Safari So Good
Bikini Car Wash Time
By: Bear Frazer
Last updated August 14th , 2009

Safari So Good has so much fun that they almost forget to plug their EP debut Every Fight Is A Food Fight When You're A Cannibal. As a matter of fact, they originally sidestepped this interview, but to be fair that was only because their guitarist broke his clavicle bone in a skateboarding accident. It was a good excuse to say the least. 

While the band has been busy schooling a temporary guitarist on their set list, fulltime guitarist Tony Bavaria and drummer Dan Heatherly snuck away to holler at 101D.com. And what's one of the first things they talk about? Acting like high school cheerleaders to raise awareness about their cause. In their case, it's spreading the Safari So Good name and the mental picture is just not good.

"I think the Bikini car washes we've been doing have been a great success," Heatherly says. Bavaria adds, "I just hate all the waxing we have to do to look good in those bikinis."

Of course they're only joking, we think, but that's how these guys roll.

Based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the land where Poison came from, Safari So Good (also comprised of injured guitarist Tom McGrath, bassist Mike Satzinger and vocalist Jeff Judy) came together in 2006 after band members had disputes within their previous projects.

"It wasn't that we really left the other bands, so much as the other bands left us. Our past bands had all broken up, and Tom and I from The Commercials were looking to start something new," Bavaria recalls. "We knew Mike from playing with Breaking Pangaea a lot, and we thought he looked enough like Jesus with his beard and long hair to win over the Christian market."

But Safari So Good isn't in the business of Christian music. As it stands, it's the business pop rock ‘n roll and fun. The quintet started having their fun in Pennsylvania under the name Amarie Coma and their musical blend won over the heart of every teenage boy and girl. Most of the credit can be chalked up to MySpace, where the collective have over 11,000 friends and are easily assessable to fan interaction. 

"Instead of taking a whole day to drive across the country and play a show for ten people, you can talk to like 50 people while sitting on a chair at your house watching TV, and eating a hot pocket while watching American Idol," Heatherly explains.

The group would eventually change their name from Amarie Coma to Safari So Good and sign with Takeover Digital in late 2007. The first product out of this partnership is the EP Every Fight Is A Good Fight When You're A Cannibal. 

Throughout the five-track collection, the group continues to show their fun-loving side by fleshing out warm pop-punk melodicism with a dash of wit and emotion, as heard on cleverly titled recordss like "A Pirates Life For Me" or "The Right To Arm Bears." Perhaps the jewel is their acoustic rendition of The Smashing Pumpkins' 1998 hit "Perfect." Their version is just so damn smooth.

Although Safari So Good is still in the midst of developing their craft and navigating their way through a saturated pop punk environment, they are inching closer to their perfect lifelong dreams. While they are MySpace famous now, Heatherly hopes that notoriety could also carry "the possibility of eventually hosting a TV game show once the fame has died down a little. I'm only one man, ladies."

No worries. We're sure he has no problem fighting off the ladies. But if he does, we know he has a bikini and one look at that should fix any problems.

To listen to Every Fight Is A Food Fight With A Cannibal, click here.

[Tags] POP, Punk, Rock

Recent Related Articles