Attention: Little Vikings, Kreb Scouts, and bona fide Sludgecicle men!
“The Band That Lives Inside Your TV” are back! Polaris, the house band from cult-classic Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete & Pete, are crawling out of your childhood television set, tip-toeing past the cat, and sneaking out on a national tour for only the second time ever.
The “21st Century Tour” will find Muggy, Jersey, Harris, and Penny Polaris leaving the friendly confines of TV Land and venturing back out into a bizarre, new world that needs the band’s feel-good, yet poignant, tunes more than ever. The group will channel-surf across 14 cities between May and August, bringing both Polaris and Miracle Legion songs, plus some surprises (a Blowholes’ cover?), to all the “little Vikings” out there who haven’t enlisted in the International Adult Conspiracy.
In addition, Polaris’ hit vinyl record, Music from the Adventures of Pete & Pete, will be receiving a special reissue to mark the occasion. The release will be a deluxe vinyl package, including a gatefold sleeve with a CD of original demos dating between 1992-95, liner notes from Pete & Pete co-creator Will McRobb, and a complete album lyric sheet. It’s the ultimate edition of a record that music critic Matt Melis has called “a collection of songs that perfectly capture the confusion, whimsy, and wonder of adolescence.”
For years, Polaris had only existed as the delinquents tearing up the Wrigley’s Wellsville front lawn during Pete & Pete’s theme song, “Hey Sandy.” Another song of theirs, “Summerbaby,” had acted as the musical macguffin in fan-favorite episode “A Hard Day’s Pete”, earning the band a memorable cameo in a mysterious, abandoned garage.
Finally, in 2012, Polaris stepped out of the original Tube to perform for the first time ever as part of a Pete & Pete reunion event. The debut went so well that the group embarked on the “Waiting for October Tour” in 2014, a fall jaunt across the country that found the band playing songs old and new to a generation of grown-up Nickelodeon fans who sang along with every single word. The successful reunion culminated in the beautifully recorded and packaged Live at Lincoln Hall double album.
If you look closely, you may notice that this fictional band are actually the very real Mark Mulcahy (Muggy), Scott Boutier (Jersey), and David McCaffrey (Harris). The three were longtime bandmates in underground favorite Miracle Legion, who’ve also reunited in recent years. Post-Polaris, Mulcahy went on to start an eclectic solo career, becoming one of the most celebrated and revered voices making records today. Boutier and McCaffrey played drums and bass together in several acts including Frank Black and the Catholics. Rounding out the touring band is songwriter Henning Ohlenbusch (Penny), currently fronting the band Gentle Hen.
The “21st Century Tour” will cover 14 US dates, including several stops on both coasts and select shows in the Midwest. See below for the full itinerary. Keep an eye out for updates from Mezzotint as more information becomes available.
