AMY WINKLER/Arizona Daily Wildcat Chango Malo bass player Justin Lilly and fellow band members play at Fall Crawl 2001.

Local band Chango Malo celebrates second CD release

A band of crazy monkeys is making a name for itself in Tucson.

Chango Malo consists of six members - two guitarists, Ian Philabaum and Ryan Couch; bassist Justin Lillie; vocalist Quin Davis; drummer Jericho Davidson; and saxophonist David Clark.

"('Chango malo') means bad monkey in Spanish - it's slang (for) bad, crazy monkey," Davidson said. "We're all bad monkeys, I guess. We all like to climb trees."

He said the group's craziness does not end with arboreal pastimes.

"One time (on tour), we were in Yellow Springs, Ohio - (and) we were doing bad stuff that kids our age do - and we went joyriding in this utility van that belonged to the college," Davidson said. "I was standing in the back, and my friend who was driving slammed on the brakes and I fell."

"(When) I stood up, this board was stuck to my ass (by) this giant rusty nail, and I was like, 'Fuck it, let's go play the show.' In the middle of the set, my jaw locked up, and I had to have a tetanus shot; I still owe the Cincinnati hospital $566 or something like that."

However wild the group's antics, it appears the band still manages to get work done. Chango Malo recently celebrated its second CD release last Friday.

Titled Septic Style, the album was named after a grungy toilet at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, according to Davidson.

"We had a picture of a toilet that we took on tour," Davidson said. "I was disgusted at the fact that it cost $30,000 a year to go to a trash-hole (Antioch College), (so I) took a picture of this stall that was covered in graffiti and we used it on the cover. It happened to say 'Septic Style' on the graffiti."

He said Septic Style differs from the group's first CD, The Business of Fancy Dancing, in that it features mostly live recordings.

"For the most part, we did the music tracks live; that captures the essence of what we actually are," Davidson said.

Both musicians agreed the success of Chango Malo has stemmed from the group's live performances.

"I think we're super high energy, and I think we're genuine," Davidson said.

"We play like we mean it every time."

Philabaum said the group coined the term "pop core" to define its musical style.

"We noticed a trend of music styles being called something and ending in

'core,' like 'hardcore,'" he said. "I like the idea of having that really punk rock, heavy edge, with core and just throwing pop in front of it. I use the term 'pop' pretty loosely. I think our music (is) very accessible for a listener."

He said he believes this accessibility comes from integrating various music styles so each listener can relate to some aspect of the music.

"The one constant in our (music is that) we always have some type of powerful blend come out at the end of each song," he said.

Davidson added the band is also consistent in its efforts to function as one collective unit.

"What I really like about this band is that when I listen to the songs, I can hear all six of our personalities coming through," Davidson said. "The way that we write songs is we sit down and all six of us work out different ideas; it's a completely collective effort."

Chango Malo's next local show is March 23 at 7 Black Cats, 260 E.

Congress St. The band plays at around 10 p.m.