Detroit Grand Pubahs

The Detroit Grand Pubahs, combine silly lyrics and minimal production to create a signature sound. Often labeled a novelty act, the Pubahs are Detroit natives, Dr. Toefinger (Andy Toth) and Paris the Black Fu (Mack Goudy, Jr.) They are mostly associated with their first single, “Sandwiches”, which was carried by both Throw and Jive Electro Records. Andy Toth, half of the Pubahs, started playing the drums in various bands when he was sixteen and going to dance parties soon after. Dance music clicked with Toth and after going to school to be a recording engineer, he took a job at a Detroit recording studio. He worked with many local music acts, including techno pioneer, Rob Hood. Toth’s production sound can be compared with the minimal, dub nature of Chain Reaction, of whom Toth has been influenced by in addition to the many Detroit techno legends. Vocalist Mack Goudy, Jr. (Paris the Black Fu) started DJing around the age of sixteen, inspired by Detroit radio legends the Electrifying Mojo and the Wizard (Jeff Mills). The musical turning point for Mack was at a fashion show where he heard a DJ simultaneously mix two copies of Laid Back’s “White Horse”. Mack started buying records through a store he worked at during a brief move to West Virginia. Goudy moved back to Detroit in 1988; his local popularity as a DJ grew steadily thereafter, as a solo act and half of Heckle and Jeckle, with Jon “Billebob” Williams. It is with Williams that Paris had an almost regular part in Detroit’s ‘Po’ Boy’ group of promoters and DJs, who were mostly known for their string of warehouse parties and support of Detroit’s newer talents. It wasn’t until Paris and Toth became co-workers at a restaurant in Royal Oak, Michigan that the two Pubahs met. The two started talking music and soon formed a production partnership. Using Toth’s connection at the recording studio he worked at, the Detroit Grand Pubahs were born. The track “Sandwiches” followed soon after, released on Brian Gillespie’s label, Throw. The track spread like wild fire through clubs, resulting in a lot of local support for the duo. The song’s playful and pornographic lyrics made it a hit in Detroit, a city that is notorious for often taking an over-serious approach to techno. In addition, the duo’s live performance became popular due in part to their off the wall antics, such as wearing wigs, costumes, and Paris stripping down to a thong. Through connections in New York, “Sandwiches” was picked up by Jive Electro — a label associated with such names as Groove Armada. Soon after, “Sandwiches” hit the UK dance charts and the Pu Bahs were soon gaining attention from international audiences, critics and publications. In May of 2000, the Detroit Grand Pubahs performed Sandwiches and some unreleased tracks to a packed crowd at the first-ever Detroit Electronic Music Festival, proving they were more than a one-hit wonder. The Pu Bahs spent much of 2001 touring in promotion of their upcoming full-length “Funk All Y’all, which was released in 2001. In the same vein of the track that gained them so much attention, the album included songs titled “One Hump or Two” and “Involvement Fluid.” Three years later, the collective issued Galactic Ass Creatures from Uranus. ~ Diana Potts