Tickling the funny bone with body fat music

How could body fat be musical and funny?

“Rock stars are usually high on drugs or liquor, but we are high on body fat,” two AUC comedians told a packed audience at Kotob Khan, a bookshop in Maadi, last week.

Marwan Imam, a mechanical engineering and art senior, and Ahmed Safi, a psychology sophomore, are the founding members of High On Body Fat, a band with its unique blend of music and comedy.

“Me and Safi, we don’t do drugs and we don’t drink. One day, we were writing a song when Safi said we are high on body fat … and the name stuck,” Imam said.

“It all started last semester. I hate Lady Gaga and I wrote “Bad Betengan (Aubergines)” to make fun of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” Marwan liked it and we started writing songs together,” Safi added.

Although, the event got off to a late start because of traffic congestion, a large audience, comprising mostly twenty-somethings was forced to contend with standing room only.

Karam Youssef, Kotob Khan’s owner and manager, said that hosting such events is part of the venue’s mission statement.

“Kotob Khan is a cultural hub. Since our very first day, we have been showing movies for independent filmmakers, organizing book discussions and creative writing workshops, music shows and celebrities’ memorial ceremonies,” she told The Caravan.

Youssef met Imam last May when there was a memorial for the late Jim Morrison, singer of the Doors who died in 1970, at Kotob Khan. Imamtold Youssef that he plays music. “We hold such events for free to help youth unleash their creativity,” Youssef said.

High On Body Fat kicked off their show by first displaying a poster and declaring that they love chicken and aubergines.
Their songs included commentary on Blackberry devices, social media networks, obesity, food poisoning and political activism. “We wanted to merge music with comedy and we are not the first to do that. But we wanted to add this culture here,” said Imam.

Halfway through their act, Imam and Safi saw to it that cookies were served to the audience.

“This is to prove that we are high on body fat,” Safi said.

The band admit they are not the most technically astute musicians, but for many in the audience that did not seem to matter.

“I love the way they integrate humor and comedy into their music,” said Samaher K.M, an actuarial science senior and one of their enthusiastic fans.

Dina Saafan, a fashion designer, said that the band makes her laugh and that they are good with the guitar.

The band’s first ‘open mic’ performance was in Makan, a culture and art center downtown.

“This is our second open mic event and we’d love to do more,” Safi said.