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Ninja Sex Party

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Ninja Sex Party (often abbreviated as NSP) is an American musical comedy duo consisting of singer Dan Avidan and keyboardist Brian Wecht.[2] They formed in 2009 in New York City and are currently based in Los Angeles. They are also known as two thirds of the more rap-based musical trio Starbomb, together with frequent collaborator Arin Hanson.

Ninja Sex Party
Avidan (left) and Wecht performing in 2019, with TWRP drummer Havve Hogan in the background
Avidan (left) and Wecht performing in 2019, with TWRP drummer Havve Hogan in the background
Background information
Also known asNSP
OriginNew York City, U.S.
Genres
Years active2009–present
SpinoffsStarbomb
Members
Websiteninjasexparty.com

The work of Ninja Sex Party typically consists of rock or synth-pop-oriented humorous songs, frequently on the topics of sex, seduction, love or fantasy, with Avidan and Wecht respectively portraying the characters of Danny Sexbang; an idiotic, exuberant, hypersexual Jewish man who constantly yet unsuccessfully tries to hit on women, and Ninja Brian; a non-verbal, extremely homicidal ninja whom Danny is best friends with. However, their Under the Covers cover album series that began in 2016 saw them take on a non-comedic approach to music for the first time, covering various songs from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

To date, NSP has released nine studio albums (six consisting of original material, and three cover albums), in addition to three albums as a part of Starbomb. Wecht initially acted as record producer and performed all instrumentation on their early albums, until they started working with producer Jim Arsenault (and later Jim Roach) and backing band TWRP in 2015. Wecht and Avidan have appeared in TWRP's own works, either as individuals or as Ninja Sex Party. Since May 2018, Wecht also portrays Ninja Brian on his own live comedy show titled Ninja Brian's All-Star Variety Luau Spectacular. Every non-cover album that the group has released has reached #1 on the Comedy Albums chart, and their highest peaking album on the Billboard 200 chart was #17 despite being independent.

Career

Formation and early career (2009–2012)

 
Avidan performing with his previous band Skyhill in 2008

Avidan, who previously sang in bands such as The Northern Hues and Skyhill, initially conceptualized the band.[3] In need of a band member, Avidan was introduced to Wecht, who was the musical director of a comedy troupe in New York,[4] by a mutual friend at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Julie Katz, a member of Wecht's comedy troupe (who would later be featured in their music video "The Decision"), to whom Avidan had asked if she knew any musicians.[5][6] The band was formed in February/March 2009[7] with Avidan going by his stage-name/character "Danny Sexbang" and Wecht going by "Ninja Brian".[6] However, the character "Danny Sexbang" was originally named "Danny Sweetnuts" before being changed to "Sexbang" as Avidan felt the name seemed "stronger."[8]

Inspired by The Lonely Island and Flight of the Conchords, Ninja Sex Party was about "a Jewish superhero who wears a unitard, with his best friend who's a ninja, and together they sing songs about dicks, and try to hit [unsuccessfully] on women."[5]

They began performing together that summer, appearing in various film festivals, including SXSW, Dragon Con, and the LACS.[9][10][11] They were awarded the "Trophy of Awesomeness" on Vimeo's video website.[12] They won "Best Comedy Video Short" and "Best Comedy Song" in Improvisation News' 2010 INNY Awards.[13] Their video "Sex Training" also appeared on the Comedy page of The Huffington Post.[14] All their early music videos were directed, shot, and edited by Jim Turner, who was the only person paid for his involvement; all other people participating were friends working for free.[6]

In 2011, they released their first album NSFW,[15] on iTunes, which contained both original songs, and all of their previously released songs on YouTube.

 
Filming of the music video for "Next to You" in 2012

Commercial success and side projects (2013–2015)

The band released their second album, Strawberries and Cream, in April 2013. On the week of May 4, 2013, the album debuted at #9 on Billboard's Comedy Albums charts.[16]

In July the band released the single "Party of Three", off their third album. The song featured an appearance by animator and Internet personality Arin Hanson.

In September 2013, the band composed "Dick Figures: The Movie: The Song" for Mondo Media's Dick Figures: The Movie soundtrack.[17]

In late 2013, Avidan, Wecht, and Hanson teamed up to create a side project band named Starbomb, with Avidan as the lead singer-songwriter.[18] The band writes parody songs about video games, bringing together the sexually provocative music stylings of Ninja Sex Party and the video game-based humor of Hanson.

