If you have never been to a Dregs show before, it may be a bit confusing your first time. There most likely will be some chaos, loudness, and maybe some humor. Let me help you understand what we like to call… ‘entertainment’.
First off, we have fans, and they RULE. Because they are Dregs Groupies, we call them ‘Droopies’. Totally makes sense, like Tim says.
They like to pay us for songs. Our going rate is $5 a song. That is almost a dollar per person in the band, so you’re getting a deal! Our tagline line is, “for five dollars, we’ll play any song- even if we don’t know it”. Most of the time, our fans are kind and request songs in our repertoire. SOME TIMES THEY ARE NOT, and we have to scramble. Ever hear ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ at a karaoke bar? Like that, except with an accordion.
Sometimes we don’t get requests, and Tim picks on some poor new person in the audience. This person will be asked their name. FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY, SAY IT’S AN IRISH NAME. The band will come after you, and I’m a pacifist, but also a conformist, so I’m pretty torn in those moments. You will be asked to choose between songs for us to sing. They are:
- Sea Shanty (insert joke about seamen)
- Bawdy (insert joke about dead people)
- Drinking and Dying (cheers and mugs lifted in appreciation)
- A STUPID PRETTY SONG (band goes nuts for absolutely zero reason I’ve figured out in five years with them)
Oh yeah, our band is supposedly an Irish band, we’re family, and we all have stage names. Let me help you, because even I get confused. Sometimes we call each other by our stage names. Sometimes we’re lazy hacks and forget. Here’s a handy cheat sheet:
- Tim’s character name is Thomas
- Suze’s character name is Shannon
- Chad’s character name is Cedric
- Geoffrey’s character name is Nash
- Rachael’s character name is Deidra
- Molly’s character name is Megan (that’s me)
If you want faces to go with the names, go check out my other weird blog entry.
We also have an affinity for stockyard critters. Pigs, chickens, cows… ass I mean donkey! Hence the ‘I [chicken] The Dregs’ bumper stickers. We sing songs about them. That, and zombies. ‘Zombies in the Shire’ has to be our most popular song.
We have an unfortunate marriage of these two obsessions called ‘Zombie Chickens’, which is as ridiculous as it sounds. I always wonder about my life choices while we sing that song…
We also do a song called ‘Virgin Sturgeon’, which is probably one of the easiest songs we perform with some of the most HORRIFIC verses. We will sing them, but the audience has to pony up. It’s always amusing when that happens and one of the band member’s family is watching the show. The verses are… well, I won’t spoil much for you.
Yikes.
I remember when I first joined the band; I was scared and overwhelmed and a bit intimidated. To be honest, The Dregs are actually pretty down to earth people, and I am lucky to be a part of this band at this venue. We truly love everyone who spends a moment of the time out at Fest with us. We hope we bring a smile to your face, even if it’s in disbelief of the weirdness ensuing. Come join us this season for some merriment and laughs!
Tags: Dregs, droopies, Mac's Pub, Minnesota Renaissance Festival, Zombies in the Shire
You have stage names? I thought you were just to hammered to remember who was still in the band!