Pleaseeasaur :: Pleaseeasaur: Extinct amphibian or hedonistic crooning yeti?
2004-12-18
EUREKA TIMES-STANDARD
Pleaseeasaur: Extinct amphibian or hedonistic crooning yeti?
By John Dooley
It's been sighted in this area before. A couple of times --though rare -- each version varies. It was tall/short. It was yellow/white. It was furry and made a conch in the woods. Pleaseeasaur. Didn't it play a toy saxophone? No one can quite pin down what it is that they actually saw, but they know it was ugly/cute, and resembled a Yeti with a microphone.
Experts predicted it was only a matter of time before Pleaseeasaur was spotted again in Humboldt County. This time those in the know will know where to go. Arcata's 330 Club, Saturday, Dec. 18. Nighttime.
Over-zealous amateur crypto-zoologists may want to put their plaster of Paris away for now (let it set). There aren't going to be any legitimate woodsy Yeti footprints in the parking lot. After all, we're not talking about a real abominable snowman. Are you nuts?
No. We're talking about John-Peter Hasson (pronounced please-ee-uh-saur): The musical Phyllis Diller of Yeti impersonators, who tours the globe dressed as an albino Bigfoot, among other guises, crooning his trademark disturbing ballads such as "Meat Flavored Island" along to pre-recorded music. Hasson is the twisted brains and melodic brawn behind Pleaseeasaur. There. Now you have someone to blame if it all goes haywire.
The name Pleaseeasaur, he says, was "derived by combining the Loch Ness Monster's true cretaceous moniker: Plesiosaur... with secret and special vowel-y additives and preservatives to invoke certain notions of pleasure. Thus: PLEASEEASAUR."
"It made sense at the time," he admits.
A Pleaseeasaur show, Hasson continues, is a "multi-media extravaganza... a live rock and roll infomercial (he does live infomercials for his CDs and ancillary swag during the show)... and some people say that Pleaseeasaur is a total mess." Did I mention he wears a Yeti suit?
"From playing shows for one person in the audience to playing in front of thousands of people, Pleaseeasaur continues to amaze even us. So the future must prepare itself as this can only get stranger!"
For those planning to attend this multi-media freak-fest (booked along with The Daytime Minutes and DJ Thanksgiving Brown) Hasson confides, "Man, you are in for a treat!"
"Pleaseeasaur is a one-man show with two people, consisting of myself and Thomas Hurley III. Tommy specializes in being a fancy professional costume and set designer and visual artist, and I compose the music and sing the songs."
Prior to enlisting Hurley, when Hasson started out in the early 1990s, he performed wearing street clothes, then later tried getting dolled up like Evil Knievel, but for some reason the act didn't quite pan out. Hmm. However, when he teamed up with Hurley, and crawled inside the now legendary custom-made Yeti suit, things started popping. But it hasn't all been pretty.
"Since this merger, and about a dozen tours later, several disturbing scenarios have occurred," Hasson says. "Everything from being bit by a dog on stage to having two Native American ex-cons (fresh from federal prison for their involvement in the famous American Indian Movement battle with FBI) come up and shave their beards on stage.
"Pleaseeasaur is rock and roll in the way that typical rock and roll shows feature certain volumes of music played over loud speakers at enjoyable decibels, as well as bright lights and hot attitudes. But, Pleaseeasaur is NOT your typical rock and roll show for the reason that Pleaseeasaur features no live instrumentation (with the exception of a toy saxophone). All of the musical accompaniment is pre-recorded and I sing along while wearing a bevy of attractive costumes." Meanwhile, "Thomas Hurley dazzles the mind's eye with his projected imagery and mastery of two-dimensional props." Well, there we go.
As mentioned above, Pleaseeasaur has been sighted here before. Hasson says he's played Humboldt several times, and that our "enjoyment and pleasure" levels seem alive and well. Even though the Pleaseeasaur tour van broke down here once, he still has fond memories, because you know? Sometimes disasters can be fun too.
"We were immobilized for an extra day or so while (the van) got repaired by one of your finest (if finest means slow) auto mechanics in town." While waiting, the two Hs were taken in by a group of local teens that took them bowling to kill a day
When it comes down to it, Pleaseeasaur means business when it comes to having a good time. It's also about humor, something everyone seems to be lacking these days. If rock and roll isn't fun, what good is it? So the question begs; what is the importance of humor in modern music, according to John-Peter Hasson?
"It is of virtually no importance in modern music," he cajoles. "But it seems to be important in Pleaseeasaur's music."
PLEASEEASAUR PERSONAL DATA FILE
Please look into the light, identify yourself, and tell your origin: country, state, county, city, and hometown-street.
John-Peter G. Hasson
Legal Citizen of the United States of America
Born: Seattle. Washington. USA
Hometown: Indianola. WA (County of Kitsap)
Street: Kitsap Street
Thomas P. Hurley III
Legal Citizen of the United States of America
Born: Boston. Massachusetts. USA
Hometown: Poulsbo. WA (County of Kitsap)
Street: Virginia Loop Road
Rural Washingtonians, eh? Does that story reek of a Yeti influence or what?
