Buzz

"There arean't many CDs that you like the minute you hear them, but this is one of those. It's good and it's fun. This is what you get when you combine the Klezmatics with the Avett Brothers. Let's hope the rest of the world isn't too chicken to give them a spin."

- Flee, Music Director, WMNF

"A band that lists Chico Marx, Kurt Weill and Lalo Schifrin as influences is setting its bar pretty high. Calling itself The Chicken Chasers raises it even further. These birds can fly, though. As Kurt Vonnegut might say, The Chicken Chasers are unstuck in time, topical references sitting atop hot jazz, with lyrics that swing as well as the rhythm section."

- Curtis Ross, Tampa Tribune 11/09

"I love this band’s music. They are totally different from anyone else out there. They describe their music as shving. I spelled it correctly: shving. It’s kind of a cross between Louis Prima meets Spike Jones meets Chico Marx and Jackie Mason. I know, right?"

- Michael Calzone, BeachLife 11/09

"With nearly a big band's worth of instruments, the five-piece outfit has more pure musical talent than several other bands combined."

- Julie Garisto, TBT* (St. Petersburg Times) 7/09

Recently, after playing a Monday night at Ringside Cafe, a patron named Diane (who had never seen us before) said, "You made us forget it was Monday." How much better does it get?

The first reviews of Beggars Can't Be Schmoozers on iTunes are in.

One of our biggest fans, who has been a supporter since our first performance wrote:

"Beggars Can't Be Schmoozers" is exuberant debut by The Chicken Chasers, a Tampa Bay-based combo that manages to mesh such disparate influences as klezmer, swing, and jazz -- along with unexpected but welcome dollops of vaudeville and cabaret. The brainchild of front man Little Squeeze and consisting of five tighter-than-a-lugnut musicians, The Chicken Chasers deliver 11 originals on this record that span the bridge from slapstick to tragic, all with an underlying sense of humor and optimism. Most noteworthy are "All Night Long," an ode to the smoldering heat of new relationships, "Little Pink Dot," sung in praise of that exact piece of female anatomy you'd expect it to be, and "No More War," a self-explanatory piece that crescendos and culminates as a powerful gospel-ish demand for piece.

The CD selections are from The Chicken Chasers live revue of the same name. If you enjoy this CD -- and you will -- you'll need to see them live as a logical next step.

Rocco, who purchased the CD without having seen us in action, wrote this:

Beggars Can't Be Schmoozers is a delight to listen to. The energy, the silliness, and yes, even the occasional naughty bits, reflect the inspiration these artists readily claim from Chico Marx. And like that icon of the unexpected, this group of artists impressively backs up its work with deceptively smooth, perfectly timed, polished musicianship. The album presents a nicely balanced mix of zaniness and poignancy, of the political and the risque. While the whole album earns high marks, several cuts especially stand out for me, including the infectiously appealing It's A Sunny Day, the haunting I Cry the Moon, and The Hunger, with its Leonard Cohen meets The Blues Brothers vibe. This album is a reminder that there still are musicians out there who value the traditions of the swing and Klezmer styles, and who can make them accessible to a more current audience.

We hope you enjoy our music and live performance. Please feel free to post a review on iTunes or send us and email so we can display your comments here.