Home / Staff Profiles / Gorillaz CD shows virtual band is for real

Do you hang out with Gorillaz?

I’m not talking about those big, furry animals that swing from vine to vine in the rainforest. No, the Gorillaz I’m thinking about are the hit band from Essex, England.

Even if you’ve never heard of this band, you may have heard of the hit single, “Clint Eastwood,” which climbed to number 3 on the U.K. charts in 2000 and became an underground hit in the U.S. before hitting mainstream radio.

Now the Gorillaz are on a world tour with their new album, “Plastic Beach,”  including special guests such as Snoop Dogg and Mos Def. The music has the band’s typical memorable beats and captivating lyrics.

Many who listen to the cools sounds will be surprised to learn that the Gorillaz are a virtual cartoon band, an art project by British musician Damon Albarn, and British cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, creator of the “Tank Girl” comic strip. Even though the Gorillaz are cartoons, their music is for real, with real musicians behind the characters who appear on the band’s website at http://gorillaz.com/.

“Plastic Beach” is exactly where the band’s earlier album, “Demon Days,” left off. “Beach” takes you back into the world of the Gorillaz, and into the different styles of music that each of their guest artists contributes. Songs such as “Stylo”  feature Mos Def and Bobby Womack, while actor Bruce Willis, appears in the song’s video.

Some songs will get stuck in your head. You might catch yourself humming along to “Rhinestone Eyes,” “Melancholy Hill” and “To Binge.”  Each song has its own style with powerful memorable lyrics. “Beach” feels as if it tells a story about how the band ended up on a plastic beach, or how it’s like to live in such a place while recording music.

The name of the  lead vocalist and keyboardist is 2D; he’s a blue-haired boy who is cool and enigmatic, and seems intelligent, but acts as if he has no brain. Unlike 2D, Murdoc Niccals, the self-taught bassist and band owner, seems twisted in the head but badly wants his band to be known all over the world.  And Noodle is a female guitarist who is said to have arrived in a crate not speaking a word of English except for “noodle.” Noodle can be always found around drummer Russell Hobbs, who is possessed by funky phantoms who lend a few undead rhymes to the Gorillaz’ lyrics. Russell is the most well-adjusted musician in the band; he seems to know exactly what he’s doing.

In 2006, the Gorillaz appeared in a live performance on the Grammys next to Madonna. How was it possible to have a virtual cartoon band perform live, you might ask? Well, that’s simple: A system called Musion Holograms used mirrors to bring the 3D cartoons to life so they could perform their song “ Feel Good Inc.”

Some say a virtual band can’t be the real thing. But a cartoon band making music is truly original. The Gorillaz also have a lot in common with other cartoon bands we’ve seen on TV, such as The Beatles, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Josie and the Pussycats. The Gorillaz gives music new possibilities and raises interesting questions about who sings songs and how they’re made.

If you’d like to see this band live, they’ll be at the Oakland Oracle on Oct. 30 with special guest N.E.R.D. Tickets are available on ticketmaster.com or you can head over to the Oracle and buy them. Tickets range from $36 to $56.