Free kazoos, impeccably tailored outfits, rowdy sing-alongs, furious banjo strumming, and a set full of quirky, clever, sometimes-naughty original tunes. That’s The Two Man Gentlemen Band’s formula for a good, old-fashioned musical spectacle

Hailing from New York City, The Two Man Gentlemen Band combines hot jazz, old-time country, tin pan alley, and vaudevillian swing to create a joyous two-man sound that is all their own. Performing with plectrum banjo, string bass, kazoos, and foot percussion, The Gentlemen whip themselves into a frenzy that is unlike any acoustic duo on the road today. With the energy of a band
two or three times their numbers, The Two Man Gentlemen Band concocts a ruckus that is lively, danceable, and insanely fun.

The music provides a perfect foundation for The Gentlemen’s wry, idiosyncratic lyrics, which vary in subject from the historical, to the romantic, to the bawdy, to the inane. On their latest album alone, (Heavy Petting, Serious Business Records) The Gentlemen sing an ode to William Howard Taft, compare true love to the square root of two, celebrate the skills of a female kazooist, challenge each other to a badminton duel, and extol the virtues of, you guessed it, heavy petting. Though they pepper many of their tunes with playful innuendo,

The Gentlemen – being Gentlemen, after all - never utter a vulgar word. The unifying element in their music is not the occasional naughty insinuation, but rather the clever, good-natured wit that shines through in each of their songs –especially when they are performed live on stage.

Beginning with the ritual distribution of free kazoos (provided by the band’s sponsor, Kazoos.com) and ending with a camp-revival-like shout-along about our fattest president, a live performance by The Two Man Gentlemen Band is a non-stop
festival of interactive, old-fashioned entertainment. Banjoist Andy Bean serves as master of ceremonies and scarcely allows the band or the audience to take a breath. Equal parts vaudevillian comic, depression-era huckster, and society gentleman,
Bean cajoles the audience to participate; scolding them playfully when they cannot answer one of his trivia questions (“What’s the difference between a blimp and a zeppelin?”) and offering constructive critiques of their performance during one of the show’s many kazoo-alongs (“You sound like a swarm of locusts!”). Two years of full-time street-performing in New York City’s Central Park taught the gentlemen this: when the band slows down, the audience takes a hike.

So, The Two Man Gentlemen Band never slows down. And the audience never stops smiling.

"[The Two Man Gentlemen Band] was AWESOME. These guys rule in a totally old-timey, banjo and stand-up bass way. They've got charisma, energy and kazoos, and they definitely have fun up there, with compositions that are a little bit dorky and a little bit dirty. Banjo player Andy Bean works the crowd, addressing members of the audience and his own band with the honorific "friend," and employing other affectations of a Depression-era huckster. Their lyrics are twee and hilarious, and each song clips along at approximately twelve-million bpms. The band should be atop every geek's play list. They played, not one, but two songs related to mathematics…To cap off this complete and joyful celebration of dorkitude, we had a brief discussion on William Howard Taft — the last president to have facial hair in office — followed by a song. I have such a crush on Bean, and his fedora". — AM New York, CMJ 2007 Review

"One of the most entertaining acts I've ever seen, and most certainly the funniest."
—Matt Morelock, WDVX-FM (Knoxville, TN)

“These gentlemen back up their dandy visages with top-notch musicianship, fine vocal harmonies and a wryly humorous subtext to their anachronism.”
—Stuart Harmening, The Savannah Morning News (Savannah, GA)

"Playing gloriously retro string music that draws on everything from Dixieland jazz, Vaudevillian swing, ragtime, and rural hokum blues, the gentlemen are slowly making their way around the country, spreading their sunny dispositions and anachronistic gospel of kindness and good humor everywhere they go.”
—Jim Reed, Connect Savannah (Savannah, GA)

"The chemistry these gentlemen have cooked up certainly makes for a powerful sound. To any member of the masses out there who thinks that old folkie music is strictly for old folks, I have to object by playing [Great Calamities] as loud as it can go."
—Anthony Mores, FolkItUp.net