The Vocalist:
The Reebs
NAME: Jim "The Reebs"
INFLUENCES: Cookie Monster
FAVORITE SAYING: "Better latent than never."
The Reebs has been really busy. Besides managing to show up at nearly every Hoi Polloi gig (although late to each one of them), Jim has been traveling the world posing as a world traveler.
The Reebs is actually just filling in for lead singer Joe Meitling, who hasn't shown up for practice since 1992 -- but we're still holding out hope that he'll be back soon. The Reebs is president of the "Straight Men for Barry Manilow" fan club, worries about his hairline, and enjoys masquerading as a midget (we still can't figure out how he fits into that teeny costume).
Despite his tenure with the band, he still messes up the lyrics to the songs at least once a night (often with hilarious consequences,
especially in the song "867-5309" where once he accidentally sung the mobile
phone number of his high-school guidance counselor). He cryptically attributes his powerful voice to "that weird man with his hand
in me" -- which is likely to be a reference to the spiritual presence of
Muppet-founder Jim Henson. This could also explain why The Reebs is known to
inexplicably burst into It's Not Easy Being Green at any moment.
Besides singing, The Reebs also plays keyboards, guitar, harmonica, tambourine, slide-whistle, and kazoo. The Reebs says, "No doubt, the slide whistle was the most difficult instrument to master, but my diligent study has paid off."
In fact,
The Reebs has performed slide whistle solos at New York City's famed Lincoln
Center, where the audience abruptly rose to its feet and delivered the
first-ever mid-performance standing ovation in the venerated hall's history
-- though some have reported that it was a standing-and-leaving
ovation.
In his free time, he ponders how he can make money during his free time.
