[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s like Wife Swap, but with bands. It’s like Face-Off, but with beards. It’s like the time Dad left to get cigarettes from the store and Mom had a new boyfriend for a night but then Dad came back really tan and in better spirits and you never saw the other guy ever again and no one ever spoke about it.
For tonight’s Mic Swap at Redstar Union in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, the blues-rocking Mellow Bravo and old soul rock and roll of OldJack swap frontmen — two howlers in Keith Pierce and Dan Nicklin leave their respective bands, learn a few new songs, and maybe make the other one jelly.
“At the Radio birthday extravaganza last fall, I saw Nicklin jump on stage with Mellow Bravo to sing a song,” says Mic Swap organizer Jed Gottlieb of the Boston Herald. “Not surprisingly, the song kicked a lot of ass. A little fuzzy, drunken light bulb over my head told me there was something to this. The two frontmen have so much damn charisma and moxie, they’re perfect to swap places for a night.”
So perhaps it’s more like Please Bang My Wife, because both these dudes are married to their bands (one’s even engaged to his keyboardist), and there seems to not only be mutual consent, but a desire to see their usual partners getting busy with someone else. What could go wrong, as long as we’re all wearing protection?
[pullquote align=”right”]I guess I might get a lip virus of some sort from trading a mic with [Dan] Nicklin, but I feel like I can handle that.” — Keith Pierce of Mellow Bravo[/pullquote]”Mic Swap is far less risky than Wife Swap,” says Pierce. “That goes for both the TV ‘show,’ and the whole key party thing. I guess I might get a lip virus of some sort from trading a mic with Nicklin, but I feel like I can handle that.”
Fronting Mellow Bravo for a night is cool and all, Nicklin says, but he’s mostly looking forward to watching his own OldJack play music. “Best thing, is that I finally get to watch my band,” Nicklin quips. “The worst thing would be forgetting the words, or blowing voice out in rehearsal two days before the show, which may or may not have just happened. [Pierce] has a strong voice.”
Nicklin isn’t concerned over the prospect of OldJack falling in lust with Pierce and making this Mic Swap idea a permanent gig. Why? Because he’s got a better ass. “The only guy who would fire me is the drummer, and while he is tired of it, I have a better toosh than Keith and that’s what he has to look at,” Nicklin reasons.
And speaking of asses, Piece says there might be some uncomfortable on-stage bumping as the two frontmen get acclimated with their new (band)mates.
“One thing I am sure of is that no one wants any junk bumps and the likelihood is quite high in most cuddle puddles,” adds Pierce. “As for tonight’s festivities, the best case scenario is I get through all the lyrics without screwing up. Worst case, I fall off stage drunk on free beers and ruin Oldjack’s set. I have done it to Bravo so it is not out of the question.”
It’s that great unknown that’s part of the appeal. When you’re watching Wife Swap, you realize about 10 minutes in that these battle-torn brides can’t wait to get back to their families. With Mic Swap, the Boston music scene could look a lot different come morning. Or they could merge and form a supergroup, which could be the secret plot of Gottlieb all along.
“OldJack and Mellow Bravo could write together, tour together, become a collective of bluesy, boozy, superheavy rock ‘n’ roll,” Gottlieb says with his usual excitement.
But even he can’t deny the constant threat of wandering band lust.
“Dan’s drop-dead-sexyness could capture the heart of Jess Collins — the Mellow Bravo keyboard player and main squeeze of Pierce — which would break up Mellow Bravo,” he warns. “And Keith would then sock me in the face. But that’s absolute worst case. I think only good stuff will come of it.”
Nicklin’s already given it some thought.
“Jess is cute,” he says, “but those songs!”
MIC SWAP WITH MELLOW BRAVO AND OLD JACK | Thursday, June 20 at Redstar Union, 1 Kendall Square, Building 400, Cambridge | 8pm, $10 | Advance tickets | Facebook event page