Danny McGuire
Polk City is damn far from Tampa, and its further from St Petersburg. Somehow, the only person I know who lives in Polk City, Danny McGuire, makes it to more shows in the Tampa/Orlando metropolitan area than anyone who lives in either town. Whether playing shows in any of his many bands hawking genres for beer or just attending and documenting with a little digital camera, Danny gets around. His main vehicle, the weirdo rock Pixies meets Ween juxtaposed by some Nirvana/Butthole Surfers action, Waterdigger, hasn't played a show in a while because of drunk drama between the members. Volatile and out-of-control (rumor has it they're banned from the New World Brewery), Waterdigger remains the only band that covered Sweet Home Alabama and turned it into a song I like.
Its not like McGuire sits around and waits for his mates to stop hating each other and get together, he just plays his songs in one of his 5 or 10 other bands. Improv crap guitar noise turned repetative songsters (and usually still both) Thee Heidlecrumbs shock as much as they entertain.
Reworked Waterdigger songs, cosmic freak outs and other sounds comprise their latest sets. This band's main other contributing member, Kat(hleen) Magyar, embodies an inspiring punk aesthetic of having the confidence to play in front of people without any formal training and very little (but growing amounts of) experience. The sounds should make school learned musicians hang up their flutes and take up accounting. Insulting, hilarious songs about your granny and mother mixed with heartfelt introspection and anger explode out of Danny's unusual brain…
This article appears in Jan 28 – Feb 3, 2009.