On Saturday, November 14, 2009, I had the opportunity to see The Ethnogs perform at the Hilton Chicago in a session at the National Communication Association Annual Convention.  The Ethnogs are a mythical 1960s-based rock band developed by Communication scholars Nick Trujillo (a.k.a. Gory Bateson), Robert Krizek (a.k.a. Dougal Macrorie), and Bud Goodall (a.k.a. Dick Diver).  As part of a method they call automythology, they and other Communication scholars write stories and perform identities as individuals associated with the band and its fictional history.  Among its goals, the project hopes to examine how the mythology of American music, particularly rock ‘n’ roll, works and how that intersects with people’s other identities and experiences, including, in their case, their academic identities and experiences as teachers and researchers.

In Chicago, the Ethnogs played several songs, including “It’s a Way of Life,” “The Thong Song,” and what they claim as their biggest hit in their mythological story (and what is, I’d assert, their best song) — “Train to Purgatory.”  You can find out more about the band and its mythical history at The Ethnogs’ website.  You can also see some of their performances, including the show I attended in Chicago, on Gory Bateson’s YouTube channel.