On the week of February 15, 2014, Starbomb, the group's eponymous album, would hold the #1 spot in Comedy Albums for 4 consecutive weeks.[19] Starbomb also reached #1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers charts for 2 consecutive weeks, starting with the week of January 4, 2014.[20] In July 2014, Ninja Sex Party performed a concert for San Diego Comic-Con International at Petco Park. They also released the music video for "Why I Cry" during the concert.[21][22]

 
TWRP (from left to right: band members Doctor Sung, Commander Meouch and Lord Phobos) became Ninja Sex Party's backup band in 2015.

In 2015, two singles were released by the band TWRP, collaborating with Ninja Sex Party, titled "The Hit" and "Baby, NYC"; from that point on, TWRP became NSP's backing band on both live shows and studio releases, while also serving as their opening act on live shows.[23][24]

Their third album, Attitude City, released on July 17, 2015. It was one of the top 20 best-selling albums on Amazon.com, and peaked at #1 on Billboard's US Comedy Albums chart.[25]

On August 3, 2015, Ninja Sex Party performed with Steel Panther at their House of Blues venue, singing "Party All Day."[26] The bands have collaborated on multiple occasions, with Steel Panther making a cameo in the band's "Road Trip" music video, singer Michael Starr providing vocals for "6969", and Satchel performing guitars on "Limelight".[27][28]

On October 7, 2015, Avidan released the single "Firefly" with Peter Lennox.[29] The two had previously worked together as the atmospheric band Skyhill from 2006 to 2007.[30]

Under the Covers albums and Cool Patrol (2016–2019)

On February 23, 2016, a music video was released for their cover of "Take On Me"; the video for their cover of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" was released one week later, on March 1, 2016. On March 4, 2016, Under the Covers was released to the public. The album features guests appearances by TWRP and Super Guitar Bros.[31] The album debuted on the Billboard charts at #9 in Top Album Sales, #2 in Independent Albums, #3 in Rock Albums, and #17 in the Top 200 Albums.[32][33][34][35]

 
Ninja Sex Party performing in Dallas in August 2018, as a part of their "Tour de Force" tour.

In 2017, they released their second cover album, Under the Covers, Vol. II.[36]

In May 2018, Wecht debuted Ninja Brian's All-Star Variety Luau Spectacular, his own recurring live musical comedy show in which he portrays his Ninja Brian character, minus Avidan.[37] The band also started a new tour, titled Tour de Force, concurrently with the release of the new album.[38]

On June 25, 2018, the band released the music video for the song "Danny Don't You Know", along with the official release date of Cool Patrol, August 17. The video featured actor Finn Wolfhard, a friend of Avidan since he had appeared on Game Grumps in January 2017 and a fan of the band, as a younger Danny Sexbang.[39] The band called "Danny Don't You Know" their "favorite-ever song", both musically and as a video.[40] Cool Patrol was released on August 17, 2018, and reached #1 on the Billboard Top Comedy Albums chart.[41]

In August 2018, Avidan and Wecht hosted an AMA on Reddit where Avidan confirmed that "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult, "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel, "Glory of Love" by Peter Cetera, and "Down Under" by Men at Work would appear on Under the Covers, Vol. III. The duo then went on to tell RIFF Magazine that the album would also include covers of songs by Rush, Def Leppard, the Bee Gees, and Michael Jackson.[42]

On September 17, 2018, Ninja Sex Party, along with TWRP, performed a censored version of "Danny Don't You Know" on the late-night talk show Conan as a musical guest, making their live television debut.[43][44] This censored version, which replaced the word "fuck" with "heck" and "hell," was released on Spotify on September 21 under the title "Danny Don't You Know (Cool as Heck Version)".[45]

In December 2018, the band was selected by Billboard as the #1 Comedy Album Artist of the year, with Cool Patrol being selected as the #1 comedy album of the year.[46][47]

On August 1, 2019, German YouTube personality and musician Flula Borg released the song "Self-Care Sunday", featuring Ninja Sex Party.[48] In November 2019, the band released Under the Covers, Vol. III.[49]

The Prophecy and Level Up (2019–2021)

On November 25, 2019, the band premiered a new original song, "The Mystic Crystal", their longest song yet at almost 12 minutes.[50] The video was subsequently released on June 9, 2021.

On December 14, 2019, the band released "The Decision Part 2: Ten Years Later", a music video celebrating the band's 10 year anniversary and acting as a sequel to "The Decision", Ninja Sex Party's second-ever song originally released on December 14, 2009; the video also revealed the title of their next original album, The Prophecy.[51][52]

On April 1, 2020, they released the music video for "I Don't Know What We're Talking About".[53]

In September 28, The Prophecy was released.[54] The album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Comedy Albums chart.[55]

The album Level Up was released on October 22, 2021, and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Comedy Albums chart.[56]

These Nuts (2023-2024)

On March 8, 2024, the band's next studio album These Nuts was released.

