I’m With the Band is the title of the autobiographical work by Pamela Des Barres, professional groupie. Through the 1960s and 1970s she slept with (and on some occasions turned down the opportunity to sleep with) Mick Jagger, Don Johnson, Elvis Presley, Keith Moon, Jimmy Page, Jim Morrison, Waylon Jennings and more.
If she’d only had access to the internet, and been a bit more clever, she might not have needed to go to such extreme measures to hang around with her musical idols. This was the lesson of 2015, and the Australian band Peking Duk.
An electronic music duo who work with a variety of singers, Peking Duk has logged a number of hits in their home country and internationally. Here are a couple of examples of their music:
They’ve developed a considerable following, though admittedly nothing to the extent of Jagger or Morrison. At one of their events in 2015, the stepbrother of one of the musicians, Ruben Styles, joined the band backstage for an impromptu gab and drinking session.
There was only one problem: Styles doesn’t have a stepbrother. Adam Hyde, the other band member, described it afterward as “the most genius, mastermind move that I’ve ever witnessed.” The fan, having been able to get into the back area of the concert hall, realized he had been given an opportunity to meet his idols and concocted a plan on the fly. He edited the Wikipedia page for the band, inserting himself as Style’s younger sibling. When he inevitably ran across security, he explained that he’d gotten lost and left his pass in the green room. Faced with a dubious guard, he gave his name, presented his wallet and ID, and then fished out his phone and brought up the Wikipedia page.
Peking Duk let him stay for the party after the concert… and warned their security about people trying that trick again in the future.
As to what the duo is doing these days? They’re still producing music… including writing some of the song for Australia’s multi-band anthem that easily charted this past spring.
Question of the night: What’s a favorite musical collaboration of yours?
