Fort Myers Florida Weekly

For a quarter century, a band of 5,000-year-old, bandage-wrapped undead have prowled America with their "terrifying funk from beyond the grave."

Sometimes sharing the stage with the likes of Parliament-Funkadelic, Al Green, Mavis Staples and Cheap Trick, other times appearing at massive festivals and often headlining at clubs, theaters and festivals, Here Come The Mummies sell tickets by the thousands for their crowd-pleasingly entertaining shows.

Not bad for a group, legend says, that was cursed to wander the Earth undead after deflowering a pharaoh's daughter.

Or, maybe this is really a collection of Grammy-winning Nashville studio musicians who've adopted the mummy routine to maintain their anonymity and cook up some funk outside the studios where they earn their keep.

Let's go with the legend, and talk to Mummy Cass – get it? – who dialed in from Music City in late August, the day before Here Come the Mummies hit the road for a 45-date tour.

So how do a bunch of 5,000-year-old mummies learn to play guitar, etc?

"We were around in the invention of guitars," Cass said. "I mean, drums were around before us. We kind of helped him invent him. So we made them fit our fingers."

And how did they end up choosing funk?

"I think George Clinton from Funkadelic said it — aliens came down and helped us build the pyramids," the mummified musician said. "The choice of music back then was funky music from out of space. It's changed through the years, but it's basically the same kind of funkiness. So, it is the music of the time for us, baby."

Is it tough to get up there and play with all the bandages, do they get in the way of your instruments? Do they get hot?

"We're undead, so the heat doesn't bother us," Cass said. "I don't know if the bandages bother us so much. But me, in particular, my joints are so old that I can't even walk downstairs without groaning and grunting and everything. It's not easy. But baby funky, funky music gets me moving, so I don't even feel it once I get going. But the first couple steps, man, I'm making noise."

When the band plays a bunch of shows, does the strain get worse as the tour goes on or is it the same undead state all the time?

"I kind of get worn out a little bit, but I am really looking forward to this fall," Cass said. "Lucky for us, Spazmo, he's been singing a little bit more these days. And Dr. You, who's our bari saxophone player, he's been singing a few. So I got my backup quarterbacks there, so if I ever need some help, they can help me out."

So, who writes the music?

"Well, it's all of us...I'm sitting here, actually, with Eddie Mummy," Cass said. "He's the drummer, baby. He and I do a lot. Spaz has been doing a lot of music. Midnight Mummy, he's not new, but he's one of the later additions to the band. He's been writing a lot of stuff. People show up with funky ideas and we're ready to roll."

You're looking forward to the fall; why is that?

"Well, that's our time, baby," Cass said. "We get up and rolling, and we're just actually going to hit it, getting on the road tonight, and going to Peoria, Illinois, and then we're going to Toledo, and our tour goes on all the way up until November. We've already played a few times this year. We've been to Australia and a couple other places. But, man, we're going out West. We're going to the Midwest, other places with West in the name."

It sounds like the band has a hell of a lot of fun out there.

"We got lucky. I gotta be honest with you, man. We got cursed, but the curse has been lucky. It's a bunch of fun. Every night is fun. The music keeps us going. We're in year 25 right now and I'm not tired of it yet," Cass added.

For a bunch of mummies that have been around for 5,000 years, being a band for only a quarter-century seems pretty short.

"Yeah, we were playing before we got mummified. We got on earth about 25 years ago. We might be here for another 5,000 years. Who knows?" ¦

In the KNOW

Here Come The Mummies with The Toxhards

· When: 8:30 p.m., Nov. 8

· Where: The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon, 2158 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers

· Tickets: $40 general admission