He’s One Smooth, Satirical Cat

Unlike the gaudy kitsch of nightspots such as Hollywood’s Lava Lounge or the Tiki Ti in Silver Lake, Beverly Hills’ Trader Vic’s manages to be swanky and sophisticated while still retaining a colorful, Polynesian vibe, complete with big, froufrou drinks and island-style decor.

So it’s a little surprising that the upscale restaurant is lounge king Richard Cheese’s favorite hangout. Judging from his new Oglio Records album, “Lounge Against the Machine,” a collection of jazzy/jivey versions of rock songs by Limp Bizkit, Nine Inch Nails, et al, you’d expect his favorite watering hole to be slightly, um, cheesier.

“This place is timeless, just like a good song,” Cheese says over cocktails at the Beverly Hills in-spot. “You can’t get a better drink or appetizer and there’s always a celebrity sighting; I’ve seen Steve and Eydie here, Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett, and we’re in the very booth I once saw Barbra Streisand being interviewed in.”

While the snazzy singer is attuned to the stars of yesterday, namely Sinatra, Bennett and Sammy, he has the musical stars of today to thank for his current notoriety.

His groovin’ version of Papa Roach’s “Last Resort” is a staple on KROQ-FM’s (106.7) Kevin & Bean morning show. His live act, featuring lounge renditions of “classics” including the Offspring’s “Come Out and Play” and Blink-182’s “What’s My Age Again?,” provides a comical take on today’s most in-your-face-compositions.

These are songs that Cheese insists mark another “golden age” of songwriting.

“It’s just like Tin Pan Alley all over again,” he explains earnestly. “We used to have the Gershwins and the Hammerstein-Rodgers. Now we have the Limp Bizkits and the Rage Against the Machines and the kids from the Beastie Boys. These are the brilliant songwriters of our time.”

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Richard Cheese may be a naive, Vegas-style vamper who genuinely believes that “Fight for Your Right to Party” is a musical masterpiece, but his alter ego and creator, comedy writer Mark Jonathan Davis, is much more shrewd. He plays Cheese as a sweet and clueless swinger who, he says, “really doesn’t know he’s making a fool of himself.”

Foolish or not, Cheese the act has struck a chord--and it’s not the first time for Davis.

Born in New York and reared in Phoenix, he started out doing voices for radio stations and soon became a regular on a talk show contributing Weird Al-style song parodies. His wacky tunes and voices eventually earned him a job as a morning-show producer and air personality for popular Phoenix Top 40 FM station KZZP.

He moved to L.A. in 1990 and did more parodies for various radio shows, landing regular work with KROQ’s Kevin & Bean show a few years later.

“I’m continually astonished how year after year he manages to find ways to make a living without getting a real job,” says Gene “Bean” Baxter. “He always has a million things going on.”

Eventually the thirtysomething idea whiz started his own company, Ideatown, as a way to supply his numerous comic creations to different outlets.

“I took my reputation as someone who could produce comedy songs and funny bits, and created a business,” explains Cheese/Davis. “I’ve done jingles for NBC, Nick at Nite and CBS.”

His work for NBC’s “Must See TV” nights included spots for shows such as “Will & Grace” and “Just Shoot Me,” and the voice of a loungey character named Johnny Chimes who did the between-show announcements.

“That got my voice out into the public’s ears and sort of reminded me to get this ‘Lounge Against the Machine’ thing going again,” says Davis.

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Some of the Cheese repertoire is inspired--such as his version of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer.”

About the song, Cheese says, “This is a romantic ballad that needed that lounge treatment and it fit so much better when we were able to do it in the style that we do.”

Indeed, the dark, rhythmic song (which is often censored on radio and television for its explicit chorus) is transformed on the album from a tortured sex ode to a sultry and upbeat swing number when Cheese and his band bop it out, bad words and all.

Other aggressive tunes such as Nirvana’s “Rape Me” and Rage’s “Guerrilla Radio” get an unexpurgated make-over peppered with everything from bossa nova and mambo to swing and jazz, with the help of his band--pianist Bobby Ricotta, guitarist Mitch Bleu, bassist Gordon Brie and drummer Buddy Gouda.

“It’s a group effort to take this music and essentially tear it down to what it was meant to be,” says Cheese. “Look at Rage Against the Machine. They just lost their lead singer Zack. . . . I think Zack left because he wanted to sing these songs like Frank and Sammy. We are able to take the songs and deliver them the way they were intended, not to mention bringing them to a much wider audience.”

Wider audience?

Zack de la Rocha a closet lounge lizard?

Cheese a future superstar?

Cheese may be just one of many characters and projects Davis has in the works, but the silly song stylist has definitely given him the most attention lately. He just did a slew of holiday parties and radio-station concert gigs with his band (different musicians back him up as Ricotta, Brie, Gouda, etc.) and he can be seen as the bandleader on this season of MTV’s “Say What? Karaoke.” He’ll perform at Kevin & Bean’s Valentine’s Day Singles Party, and will headline at the Sunset Strip’s House of Blues on Feb. 6. (More Cheese info is available at https://www.richardcheese.com.)

“I’ve played characters all my life, but most of the work I’ve done has been fairly anonymous,” says Davis, who may have to get used to being recognized as a lounge rock star for a while.

He says he was recently approached by a “major cheese company” about a possible endorsement deal, and he might move on to other genres such as hip-hop (possible title: “The Rap Pack”), classic rock (possible title: “Back in Black Tie”) and even the bubble gum of boy bands and teen queens.

“As long as people are still buying the CDs and enjoying the shows, I’ll stay Richard Cheese,” says his other half. Even if maintaining the illusion isn’t always easy.

“As Cheese, I always have to wear a tuxedo and make sure my hair looks OK. And of course, make sure I’ve got a cocktail nearby.”