The Incredible Casuals

A party animal band up there with the best of them, the Casuals has its roots in the late 1960s, when local boys Chandler Travis and Steve Shook formed the comedy-music duo Travis Shook and the Club Wow, played lots of Boston clubs, then went on the road as George Carlin’s opening act. In 1981, they morphed into the full band the Incredible Casuals and developed more of a pop sound. Their albums include 1984’s That’s That, ’91’s Your Sounds, and the F-Troop-influenced 1996 release It Is Balloon. Members have come and gone over the years (Shook bowed out before That’s That), with the current lineup as follows: Chandler Travis, bass; Aaron Spade, guitar; Johnny Spampinato, guitar (who also took over as Al Anderson‘s replacement in NRBQ; Rikki “Vince Valium” Bates, drums. They toured Japan in 2006, and in the summer of 2007 released the retrospective World Championship Songs 1980-2007. They play every Sunday throughout the summer at Wellfleet’s Beachcomber Restaurant (2010 marked their 30th anniversary!).

(by Ed Symkus)