Here Come the Mummies set to bring their funk-rock sound style to Paramount Theater 

Here Come the Mummies set to bring their funk-rock sound style to Paramount Theater 

 By: Kevin Vickery 

In case you are not familiar with Here Come the Mummies (HCTM), allow me to give you a little back story. This funk-rock powerhouse consists of various professional musicians based in Nashville, Tennessee who perform their shows wrapped as mummies. 

The group has become regulars on “The Bob and Tom” radio show and typically perform live, in-studio there when they are in Indianapolis for their regular appearances at The Vogue, which is typically during the Halloween season. This time, the 8-piece funk-rock band will be bringing their horn-heavy, high-energy performance to Anderson’s Paramount Theater on Friday, April 10th.

There are rumored to be several Grammy Awards earned among the members, though this is difficult to verify, as the identities of band members are kept “under wraps.” It is also said that members are believed to be under contract to various record labels, therefore hiding their identities so as to prevent contract disputes while performing.

According to the band’s promotional material, “Here Come the Mummies is an eight-piece funk-rock band of 5,000-year-old Egyptian Mummies with a one-track mind.”  Adding, “Some say they were cursed after deflowering a great Pharaoh’s daughter. Others claim they are reincarnated Grammy-Winning studio musicians. Regardless, HCTM’s mysterious personas, cunning song-craft, and unrelenting live show will “bend your brain, and melt your face.” 

HCTM takes their funk-based influence mixed with soul, jazz, and reggae from artists like, Otis Redding, Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Commodores and Kool & the Gang. Their current lineup consists of: Mummy Cass, Eddie Mummy, Spazzy Mummy (Spaz), K.W. TuT, The Pole!, Midnight Mummy, High Priest of Death (HPOD), Dr. Yo, and Highlander. 

Their list of nearly 50 other previous members includes other great mummy puns like:  Will Pharaoh, Jo Jo Ma, Mummy Hilfiger, The Shriek, Yummy Mummy, Crusty Mummy and Mummy Wonder. Collectively they have recorded and released 12 full length albums and six EPs including their debut album, “Terrifying Funk from Beyond the Grave” from 2002 and their most recent 2026 EP, “Road Trip”.

I was able to speak with HCTM front-mummy, guitarist and lead vocalist, Mummy Cass and get his thoughts on their show in Anderson and the band’s history, as well as talk a bit about their new EP, “Road Trip.”

Their 90-minute show features all original material written by the band spanning their 26-year run including new material like, “Road Trip” and crowd favorite, “DTF” which features a New Orleans style drum line segment with flute and beat-box. The crowd at Paramount Theater can also expect to get their groove on to the song, “Pants” from the “Single Entrende” album as well as 2003’s, “Dirty Minds” which was featured on the television show, “Scrubs” as well as in the movie, “Fired Up”.

I asked Cass about the Mummies style of writing and if they ever get in trouble from the innuendo in the lyrics and he said, “Every once in a while, we do. – We’re not trying to make a point, and we don’t want to offend.”  He added, “A lot of our stuff you can take more than one way and if you’re taking it the wrong way, maybe you’ve got a dirty mind.”

He continued, “We did get kicked off the air on a live TV station morning show in Chicago.”  Cass explained, “We sent them the music and lyrics ahead of time for our song, ‘Kinda Lingers and they approved it. – Right in the middle of the song, they stopped it and went to a commercial.”  Adding. “We weren’t trying to be like punk-rock dudes or trying to upset anybody.”

One of my personal philosophies in life is that nobody gets to pick their own nickname and I was glad to hear that Mummy Cass shared that viewpoint as well. When asked about the origin of his current and former bandmatesunique nicknames, he explained, “You’re a human before you can get mummified. – The four oldest members; Eddie Mummy, KW Tutt, Spaz Mummy, and I usually try and come up with a name that slightly bothers the person.”

Cass also confirmed the rumors about the names and mummy costumes being a way around contractual obligations saying, “There’s been guys in the band that have played on some big records and engineered on some Grammy records. – Management contracts don’t run out for 6 months or whatever, but they just want to go play music.”

Cass and the Mummies have no plans of slowing down as he said, “We’re going to keep going. – We’ve got the new EP out right now and another full-length record that we’re hoping to release in October. He added, “There’s no record company and there’s nobody telling us what single to play or not play or whatever.”  All music that HCTM has recorded is available for streaming on all major platforms and CD copies are available as well as vinyl records.

On the spirit of the band and their live shows Cassexplained, “We want to give people an escape. – This thing is about helping you forget about your real life for 90 minutes. – That is the point of this.”

I believe he explained it perfectly in saying, “We’re in on the joke but we take it really seriously. – We don’t mind if they’re laughing at us, but it’s great if they’re laughing with us.”  He added in closing, “We love everybody and everyone’s invited to the party!”

The only time I’ve ever experienced the HCTM party firsthand was back in 2001 at Exit/In in Nashville, TN. I was the bassist for Gravel, a Nashville based rock band and we were on a multi-band bill there on a Saturday night. I can’t remember any of the other groups that played that night and I had never heard of HCTM before walking into the club, but I most definitely remember their part of the show. 

Their name alone intrigued me enough to stick around after our set to see what they were all about. I was completely blown away by the powerful funk-rock grooves delivered by these killer musicians wrapped in mummy bandages who totally rocked the house and left the audience begging for more.

That show at Exit/In was absolutely fantastic and I’m sure seeing them a little closer to home at a venue as cool as Paramount Theater in Anderson will be just as great and equally entertaining. I’m personally looking forward to seeing them tear the roof off that place (figuratively of course) on April 10th.

If you’re unfamiliar with Paramount Theater, it sits at 1124 Meridian Street in downtown Anderson. The theater has a rich history since its opening in 1929 and has a beautiful interior appearance that was designed as what is known as an “atmospheric theater” and made to resemble a Spanish Courtyard at night. It has gone through serious renovation throughout the years to keep it alive and thriving and it has most certainly been well worth the effort.

Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of working many events there in various capacities including performing there a few times. It’s a super-cool venue and the Here Come the Mummies show is bound to be a funkin’ good time for all those in attendance.

Keep up with HCTM on Facebook and Twitter or for merchandise and their upcoming tour schedule, visit their official website at herecomethemummies.com

For more information about events at Paramount Theater you can check out their facebook page or their official website at: andersonparamount.org