of this merchandise." Animal lovers take note.
Next up is something special. In honor of
Bomb Squad Girl, we have this unique
clock with Bomb Squad Girl
herself, as envisioned by Your's Truly. Here she is in fighting trim, armed with a pair of wire cutters to defuse an explosive situation! Meanwhile the seconds tick down from 60 to zero!
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| This was a really fun thing to design. Click here for a close-up of BSG's face. |
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We also have
THREE apparel designs. The first two are BSG designs.
Your Bomb Squad Girl will be fearless, fit, and fabulous in the BSG logo. This is available as a Jr. Ringer Tee (shown. available in pink/salmon, yellow/gold, and mint/avocado) and as a
white ladies T-shirt. Round out the look with a
BSG military cap in black, olive, or tan. Bomb Squad Girl wears one, and it looks GREAT. Men's and
Women's T-shirts are available with the same BSG image that appears on the clock!
And of course we have a shirt featuring the wonderful Len Peralta image in glorious high res!
While we're on the subject, I'm really loving this last product, too.
A Gift From Gödz Pöödlz is an oval porcelain ornament featuring the Pöödlz rocking out. This item can do double-duty as a gift tag... it's a
gift on a
gift!
Now how cool is that?!
Thanks, Russ and Rhod, for allowing me to go crazy, and for supporting Rite Care. And thanks to everybody for your support. While you're in the mood, visit
Gödz Pöödlz on Facebook and Bandcamp.
At just a buck a song, you really can't go wrong... GodzPoodlz dot Bandcamp dot Com!
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