“The Upper Crust is a Boston-based rock band that plays terrific power-punk/pop-metal songs. If I were a junior A&R guy at a record label that had to quickly pitch the Upper Crust to the top brass, I might say “it’s AC/DC meets the Buzzcocks at a theater showing This Is Spinal Tap.” But there is much more to the Upper Crust, both aurally and visually.

“Not only are their songs about the trials of blueblood life, but they perform in full aristocratic regalia: powdered wigs, velvet knickers, pancake makeup with beauty spots applied. They even have gilded frames for their 20th century amplifiers.

“Unfortunately, this aspect of the Crust often causes the casual observer to simply dismiss the Upper Crust as a “joke band.” Their loss. The Upper Crust’s music and performance stands up to any other. They’re not a joke band; they’re a great rock band with a damn good sense of humour.”

(From: “Monarchy in the USA! The Unoffficial Upper Crust Web Site”/www.juvalamu.com/crust/)

Laura’s neighbor, John Aber (it rhymes, something Laura always gets a kick out of when she says that phrase), is a huge fan of The Crust (shorthand for rabid fans). Ever since Laura and Brendan and Benji moved in, John Aber has been telling them how brilliant and hilarious The Upper Crust’s lyrics are and how great their music is. This summer, Brendan finally saw the light, and soon after, so did Benji, since Brendan played The Upper Crust in his car while taking Benji to the beach and playground. “Seeing the light” means playing (blaring) Upper Crust CDs as often as possible in the car and at home; singing along with Upper Crust songs when they are blaring in the car and at home; singing little wisps of Upper Crust songs whenever possible. Because of all of this Upper Crust business, Laura finally saw the light, too, though she has yet to burn her own CDs for her car (but she should since she’s been driving all over the place on her book tour).

Laura didn’t mean to digress this much but she feels it’s very important to give credit to the person who first expresses an interest in something instead of taking credit for starting the trend, thereby making it seem like they discovered it. One of the reasons Laura feels so strongly about this is because she’s had friends who have co-opted other people’s stuff — favorite recipes, favorite beaches, favorite restaurants, etc — without ever once explaining that the reason these are their favorite recipes or beaches or restaurants is because someone else told them about them!

(Note: This is one of Laura’s many pet peeves. There are tons more and they will all probably make their way into Laura’s brant eventually. So check back soon to learn exactly what Laura hates and why!!)