Funky tale sets stage for group

     By Sean DeFrank
     View staff writer
      When the legend of The Kickwurmz is passed down through the annals of music history, the tale of the Henderson-based band will proceed as such:
      A group of six passing travelers met by chance in an undisclosed airport in 1997 and were mystically motivated to form a music group and seek their fame and fortune in Tibet, where the sextet was introduced to its mentor.
      "So we go to Tibet and we meet the infamous Grand Master Cavity, who is a funk profit, a teacher of fine funk," said vocalist DJ Flandy. "(He) teaches us all how to bust the best grooves you could ever dream, but there is a final test. The test is where he holds out a worm in his crippled, busted hands and we have to kick the worm out of his hand to be true funk masters.
      "It turned out that thousands of people, from all walks of life, came to try to kick the worm out of his hand. And as fate would have it, us six were the only ones able to kick the worm out of Grand Master Cavity's hand."
      The Tibetan monk honed the group's musical skills before perishing from extreme tooth decay, after which the mourning youngsters set their sights on conquering the Las Vegas Valley and fortifying their teacher's legacy.
      While the touching tale tugs at one's heartstrings, it's delivered while pulling one's leg. The band's fictitious origin is simply an example of the creativity and levity which punctuate its high-octane shows.
      "From the day we started, we said, `If we ever do gigs, they're going to be big and fun and jump around,' " DJ Flandy said. "And that's what we try to capture in all the shows."
      The Kickwurmz current lineup -- DJ Flandy, vocalist Banshee, vocalist and percussionist MC Sugah, guitarist Big Wurm, bassist Repo and drummer Zak -- has been together since September 1997. However, its roots stem much deeper, as five of its members -- Zak excluded -- graduated from Basic High School between 1993 and 1996.
      The group uses elements of rock, rap, reggae and funk, drawn from the individual members' collective tastes, making it hard to label. It's the band's eclectic makeup which contributes to its varied style.
      "People say that we're funky, but we're not funk," Repo said. "And I think that partially has to do with the fact that I was trying to portray funk having not ever heard it. É I heard it, but I didn't listen to it enough to where I could actually steal things from it."
      The Kickwurmz are paced up front by DJ Flandy's and Banshee's tag-team rhymes and MC Sugah's mesmerizing melodies, as Big Wurm, Repo and Zak supply the fuel for the band's collective fire. But while the group gels as a unit, its members bring a vast array of backgrounds and influences to the mix.
      "Everybody just brought their own thing and then what came out of it was it," Zak said. "I think it's still like that, every song."
      MC Sugah, who founded the Kickwurmz, served as the group's original bassist before moving to drums and, ultimately, vocals. She underwent extensive vocal training in classical music growing up, performing arias, madrigals and show tunes, while also taking piano lessons.
      Sugah, who listens to '80s pop and folk music, currently serves as a part-time musical theater instructor at Basic and went to school in Hawaii before returning to Southern Nevada.
      DJ Flandy has been playing various instruments throughout his life and still assumes guitar, bass or drum responsibilities on occasion during shows as the band members sometimes interchange roles. After high school, he attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York for 1 1/2 years, where he studied musical theater.
      Brothers Big Wurm and Repo may be siblings, but their musical influences are unrelated. While the guitarist prefers hard-edged music with a theatrical twist, citing KISS and Gwar as examples, Repo, a former trumpet player who performed in all five school bands his senior year at Basic, opts to listen to classic-rock bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Eagles.
      Zak, a Las Vegas native who spent time in Michigan and California before returning to the valley, met the other band members at a rehearsal studio and studied jazz throughout his youth.
      Only Banshee lacks a formal musical background. However, his rapid-fire rhymes add just one more dimension to the group.
      "I think that's kinda the key to this whole band is that every person in the band listens to something totally different," Banshee said. "(The band's sound) just comes from everywhere. Everybody tries to take what they like the best and put it in the music, and it's allowed."
      While the Kickwurmz first gig at Basic in December 1997 attracted just about 50 people, the band's following has quickly grown throughout the valley, as well as extended to Los Angeles and Phoenix.
      The group members hope the release of their self-funded debut album, titled "Wobbly H-Town," will increase their exposure and earn them a record contract.
      The band, which also launched its own Web site this year, www.kickwurmz.com, recently finished recording and mixing the album and expect to release it in early April.
      From there, the group hopes its diverse style will earn them a factual finish worthy of its fictional foundation.