Happy President’s Day!
February 21st, 2011
By:
Last week I had the pleasure of seeing the Two Man Gentleman band perform as part of another great Blood On The Bluegrass night at East Nashville’s fooBAR.too. In affirmation of my recent posts concerning The Gent’s, their “vaudevillian hot swing” certainly had the crowd rocking and swinging throughout the duration of their set. This is much more than a simple party band, though, as their original, offbeat topical songs are pure genius. In the event that you are still unfamiliar with the talents of the Two Man Gentleman Band, I thought it appropriate to take advantage of President’s Day to share some of their quirky and fantastic “Two Man” music with you. Enjoy!
The Two Man Gentleman Band – Franklin Pierce from RedEyedRooster on Vimeo.
Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of The United States, had a brilliant political career but wrestled with alcoholism throughout his life. He and his wife, Jane, had three sons, none of whom survived past adolescence- their first died three days after birth, their second died at the age of four from epidemic typhus and their third at age eleven in a train accident shortly before Pierce’s inauguration as president. After failing to secure the Democratic nomination for re-election in 1852 Pierce infamously declared “there’s nothing left to do but get drunk.” When Jane passed away eleven years later, Pierce did his best to follow this mission. An outspoken Southern Sympathizer prior to and during the American Civil War, Pierce was often publicly labeled a traitor by his New Hampshire constituents in his later years (attributed to both his close relationship to Jefferson Davis as well as his perceived indifference to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.) Sadly, Franklin Pierce died from cirrhosis of the liver – a lonely and isolated man – in 1869. There is truly nothing funny about the death of Franklin Pierce.
The Two Man Gentleman Band – William Howard Taft from RedEyedRooster on Vimeo.
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of The United States and the last one to have sported a “manly” mustache. Although Taft was a handpicked successor to Teddy Roosevelt and holds the distinction of being the only president to have also served as Chief Justice of The United States Supreme Court, it seems the poor guy is more often remembered for his obesity than for any of his political contributions. “Big Bill” – as he was often called – weighed in at a hearty 332 pounds and was so big that he got stuck in the White House bathtub on at least one occasion, requiring several presidential aides and a gallon of butter to “unstick” him. This problem prompted installation of an oversized version big enough to accommodate 4 normal sized men. Wow!
