Today You have a lunch date with four zany guys. Like their north-of-the-border brethren the Barenaked Ladies and Crash Test Dummies, Moxy Fruvous got its start on the street corners of Toronto. Set to release its fourth major-label album, entitled "Thornhill," the group mixes melodies ranging from Manhattan Transfer to They Might Be Giants and XTC. Some of the songs you'll likely hear in this free in-store appearance are "My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors," "Video Bargainville" and a special rap version of "Green Eggs & Ham." Moxy Fruvous plays Border's Books & Music in Washington.

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You won't find the word Moxy Fruvous in the dictionary, but if you did there would probably be a picture of four zany Canadians and a definition that sounds something like this:

Moxy Fruvous – A four-member a cappella folk-rock troupe, usually from Canada, that integrates comedic, thought-provoking lyrics about people, politics and life with performance art and folk-rock melodies. Like their fellow brethren the Barenaked Ladies and Crash Test Dummies, this north-of-the-border troupe got its start on the street corners of Toronto, while in college.

Performing for a couple extra bucks to get off what bassist Murray Foster describes as "a macaroni-and-cheese" diet, the group soon found itself doing political satire for the CBC, (Canada's version of National Public Radio), and opening for the legendary Bob Dylan.

Armed simply with their voices, the occasional guitar, bass, snare drum and accordian, the group has garnered a substantial following of fans that travel across the United States (a la the Grateful Dead) to see them perform.

Set to release its fourth major-label album, entitled "Thornhill," the group mixes melodies ranging from Manhattan Transfer and the Barenaked Ladies to They Might Be Giants and XTC. In fact, the troupe tackles quite a large variety of musical genres onstage, from barbershop quartet, folk and grunge to rock, rap and pop.

Some of the songs you'll likely hear in concert are "My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors," "Video Bargainville" and a special rap-laced version of "Green Eggs & Ham."

Craig Sokol