Diane Coffee “Peel” 2017. Polyvinyl Records, 2-song 7″ single on light peach vinyl. We saw Diane Coffee last Thursday evening at Collectivo’s Back Room in Milwaukee and what a show! Diane Coffee aka Shaun Fleming is part soulful doowoppy funkster, part rock operaman (in the spirit of Rocky Horror Picture Show), part skate punk munchkin sprinkled with a bit of Aladdin Sane Bowie and a dash of Elton John and Lady Gaga.

It was a great set and I’m pretty sure he performed both songs that appear on this single: “Poor Man Dan” and “Get By” (we picked up the 7″ at the show as well as his debut LP, up until then we only had his sophomore release Everybody’s a Good Dog from 2015). About “Poor Man Dan” (from Spin): “At first listen, the song’s bright, brassy Motown influence feels uplifting, but according to Coffee, the story it’s based on is tragically dark. ‘Poor Man Dan’ is about an urban legend of my childhood,’ Coffee said in a statement. ‘A neighborhood man who loses his daughter starts killing kids from the block to give her someone to play with.’” This is the second time we’ve seen Fleming perform, the first was last August at Appleton’s Mile of Music, part of our 16 bands in 29 hours marathon. Thursday (May 31st) was Fleming’s 31st birthday so his backup band and the audience at one point broke into a huge “Happy Birthday” singalong, which was adorable.