Combustible Edison were an American neo-lounge music group founded in the early 1990s in Providence, Rhode Island. They were one of several lounge acts that led a brief resurgence of interest in the genre during the mid-1990s.

Unlike other bands with a more ironic take on the lounge scene, Combustible Edison took the music seriously and strove to add to what its members saw as a canon of works by Esquivel, Henry Mancini and Martin Denny. Said Trouser Press, "As the band that poured the first shot in the Cocktail Revolution, this Providence combo brought lounge music into the '90s—or, more accurately, transported tastemakers back to the suburbia of the '50s—with strikingly authentic interpretations of some of the most unauthentic sounds known to mankind."

The band ended in 1999.

History

Connecticut natives Liz Cox (drums, vocals) and Michael Cudahy (guitar, vocals) formed indie rock band Christmas in Boston in 1983. They issued three albums, In Excelsior Dayglo (1986), Ultra Prophets of Thee Psykick Revolution (1989) and Vortex (released after the dissolution of the band in 1993). Cudahy's brother Nick was a member of the Christmas lineup for the second album.

In 1991, Michael Cudahy — now re-dubbed "The Millionaire" by fellow Providence bon vivant Robert Jaz — wrote a stage show titled "The Tiki Wonder Hour", and formed the 14-piece Combustible Edison 'Heliotropic Oriental Mambo and Foxtrot Orchestra to accompany the performance. while Trouser Press said, "I, Swinger is a faithful replication of bargain-bin exotica, right down to a sleeve festooned with cocktail recipes and calculatedly dated hep-cat liner notes".

In 1995, the band recorded the soundtrack to the film Four Rooms, produced by Mark Mothersbaugh. "Vertigogo", the film's main theme, was submitted for consideration for an Academy Award, but was ultimately disqualified from consideration because of its incomprehensible lyrical content, despite the fact that the band submitted a lyric sheet with their best written approximation of the lyrics.

The group's second studio album, Schizophonic! was issued in 1996.

By the time of Combustible Edison's final album, The Impossible World (1998),

The group split during the 1999 tour for The Impossible World. A cocktail enthusiast, Cudahy was credited with coining the term "Cocktail Nation" as well as the Combustible Edison cocktail. The recipe for the cocktail was featured on the back cover of Combustible Edison's debut album, and was later collected by Paul Harrington in his 1998 book Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century. and "Oahu" on the 6ths' 2000 album Hyacinths and Thistles. She is currently involved with Community MusicWorks, a community-based music education and performance organisation.

Dixon released an instrumental solo album in 2007 titled Shady Planet.

Toomey, an acclaimed DJ (including a current stint as DJ Sharaabi Kapoor), cocktail creator and bartender, later played and recorded with his group Brother Cleve and His Lush Orchestra, country band Wheelers & Dealers, and Miki Singh & Jetset (later renamed Dragonfly).

Connors joined the Toomey-produced tiki music ensemble Waitiki in 2006, and also formed his own combo Funk House.

Members

  • Miss Lily Banquette (Liz Cox) – vocals, bongos, vibraphone, drums, percussion, melodica <small>(1991-1999)</small>
  • Michael "The Millionaire" Cudahy – guitar <small>(1991-1999)</small>
  • Nick Cudahy – bass <small>(1991-1999)</small>
  • Mr. Peter Dixon – keyboards, organ <small>(1991-c. 1996)</small>
  • Aaron Oppenheimer – drums, vibraphone, percussion <small>(1991- c. 1998)</small>
  • Robert "Brother Cleve" Toomey – keyboards, vibraphone <small>(1996-1999, died September 2022)</small>
  • Michael "Laughing Boy" Connors – drums <small>(c. 1998-1999)</small>

Discography

Studio albums

  • I, Swinger (1994, Sub Pop)
  • Schizophonic! (1996, Sub Pop)
  • The Impossible World (1998, Sub Pop)
  • Forbidden Isle of Demos (2023, Sundazed Music)

Singles

  • "Cry Me a River" 7" (1993, Sub Pop)
  • "Blue Light" CD (1993, Domino)
  • "Christmastime Is Here" CD (1994, Sub Pop)
  • "Vertigogo" promo CD (1995, Elektra)
  • "Short Double Latte" CD (1996, Bungalow/Rough Trade)
  • "Bluebeard" CD (1996, Bungalow)

Soundtrack albums

  • Four Rooms: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1995, Elektra)

Compilation albums

  • The Combustible Edison Mixer promo (1998, Sub Pop)

Selected compilation appearances

  • "A Shot in the Dark" <small>(Henry Mancini cover)</small> on Secret Agent S.O.U.N.D.S. (1995, Mai Tai)
  • "Millionaire's Holiday" on Martini Lounge (1996, EMI-Capitol Special Markets)
  • "Vertigo", "Theme from Bewitched" and "The Millionaire's Holiday" on Cracked Ice & Crushed Velvet promo EP (1996, Elektra)
  • "Miniskirt" <small>(Esquivel cover)</small> on Lounge-A-Palooza (1997, Hollywood)
  • "Christmas Time Is Here" and "Sleigh Ride" on Combustible Edison's The Millionaire Presents Sub Pop's Holiday Sound Spectacular promo (1997, Sub Pop)
  • "Sleigh Ride" on Hi-Fidelity Holiday...A Holiday Compilation in Stereo (1998, EMI Music Special Markets/Starbucks Coffee)

Guest appearances

  • Monopoly Queen - "Let's Keep It Friendly" 7" single (with Lisa Crystal Carver and Boyd Rice)

References

  • You Swinger - Miss Daphne Q. Appleby's Combustible fan page