The Two Man Gentlemen Band

Think of them as a mix between the Squirrel Nut Zippers and They Might Be Giants. I played their new CD while cleaning the house last weekend, and it was spotless in record time. - USA Today

Two Man Gentlemen Band is one of the best new groups coming out of the East Coast old timey scene these days, and their kazoo-driven vaudevillian old timey record Heavy Petting is full of great songs. This one, however, comes across as somewhat of an anthem for the band. It's impossible to not get your toes tapping to this tune.

I'm just going to cut to the chase: The Two Man Gentlemen Band's third album, Heavy Petting is romping, outstanding fun. It plays like a party, and even the sappy love songs are sonic celebrations with lyrics like, "My love for you is like the square root of two / That's a nerdy way of flirting, but it's true." - About.com

[The Two Man Gentlemen Band] was AWESOME. These guys rule in a totally old-timey, banjo and stand-up bass way. They've got charisma, energy and kazoos, and they definitely have fun up there, with compositions that are a little bit dorky and a little bit dirty. Banjo player Andy Bean works the crowd, addressing members of the audience and his own band with the honorific "friend," and employing other affectations of a Depression-era huckster. Their lyrics are twee and hilarious, and each song clips along at approximately twelve-million bpms. The band should be atop every geek's play list. They played, not one, but two songs related to mathematics…To cap off this complete and joyful celebration of dorkitude, we had a brief discussion on William Howard Taft — the last president to have facial hair in office — followed by a song. I have such a crush on Bean, and his fedora - AM New York

The Two Man Gentlemen Band is comprised of Andy Bean ( Vocals, Banjo, & Foot Tambourine, Piano) and Fuller Condon (Vocals & Bass) who got there start spending two years as street musicians in New York’s Central Park. The CD also includes Travis Harrison on percussion and Justin Smith on “violin.”

“Heavy Petting,” the Gentlemen’s 3rd record on Serious Business Records, features a batch of songs that are chock full of humor, heavy innuendo, wit, energy and some raucous grooves. Bean and Condon’s music is a veritable melting pot of influences seasoned with vaudeville, swing, jazz, blues and old time country. The pace on the CD runs from a trot to absolutely frenetic with some of the haughtiest kazoo solos you’ve ever heard.

The CD kicks off in high gear and sets the tone for what’s to come with a tongue in cheek ode to the United State’s largest President, “William Howard Taft,” touting “you can’t sneak nothing past William Howard Taft.” The Gentlemen have also released a video for “William Howard Taft.”

Two Man Gentlemen Band “William Howard Taft”

“The Square Root of Two” is an upbeat geeky romantic serenade for those who are more mathematically inclined. The wit of Andy Bean proclaiming “My love is like the square root of two written as a decimal” will surely come to be the “pop the big question” theme song for mathematicians everywhere. After one listen you’ll agree, how could it not?

“Heavy Petting” is one of the funnest albums I’ve listened to in a long time. On the first, second, heck even the third listen, the Gentlemen’s songwriting leaves you on the edge of your seat throughout the album wondering what hilarity or subtle twisted lyric is coming down the pipe. Andy Bean, the group’s main songwriter, writes lyrics so off the beaten path they are virtually cliche free.

The Two Man Gentlemen Band , at the very least, should go down in the history books as the duo who made the kazoo hip again. - Bluegrass Journal

The Two Man Gentlemen Band are clever musicians/history buffs who write songs about William Howard Taft, Stonewall Jackson and the Hindenberg. Their instrumentation is delightfully simple: four-string banjo, upright bass, tambourine, cowbell, triangle and two novelty horns (played with the foot, naturally).

The two sets were quick-witted and fun, with Bean playing the part of the vaudevillian emcee whose straight man was Condon. They have their shtick down pat, and they were indeed likable as they made their way through their historical songs – and the other part of their catalog, which is heavy on the innuendo

The duo, dressed in slacks, white button-up shirts, suspenders, ties and fedoras, was best when showing their love of history. Their most winning song is “The War of Northern Aggression,” a poetic treatise of love as told through historical metaphor. As played in the band’s first set, it was easy to see the group’s charm. They’re smart and amiable, and the music makes for a fun listen. - The Denver Post

Dressing like turn of the century dancies, The Two Man Gentlemen Band fires off their ditties with such good-natured pep that they transcend shtick. - Time Out New York

These gentlemen back up their dandy visages with top-notch musicianship, fine vocal harmonies and a wryly humorous subtext to their anachronism. - Savannah Morning News

Raucous, bawdy and utterly incorrigible, New York City's Two Man Gentlemen Band combine the smokey backroom mystery of hot jazz and the blunt debauchery of old-time country with more than a hint of playfull vaudevillian innuendo. While that might seem a fecipe for an R rating, or at least PG-13, this devilishly clever duo never so much as utters a vulgar word. They do, however, give away free kazoos. - Seven Days - Burlington, VT