Melodic death metal with threads of Norse mythology and the Viking lifestyle. A punk band whose title is the entire first chapter of Moby Dick. A trash-pop concept cover band. What in the world am I talking about?
Ben and Jerry Funt are a pair of senior twins here at Florida State who reign from Tampa, Florida. Ben is double majoring in theatre and religion, and Jerry is double majoring in philosophy and economics. And in their spare time, they make music with one of their three bands that tackle the musical endeavors mentioned above.
The twins have been making music since they started working on their main musical endeavor, Jormungandr, in high school. The name comes from a sea serpent in Norse mythology.
“A lot of metal bands nowadays have consistent themes in their lyrical content, so we decided that our songs were mostly going to be about either the Viking lifestyle and Norse mythology, or Star Wars stuff,” Ben Funt describes. “Some have called us melodic Viking jedi death metal.” In Jormungandr, Jerry plays bass and sings, while Ben plays the drums. Their other bandmate, Petter Samuelsson, who lives back in Tampa, plays the guitar.
Taking a completely different approach, Ben and Jerry also joined up with their roommate Michael Hogan and friend Matt Barcomb for their second band, called Bootyclap. Bootyclap is a pop cover band in which the members play characters while they perform. “It’s more performance art than a band,” Ben Funt explains. “It’s like a gender-bent, character-based, trash-pop concept cover band.” The guys cover iconic pop artists such as Kesha and Rihanna, and their Beyoncé cover will be in the works soon.
Their third band is literally called the entire first chapter of Moby Dick, although they tend to simply go by the first part of the chapter, which is Chapter 1: Loomings; Call Me Ishmael. The punk band is currently on hiatus because lead singer Patrick Alvarez is currently studying abroad in London, and their guitarist Milo Pfeffer is moving soon. “I don’t know what our game plan is, but take my word, an album is coming,” assures Ben Funt.
This week’s campus celebs, Ben and Jerry Funt, are breaking the typical boundaries laid down by popular music culture. The music they create is definitely worth a listen. In fact, Booty Clap just released their cover of Britney Spears’ “Break the Ice.” You can give it a listen (or two) HERE!