Blast Off Country Style

by Kembrew McLeodTaking their name from a Moog record, Blast Off Country Style emerged from the ashes of Sexual Milkshake and Two Faced Judy to become one of the Teenbeat record label's best and most unique acts of the 1990s. Formed in Harrisonburg, Virginia by former Sexual Milkshake drummer Chris Callahan, Two Faced Judy and Don't Panic bassist Phil Sweeney, guitarist Mary McCue, and vocalist Evelyn Hurley, Blast Off Country Style quickly went from being a joke among "serious" local musicians to playing second stage in the 1994 Lollapalooza. What they lacked in technical proficiency they made up in creativity, pure pop craft, and stage presence, plus the good humor of songs like "Social Firefly" ("I'm not a social butterfly, I'm a social firefly") and "Teenage Unicorn" ("When I was a kid they never said that I'd have a horn growing through my head, but as it is I'll blow my horn cause I'm a magic unicorn"). Blast Off Country Style's stage shows were not to be missed, with their matching costumes, the hilarious stage antics of Phil Sweeney, and Evelyn Hurley's entertaining stage patter completely making up for all of the other "let's-wear-our-everyday-clothes-and-play-it-for-the-kids" indie-rock bands of the early to mid-1990s.