Beefy DC

(November 2001)

BEEFY DC
You Could Say He’s Got It All

When you enter a room where Beefy DC is tearing it up, the first thing you notice is that the guitars are, if you will, cranked to eleven. The second thing you notice is Ray “Beefy Scott” Neades, lead singer and idea man behind Beefy DC. Ray demands attention with his soaring Bon Scott vocals and his, well, immense stage presence. “Ray is a huge AD/DC fan,” says lead guitarist 100% Angus, “both physically and spiritually.”

“The way the whole thing started,” explains Ray, “was me and some friends thought it would be funny to have an AC/DC tribute band and have all the guys be fat. Only I could never find enough guys with the girth to do it.”  100% Angus is Pete Cassani (The Peasants) and is joined by Phil Cudd on drums, Cliff Heifer on bass, and Milk 'em Young on rhythm guitar. The Beefy DC lineup changes because everyone plays in original bands, “so we keep relearning the same twelve songs with different bass or rhythm guitar players,” explains Pete.

Ray, who sometimes plays guitar with The Peasants, first realized that Beefy DC could really happen while at a Peasants rehearsal. “We were looking for some covers to do, and I suggested AC/DC. The first song I sang was ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ and we were laughing so hard we could hardly make it through.” The first Beefy DC show was a Halloween party at some kind of function hall, with bad boys Meat Depressed. “We sucked but it was fun,” recalls Pete. “Then we did a few shows at O'Brien's and had such an insane crowd reaction we kept doing it. People turn into happy children at the first chords of an AC/DC song. Something magical just gets inside most people and turns them on no matter how cool they try to be. It's beautiful.”

The best part about Beefy DC? For these guys, it’s simple: they get to play AC/DC songs. “They are so much fun to play,” says Pete. “AC/DC is one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands on Earth! They are very primitive and rhythmic. As soon as the song starts it possesses us and IT plays US.” The band plays a blend of hits and obscure material, and they have their favorites. “Most of the guys in the band like Highway to Hell the best,” says Ray, “but I’m a Let There Be Rock guy myself.  Bon Scott, to me, was the man.  He had that little evil troll voice that I thought was awesome.”  Beefy DC doesn’t play a whole lot, but that could change—when they opened for Scissorfight last month at the Middle East, everyone loved it, including Scissorfight. “They have GOT to open for us all the time!” yells Scissorfight drummer Kevin Shurtleff. Let there be rock!