Members of Sugar Ray, Better Than Ezra, and Uncle Kracker form terrible-sounding supergroup
Supergroups are a weird thing. In theory, they should be great. But for every Traveling Wilburys there’s an Audioslave, proving that the key to success in such a collaboration involves everyone being on the same page and also not inviting Chris Cornell to join. But a new trio has emerged that makes all other misguided supergroups look downright enjoyable comparison: Uncle Ezra Ray. As the name implies, Uncle Ezra Ray is the brainchild (or demon seed) of Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath, Better Than Ezra’s Kevin Griffin, and Uncle Kracker. While it’s hard to imagine who exactly this band is for—perhaps a fan of Extra, ’90s FM radio, and unnecessary DJs—Uncle Ezra has existed for over a month now.
In May the trio released its first song, which thankfully, remains Uncle Ezra Ray’s only song as of press time. “B.Y.H.B.” stands for “Bring Your Hot Body,” which is a request that hopefully no one would be willing to oblige. But the band presses on anyway because, in its own words, it “gotsta party.” As bad as the song is musically—it could best be described as a mix of country and ’90s pop, with Uncle Kracker lurking in the background—it’s the song’s cloying attempt to reach the widest swath of people possible that’s the most groan-inducing.
Take Uncle Kracker’s first group of lines: “Yesterday we sent a tweet out / Everybody come out/Yeah, we’ll have some ‘Love Shack’/Bumpin’ on an 8-Track.” At once Uncle Kracker is trying to appeal to millenials (Twitter!), their parents (The B-52’s!), and the four people who have an affinity for clunky old tapes (8-tracks!) Never mind the fact that this is followed shortly by McGrath’s declaration that he’d love to see some “homegirls spillin’ out of Cadillacs” while drinking “an ice cold 40 in a brown sack.” Sorry 90sFest, you’re no longer the worst thing ever.
[h/t The Muse]