Fred Armisen's 'SNL' Bands Treated to 7-Inch Series on Drag City

BY Alex HudsonPublished Jan 22, 2014

Comedian and actor Fred Armisen has a long history with music, having played drums in various projects over the years. In 2014, though, he's getting his own 7-inch series through Drag City.

The series is called Hometown Heroes, and a press release from the label describes it as being "dedicated to regional music stars of decades past."

The first 7-inch in the series features "Massachusetts Afternoon" by the Blue Jean Committee, who are billed as "the proud products of the late '70s Northampton, Massachusetts music scene." The split single is backed by "Embrace Me" from an English group called the Fingerlings, who were apparently an early '80s "synth/post-disco band."

All is not as it seems, however. These aren't actually real bands, but joke aliases that Armisen used for Saturday Night Live sketches in 2011. Watch footage of those comedic performances below.

The single will be out on February 18. It will presumably be followed by more instalments in the Hometown Heroes series. If we're lucky, maybe this will include a single from Armisen's Margaret Thatcher-loving punk character Ian Rubbish.

This isn't the first time that Drag City and Armisen have teamed up for a 7-inch from a fictitious band. In 2011, they released a single from the funnyman's joke punk band Crisis of Conformity.

Meanwhile, the fourth season of Armisen's Portlandia returns to IFC on February 27.



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