Public image

Wecht manages all Ninja Sex Party social media accounts, as well as Starbomb's and formerly Game Grumps.[57]

The mobile game Shooting Stars features a boss named Grump Dan, who is a reference to Danny Sexbang.[58]

Members

 
Ninja Sex Party performing with TWRP in Nashville in 2017. From left to right: Doctor Sung, Avidan, Wecht, and Lord Phobos, with Havve Hogan on drums in the background.

Band members

  • Dan Avidan (Danny Sexbang) – lead vocals (2009–present)
  • Brian Wecht (Ninja Brian) – keyboards, programming, spoken word, backing vocals (2009–present)

Session and touring musicians

Discography

Main article: Ninja Sex Party discography
Original albums
Cover albums
Remixes
  • Level Up (2021)
Live albums
  • The Very, Very, Very, Very Classy Acoustic Album (2021)

References

  1. ^ a b "REVIEW: Comedy band Ninja Sex Party drops new album 'The Prophecy'". Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021 – via themaneater.com.
  2. ^ Park, Gene (January 17, 2020). "Ninja Sex Party is the quintessential YouTube band — except it transcends the Internet". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Milne, Gregory (July 11, 2013). "Ninja Sex Party: Tales of Strawberries and Cream". Living Myth Magazine. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  4. ^ Augustborn, Nicolas (January 9, 2013). "Ninja Sex Party Interview". YouTube. Nicolas Augustborn. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Nelsen, Lydia (May 24, 2013). "Ninja Sex Party Interview on Lydia Wants to Know". YouTube. Third String Kicker. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Ninja Sex Party Interview". Double Down the Line. 2010. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
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  11. ^ Garcia, Conrad (April 19, 2011). "Live Review: 3rd Annual L.A. Comedy Shorts Festival". DisarrayMagazine.com. Disarray Magazine. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  12. ^ Bright, Dennie (December 14, 2009). "The Trophy of Awesomeness". Vimeo. Vimeo, Inc. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  13. ^ "2010 INNY Award Winners". Improvisation News. ImprovisationNews.com. November 3, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
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  15. ^ "Ninja Sex Party Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  16. ^ Comedy Charts, Billboard. "Billboard Comedy Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
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  18. ^ Herrera, Kayla (March 7, 2016). "You Need To Watch This Catchy And Adult-Rated Music Video About Legend Of Zelda". CINEMABLEND. Gateway Media. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
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  20. ^ Heatseeker Charts, Billboard. "Billboard Heatseeker Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
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  22. ^ Maker Studios. "Ninja Sex Party Live at NerdHQ". Polaris.
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  29. ^ Skyhill (October 7, 2015). "Firefly". CDBaby. Skyhill. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
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  39. ^ O'Neal, Sean (June 25, 2018). "Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard IS Danny Sexbang for Ninja Sex Party". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  40. ^ Ninja Sex Party [@ninjasexparty] (June 26, 2018). "What a week! We just: - finished the first leg of Tour de Force 2018 - put out our favorite-ever song & video, Danny Don't You Know - announced the release of our next original album (Aug 17!) THANK YOU, everyone, for all your support this week - you're the best!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021 – via Twitter.
  41. ^ "Top Comedy Albums". Billboard. August 25, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
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  45. ^ "OH MY GOLLY GOSH". Ninja Sex Party's Facebook. September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
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  47. ^ "Year-End Charts Comedy Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
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  50. ^ "The Mystic Crystal - NSP". Ninja Sex Party's YouTube channel. November 25, 2019. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
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  52. ^ "The Decision - NSP". YouTube. December 14, 2009. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  53. ^ "I Don't Know What We're Talking About - NSP". YouTube. April 1, 2020. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  54. ^ "Ninja Sex Party Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  55. ^ "Ninja Sex Party – Comedy Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  56. ^ "Ninja Sex Party | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  57. ^ "Geek.com interview". Geek.com. September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  58. ^ "Shooting Stars!". VGFacts. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  59. ^ Ninja Sex Party [@ninjasexparty] (May 8, 2018). "tentative album schedule: August 2018: Cool Patrol December 2018: @starbomb 3 mid-2019: UTC 3 all w/ @TWRPband fuck" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021 – via Twitter.
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