“The members of Insomniac Folklore are a band of lovable hooligans that would probably be considered offensive, if only they weren’t so darned cute,” says their website. To that, I would lovingly add that they would probably be considered boring, if they weren’t so darned entertaining. Offensive and boring are not words I would associate with this photogenic and quirky band of theatrical, artsy introverts. Remember, it’s the quiet ones that come out of hiding and unleash pure genius when given a stage.
I’ve seen Insomniac Folklore more than any band on the planet and I am always happy to watch again! Dr. Folklore, a.k.a. Tyler Hentschel is the madman under the tophat. Tyler has had many an insomniac join his journey, but these days he is oft joined by his beautiful puppet wielding wife Adrienne. Her sister Amanda (the other beautiful girl in those fun videos) brings the bass.
We first met in junior high and most of our early musical adventures were together. We’d spend our lunch hours in high school listening to whatever music we could get our hands on. We especially loved The Beldings, MxPx, Havalina, 90 LB Wuss, Squad Five-O, Joy Electric, Ghoti Hook and other old school Tooth and Nail bands. Together we played nu-metal, then punk rock and now we both play twisted versions of folk.
Tyler’s been called a tantrum folk pioneer and often ventures into the steam punk and cabaret worlds, but I swear just about everybody can find one of his songs to love… and if that’s not enough Insomniac Folklore currently features a bubble-blowing singing sheep named Wallace. What is this world coming to? Check them out you won’t be disappointed.
Their song “Listen To Your Parents” will be on our Kickstarter Mixtape.
More info can be found on insomniacfolklore.com