Somehow the cute, elementary drawing of rolling hills, apple trees and stick figures that decorates the cover of Distant Cousins' compact disc does not quite seem to fit with Elvis Presley doing karate.
Then again, the group's first album, "Twice Removed," is not exactly what one would call consistent. But the album's inconsistency and musical variation are what make it truly unique.
Another quality unique to the two-year old group is that Dartmouth grads contribute to almost every aspect of the music, both on stage and behind the scenes.
The group consists of lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Catherine Dail '85, Jim Doughman '85, Bill Berry '84, John Kim '84, Joe Holland '84, Fred Gilde '88 and visiting music instructor Hafiz Shabazz playing percussion.
In addition to the band members, the group also includes co-writers Jeff Davidoff '85, producer Matt Berardo '86, music video director Jeff Petrou '90 and graphic designer Wayne Weil '88.
The band's musical style is fun and funky, mixing off-beat base with harmonica and trombone to create music that seems to be a combination of blues, folk and rock, with a little of everything else thrown in as well.
All lyrics are sung by Dail, whose low, somewhat sultry voice is one of a kind, much like the words to the album's songs.
The album features 13 songs, including such titles as "tambourine girl," "gotta fly," "pony," "lucky magnet" and "elvis did karate," an upbeat song whose title came from the fact that Dail herself has a brown belt in karate, and felt that it was a "kooky fact that is a great excuse for a kickin' tune," she said.
"Rock and roll and karate just went together," Dail continued. "They both have that 'going out' feeling."
Dail said she gets her ideas for songs from things that she knows, fun facts and experiences that group members have had. In the song "three things," which features reggae-type steel drum background music, Dail sings of "only two, no three things I want, someone to love me, something from childhood to hold on to and money."
"We got that idea from [band member] Jimmy because he's always broke," Dail said.
The Distant Cousins came together through what Dail calls "that cool Dartmouth network at work."
"It was a really natural thing," she said. "I just called up my Dartmouth friends that I knew, and those Dartmouth friends knew other Dartmouth friends. It wasn't just music, it was film majors who wanted to make music videos for us, etc."
Though the members of Distant Cousins are not actually related, at times the group feels like they're part of the same family, Dail said. "We all come from different parts of the country, with different musical backgrounds, and it's just totally random distant things, all in one big melting pot," she added.
The band never expected the success that "Twice Removed" has brought them, according to Dail. "This was something for fun," she said. "We all have different careers, different salaries, etc."
Though it was unexpected, Dail thinks that this is the key to the Distant Cousins' success. "People want that feeling of just having fun ... we're doing it clearly to amuse ourselves."
The relaxed feeling the group has toward its music is something that definitely shows through in its fun songs. Besides being a great-sounding summer pick, it is cheap. The disc sells at the Dartmouth Bookstore for only $10.
For now, although members have "songs coming out of [their] ears," Dail said they are just trying to sell enough compact discs to finance the next album.
The Distant Cousins are interested in coming to the College, and are hoping to be on campus this summer, according to Dail, if they can arrange a visit for Summer Carnival.
