"A more musically, ethnically, and spiritually diverse band does not exist."
--Tim Braun
"They're better than Beach Head."These fine citizens are talking about Foot Carcass, the band that's got it all. From the rockin', hard core jam "Umkraut," to the Pink Floydian "White Linen House," to the down-home country "Decline and Fall of FCA," to the neurotic, punky rhythms of "FCA Theme," Foot Carcass has proven again and again that they can and will play absolutely anything. The sublime lyrics are almost exclusively written by the Screamer and the Captain, but the music writing is generally a group effort, characterized by lots of random noise from all band members, and sudden lapses into up tempo jams on the "Umkraut" groove. But no matter how chaotic the musical thought processes, the end product is always the same: music that transcends Megadeth, Yanni, even Lab Lobotomy.
--Yo-yo Ma
Just what makes Foot Carcass so great? Let's start with the obvious: the musicians. The talent in this band is simply stunning all around. Ben Burney's varied rhythmic pulses will make your heart stop (temporarily). The Screamer's vocal, keyboard, and guitar abilities are colossal; the music he makes is deep, guileful, astute, delicate, and refined all at the same time. The Captain's conglomerate instrumental talents provide Foot Carcass with a solid musical foundation, while his solos soar above the treetops like eagles. Dylan's guitar work weaves and winds itself into your mind, revealing to you all of his inner emotions and torment. Truly, this is an historic gathering of musically gifted people.
But, as they say in Podunk, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This is certainly true of Foot Carcass; on their own, all the band members are incredible musicians, but the magic of Foot Carcass as a single, musical entity cannot be explained simply by describing the people in it. No, it goes much further than that. Take, for example, the classic Carcass hit, "White Linen House." Burney's soft, intense drumming not only keeps the song moving, but gives it a personal, touching edge that only Foamin' Ben could accomplish. Meanwhile, Dylan's nebulous, wispy guitar playing glides through the simple yet elegant changes over and over, pulsing like the slow beams of a distant lighthouse through the galactic mist of the Screamer's spacey synth playing. Atop rides Captain Zygote's smooth, milky vocals. The lyrics consist of eight lines of dreamlike poetry, an endless cycle of words spoken by the Cap'n in a voice that almost melts the listener away into slumber-land. The song is a masterpiece. And it's not all Foot Carcass has to offer--not by a long shot. For this is what truly makes Foot Carcass what it is: variety. You never can tell from one song to the next what you're going to hear. Will it be thrash? Will it be country? Polka? Muzak? There's only one way to find out...
Charlie "Captain Zygote" Sutherland
"...A few months after I left my Daddy's soybean farm and went to work in the denture factory, I met the Screamer (Ben Levy), and we decided to come up with a band. I already had knowledge of the rudiments of singing and metronome, and would soon learn guitar and keyboards... Ben knew how to play a bit of everything except bagpipes. He told me he knew a guy who could play some percussion, and I knew Dylan from my early prison experiences, and it all just sort of, you know, came together."
