This is what happens when a group of like-minded people get together and try to make something happen that’s based on their favorite character. The only thing that’s stranger about Okily Dokily than their name would be the fact that, you guessed it, they are a heavy nedal band. Yes, heavy metal + Ned=heavy nedal. On their bio site Okily Dokily is described as having found success by going viral before they ever became known as a popular group as they released a 4-song demo that caught the attention of quite a few people. How anyone would think that creating a band based on Ned Flanders from The Simpsons would work is hard to imagine, but apparently it’s been working like a charm since 2015.
What you see in the clip below is pretty much what they do. They’re a metal band that performs songs that are based on Ned’s most popular sayings and catchphrases from the show. How anyone thought this up is kind of hard to fathom but apparently it was an idea that gained traction with the group since it’s been going this long. In fact as Eddie Makuch from GameSpot tells it, the Okily Dokily’s have been on tour now for a little while and have been doing pretty well with their lineup. The fact that enough people have come to like them is something else when you consider how goofy the name and the idea sounds. But then again there are a lot of people with a very weird sense of humor that happen to like things that are as off the wall as this band and it stands to reason that Okily Dokily would attract a fan base largely because of the nostalgic part of it as well as the sheer novelty of their group.
After all Ned Flanders is perhaps one of the more intriguing and yet more annoying characters on The Simpsons and always has been since while he may not always be one of the more cool and edgy individuals he’s about as solid as they come and is a mainstay in the Simpsons culture. To think that someone decide to emulate his character in such a way is kind of funny but also comes off as somehow brilliant in its own way. The band isn’t nearly as innocent in nature as Ned and tend to scream and get a little out of control on the stage, but as Zack Ruskin from SF Weekly has gone on to say they’re also one of the more interesting groups since they’re constantly trying to stay aware of any new developments in the show that could affect their songs and how they word them. Going off of the things that Ned Flanders says seems easy enough since he has only a set amount of catchphrases. But as the show goes on you can imagine that they’re going to keep an open mind and take whatever they can to keep their career moving forward.
One thing about Ned Flanders is that throughout the years he has kind of changed and evolved along with the show, as he’s kind of had to in accordance with how things have gone and what’s been needed of the character. He hasn’t gone into metal, that much is obvious, but that doesn’t stop anyone else from getting their rock on and enjoying what they do with the name of a wholesome character. It’s amusing largely because it takes a character that’s about as straight-laced as can be and creates an image that’s still wholesome until Head Ned takes the mic and starts screaming into it as the song progresses. The last time anyone heard Ned do anything like this was a while back and it’s easy to say that a lot of people wouldn’t remember at all. The Okily Dokily’s hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, are the type of guys that, it would seem, are interested in a very innocent idea that it used to put a positive face on a band that might otherwise be deemed as just another metal band trying to make their way into show business.
The idea is pretty hilarious to be honest and it’s something that fans have started to get into throughout the years. They did take a brief hiatus in 2017 and early 2018 but it would seem that things are back on track at this time and they’re still rocking away, talking about anything and everything that Ned would cover repeatedly in the show. What would be really funny, since the Okily Dokily’s were featured at the end of a Simpson’s episode, would be if they were drawn into an episode, or if Ned suddenly went full rocker for a little while. It would have the advantage of being new and original, but it would also be a sign of respect to a band that has taken an idea and run with it.
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