Delightfully offbeat Being Dead can't wait for first-ever SF performance

Originally published in the SF Examiner on February 21

According to Being Dead, the Austin-based group that performing at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco on Sunday, the band’s origins can be traced back to its two founding members.

Both of them had a special appreciation for the unvarnished wonders of the human body.

“We were actually in rival nudist colonies, and we met after they merged together,” said Cody Dosier, who more commonly goes by his nom de plume, Gumball. “But it turned out to be a very aggressive community and everything became very degrading. And we both decided that we weren’t having fun doing that anymore and that we should challenge ourselves by creating art — by making music.”

Sounds like a heartwarming story — but Dosier and his creative partner Juli Keller (who goes by Falcon B----) don’t always stick to it. They’ve also told reporters that they met at Yale University, at a Cinnabon bakery and at their 10-year high school reunion.

Regardless of the band’s true past, what’s most exciting about Being Dead is what they’re doing these days. The band’s long-awaited full-length debut, “When Horses Would Run,” which arrived last year, is a kaleidoscopic collection of art-rock, garage, psychedelic, pop and lo-fi tunes.

“There wasn’t some masterful design with the album — we just have a lot of different kinds of musical tastes,” said Falcon B----. “We tried to put things together and weave them all into one interesting piece. Then we just kind of crossed our fingers that the outcome would be fun. It feels like an adventure that way.”

The songs range from delightfully offbeat gospel tunes (“God vs. Bible”) to careening surf-rock anthems (“The Great American Picnic”), to jazzy renditions of female empowerment (“Muriel’s Big Day Off”). And of course, no album is complete without a mission statement hyping up the band’s aim of “having a good time” (“We Are Being Dead”).

Somehow, it all works — listening to the album feels exactly like the kind of winsome journey hoped for by Falcon B----.

It can be fun to play spot the influences on the album — there is the shrill dexterity of icy post-punk group Women; the reckless, nobody’s-behind-the-wheel manic energy of Dehd; and the ebullient, adventurous nature of the Unicorns — but collectively, the sound is pure Being Dead: a singular and unique output.

“Considering that we basically just threw random darts at a dartboard, the album sounds pretty cohesive,” Falcon B---- said. “There were a number of influences we wanted to include, but it was pretty much all improv. It works, but that’s just mostly by chance.”

The rollicking sonic landscape of “When Horses Would Run” is matched by equally evocative lyricism, with Falcon B---- and Gumball detailing mythical creatures, strange cult scenes and images of suburban ennui. They have an endearing soft spot for animals, particularly the equines that make up the album title.

“Horses are very strong, and they’re actually the fastest land animals in the world,” Gumball said. “It’s called horsepower for a reason. I’ve never heard of anything called cheetah power.”

While “When Horses Would Run” marks the band’s first full-length recording, the band has been playing live since 2016 and has built up quite the cult following, particularly in its hometown of Austin, Texas. Their frenetic shows have a reputation for being surreal pieces of performance art, with the occasional audience plant provoking the band into increasingly outlandish acts of onstage zaniness.

“We’ve always had this small underground following, which has been pretty neat,” Falcon B---- said. “It definitely makes the shows more fun and interesting.”

Falcon B---- and Gumball — who are joined in the band by bassist Ricky Moto— are already working on their follow-up album to “When Horses Would Run,” which they hope to release this fall. Their current tour, in which they are opening for the atmospheric act Husbands, is the most extensive of their career to date, and they have plans to visit Europe and the U.K. in 2024 as well.

Sunday’s show at the Rickshaw Stop will be the band’s first-ever appearance in San Francisco, a moment its members are eagerly anticipating.

“I was planning on living in San Francisco for a while, but I have never been there in my adult life,” Falcon B---- said. “I can’t wait to go to Golden Gate Park and look at sailboats crisscrossing the big blue ocean. We both think San Francisco is a great city.”

It might not be a nudist colony (or a Cinnabon), but with its long history of proudly celebrating unconventional characters, San Francisco seems like the perfect venue to host Being Dead.