[September 02, 2011] VIDEO: Audiobody: Comedy, techo music and sibling rivalry Tweet Sep 02, 2011 (Grand Forks Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- It's hard to describe the funny, hip, cool, cutting edge live show of Audiobody. Perhaps the closest anyone has come is the critic who explained brothers Jason and Matt Tardy as the Blue Man Group meets a modern-day Smothers Brothers. "We have the techno music. We have the sibling rivalry," Jason Tardy said in a telephone interview. "With all the technical stuff and the gags, it's a physical comedy show for all ages." Although their shows are full of lights, techno music and gadgets, they also employ such old-time entertainment as juggling and contortionism. Their act may not be easy to describe or label, but it's funny and entertaining in a clever and family-friendly way, Jason Tardy said. The brothers started creating music under the name AudioBody in 2004. Their music was then quickly picked-up by internationally acclaimed film-makers, EepyBird, and was featured in two Emmy nominated videos depicting The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos experiments. With the urge to build on this new-found popularity, and having already toured the country for more than a decade as a physical comedy team, they decided to create a new show that would be the synthesis of music, comedy, and technology. The brothers grew up in a small town in Maine and got their start in entertainment as apprentices to a juggler. "We were lucky enough to have someone take us under his wing and he taught us to perform," Jason Tardy said. Another lucky break: Growing up near Celebration Barn Theater of South Paris, Maine, a center for creating and performing original theater that has nurtured some of America's finest touring artists, actors, dancers, mimes, jugglers and storytellers. When the Eepybird Diet Coke/Mentos video set to Audiobody's techno music went viral, suddenly people everywhere were asking "What band is that?" and wanting to hear more. The video and music got so big that for one month, Audiobody's music was the biggest seller at CD Baby online. The Tardy brothers began to see the possibilities for a new and improved show. "We just thought, let's make our show the coolest, craziest physical comedy anyone's ever done," Jason Tardy said. To that end, they have an arsenal of audio-visual inventions, including wearable electronic jumpsuits that play music as they move and LED light tubes that are manipulated at high speeds in the dark. There's also a 16 foot wide electronic drum-set, fluorescent light ropes that form the shapes of sound waves, and countless other unique performance gadgets. AudioBody has performed all over the world -- at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, the Golden Phoenix Casino in Reno, Nev., and even The White House three times. They've been seen on "CBS Sunday Morning," "The Early Show," "Inside Edition," and "Late Night with David Letterman." "We have lot of ideas for more crazy instruments and how to make the show bigger," Tardy said. "We're always adding more lights and contraptions and we're always trying to get more audience interaction." If you go - What: Audiobody (brothers Matt and Jason Tardy), presenting a fusion of physical comedy and technology, sometimes described as The Blue Man Group meets a modern day Smother Brothers. - When and where: Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m., Chester Fritz Auditorium, Grand Forks. - Tickets: Adults, $25, $18; students, $20, $15; children, $20, $10. Available now at Chester Fritz box office. - Audiobody promotional video: - Audiobody performs "Welcome": - The Eepybird Diet Coke/Mentos experiments featuring techo music by Audiobody: Reach Tobin at (701) 780-1134; (800) 477-6572, ext. 134; or send e-mail to [email protected]. ___ (c)2011 the Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.) Visit the Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.) at www.grandforksherald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]