Gothic Theatre
Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine
America’s loudest lounge singer Richard Cheese sings swingin’ Vegas versions of rock, rap, and Top40 hits, “swankifying” contemporary songs into traditional pop vocal standards. With his swanky Lounge Against The Machine swing band, his tiger-striped tuxedo, and his enormous microphone, Cheese presents the perfect mix of music, martini, and madcap. Just imagine Sinatra singing a Radiohead song, and you’ve got Dick.
Cheese has sold more than 160,000 CDs, and his albums are available in retail stores, on iTunes, and at his official website richardcheese.com. His albums include LOUNGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, TUXICITY, I’D LIKE A VIRGIN, APERITIF FOR DESTRUCTION, THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE MOON, his Christmas album SILENT NIGHTCLUB, his TV Themes album DICK AT NITE, his all-new live album VIVA LA VODKA, and his forthcoming album of Hawaiian-style “tiki music” versions of popular rock/rap songs, LAVAPALOOZA.
The finger-snapping, liquor-lapping, night-capping crooner first stepped into the spotlight in 2000 with his LOUNGE AGAINST THE MACHINE CD. This critically acclaimed album featured “swankified” versions of alternative rock songs, such as Radiohead’s CREEP and Limp Bizkit’s NOOKIE, arranged for a big band sound. Thanks to radio stations including KROQ/Los Angeles, Z100/New York City, and the nationally-syndicated Dr. Demento Show, Cheese soon found an audience that shared his love of lounge music, including rockstar Brian Setzer, who hired Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine to play at his private Christmas party!
Soon, Dick landed a gig as the co-host and bandleader on MTV’s “Say What Karaoke” series. He was also interviewed in 2001 on CNN, profiled in The Los Angeles Times, and featured as a category on VH1’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll Jeopardy.” Dick also headlined frequent concerts at The House Of Blues in Los Angeles and Anaheim, The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, and radio station festivals like 91X X-Fest in San Diego, The WHFS HFSmas Nutcracker in Washington DC’s Patriot Center, and the Y100 Feztival at Philadelphia’s Tweeter Center. Richard Cheese was also hired to entertain at Blink182 drummer Travis Barker’s first wedding!
In 2002, Cheese was back in blacktie with his TUXICITY CD, an album of uncensored alternative, rap, and pop covers, including loungey remakes of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s BABY GOT BACK, Van Halen’s HOT FOR TEACHER, and System of a Down’s CHOP SUEY. Dick’s popularity grew with sell-out concerts around the U.S.A., plus a slot as the opening act for the Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Concert at the world famous Universal Amphitheater. RC & LATM also made appearances on The Opie & Anthony Show and The Howard Stern Show, Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” Morning Show, and RC & LATM appeared a dozen times as the Vegas house band on NBC’s “Last Call With Carson Daly.” The standing-room-only concerts continued in 2003, as Dick criss-crossed the country playing venues from the Mercury Lounge in New York City to Sunset Station Casino in Las Vegas.
Cheese returned in 2004 with his I’D LIKE A VIRGIN CD, an intuxicating collection of “loungified” covers, including a snazzy remake of Snoop Dogg’s GIN AND JUICE, and an inspired version of Michael Jackson’s BEAT IT accompanied by a children’s choir. That same year, Dick performed PERSONAL JESUS and BABY GOT BACK on ABC-TV’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, and his cheesey version of Disturbed’s song DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS was featured in the 2004 Universal Motion picture “Dawn Of The Dead” thanks to director and cheese fan Zack Snyder. Dick played concerts all over the world in 2004, including a private performance at the Playboy Mansion, and sellout gigs in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Portland, Seattle, Honolulu, Portugal, and London.
In 2005, Dick released his fourth album, APERITIF FOR DESTRUCTION, an all-new CD of kooky covers for lounge lovers. This 18-track record included Vegas versions of songs originally by Guns ‘N’ Roses, U2, Black Eyed Peas, The Beastie Boys, Metallica, Slipknot, and many more. From 2 Live Crew’s ME SO HORNY to Green Day’s AMERICAN IDIOT, Cheese served up another “fromage homage” to the hottest hits in music. Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine performed a giant sellout concert at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles, and the band was hired to entertain at big-time showbiz events like the TVLand Awards, the Daytime Emmy Awards, and a Hollywood benefit for Hurricane Katrina.
In 2006, RC released two new albums. His greatest hits CD, THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE MOON: THE BEST OF RICHARD CHEESE, featured 10 all-new recordings plus 8 of Dick’s cheesiest favorites. The album boasted newly re-recorded 2006 versions of Cheese classics RAPE ME, CLOSER, CREEP, NOOKIE, COME OUT AND PLAY, and FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT. Backed by a big band and a bigger sound, this was the biggest Dick yet!
In the winter of 2006, Cheese was back with his sixth CD, SILENT NIGHTCLUB, a collection of happenin’ holiday hits just in time for Christmas. The all-new album included 14 spirited covers of songs like HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA, DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS, PERSONAL JESUS, I MELT WITH YOU, LIKE A VIRGIN, IMAGINE and ICE ICE BABY. Plus, Richard Cheese recorded an all-new original song called CHRISTMAS IN LAS VEGAS, which was featured on the NBC-TV series “Las Vegas.” Dick’s versions of SILENT NIGHT and Beyonce’s NAUGHTY GIRL were featured in the NBC soap “Passions,” and his CDs debuted for digital sale on iTunes.
In 2007, RC & LATM hit the road for their nationwide “Drinkchronicity” tour. The band performed sellout shows for thousands of fans at the House Of Blues in Chicago and New Orleans, the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, The Derby in Los Angeles, The Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco, and The Social in Orlando, plus venues in Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, and San Diego. Richard Cheese also began headlining monthly at The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, including a sellout show on New Year’s Eve..
Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine released their 7th CD in Fall 2007, DICK AT NITE. This album features lounge-style versions of classic TV theme songs, including THREE’S COMPANY, THE BRADY BUNCH, THE JEFFERSONS, and GILLIGAN’S ISLAND, plus more recent theme song hits like SOUTH PARK and SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. The album was also released on iTunes with exclusive bonus tracks, and several of Dick’s tracks were featured in promotional events for TVLand.
In 2008 and 2009, Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine will release three all-new CDs excusively to members of the Richard Cheese Superfan Funclub fan club. The first album, VIVA LA VODKA: RICHARD CHEESE LIVE presents live performances from Dick’s 8 years of concerts, radio and television appearances, and private party gigs. The band’s next album LAVAPALOOZA features Hawaiian-style “tiki music” versions of popular rock and rap songs, and will be followed by another studio CD release, O.K. BARTENDER in 2009/2010. An autobiography, documentary, and video game are also in the works.
The hardest working Dick in show business continues to perform sellout shows all over the world, from Las Vegas to London, from New York to New Orleans, from Honolulu to Hollywood. Thanks to ten CDs, a dozen tours, hundreds of concerts, 75,000 MySpace, 15,000 FaceBook fans, and a million martinis, Richard Cheese has earned a prominent place in that prestigious pantheon of lounge legends: Frank … Sammy … Dean ………. and Dick
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