Nuclear Rabbit
an e-chat interview

Somewhere in the late 80s Jean Baudin, Steve Sigaty and Pat Garner found each other. They started a band and called themselves Nuclear Rabbit. Why they chose a name like this is still a mystery and this will be kept a secret for a long time ;). The way their songs are being created is unique. The instruments tell a story of their own, mixed w/the story in the lyrics they blend it to a unique sound; a mixture of ska, punk, metal, jazz hiphop, hardcore, to name a few music styles. So, to put it in fewer words Nuclear Rabbit makes: music. One month after Greg Parrish had joined the band they put out a tape that was never meant to be a demo, Poo Factory (1990). This one was followed by other demo recording sessions: Bowling for Midgets (1991), Utensil Extravanganza (1992), and Spork 2000 (1993, but not released untill 4 years later, in 1997).

Then it was quiet about Nuclear Rabbit until 1996, when they released their first CD, Vicuna. This one contains everything from their Spork 2000 recordings and selections from their 3 demo's. After this album Pat Garner left, and Jason Branyan joined the band. They played shows with Green Day, PUYA, Grip Inc., Deftones, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Melvins, MDC, Skankin' Pickle. It took them 4 years to get to a studio again, where they recorded a new album, Intestinal Fortitude (1998), and after this rather long break you can hear they've improved their sound and also improved their ability to use their instruments. Now it's 1999 and they've played shows with Juice and Incubus. In order to better spread the word about Nuclear Rabbit, they've started a street team. Hopefully this will work in their advantage, to get them signed and to move their asses to Europe. So, now Nuclear that Rabbit has been introduced you'll be entertained by an interview that took place on their mailinglist. So sit back in yr easy chair and start reading the following. This is sort of what happened.

The musical tastes of each member is so widely spread, how/where did you guys meet and form Nuclear Rabbit?
Stymie: I used to play in a metal band with Greg (singer) and we broke up and I was looking for something new and different. Met Jean at Pizza Hut. He said they would try me out and I guess I made it or maybe this has been one long try out! Jean was going to sing but we opted for Greg who decided he wanted to do something with more variety than just yelling! Jason came out of the clouds at the perfect time and has made the unit whole.

Were you pleased that you got space for Super Market, Soup, and Sad boy on Jukebox Radio Raid!, which can be found after Pave the World from the Blue Meanies on Beach recordings? And how did you get on that?
Stymie: I didn't really care because at the time when those songs came out we were heading into hibernation and I thought Nuclear Rabbit was no more. We got on that comp. because Paul Rat who owns Beach Records really liked our band. I look at those songs as a reflection of music that I wanted to hear when I was 15-18. I really think we have matured a little bit.

I think so as well, listening to the growth you experienced between Vicuna and Intestinal Fortitude. Only thing is I still like the "heavier" musical changes which can be found on Vicuna, will you remain as subtle as on Intestinal Fortitude or will there be also some musical styles changes in the likes of Vicuna in the near future?
Jean: I think we are way heavier now than before. But probably what you mean is "dramatic" changes, in the sense that we do a complete switch of styles from a "soft" style to a "heavy" style... as you can read on our site we ain't so much about styles anymore, and just write what comes out... but we are more about making the song flow than trying to surprise you with a sudden change from out of the blue... but then it really depends on the song. You would probably dig the middle of Look Who's Crossed-eyed Now? where a fight ensues between 2 of the main characters, which has some pretty heavy shit going on.
Stymie: I think right now we have no idea on how our music will go. We have many new songs that people have only heard at live shows, and these to me seem pretty heavy, and the changes at times only make sense if you have heard the song a couple of times (most people anyways). I look at Vicuna as being very simple compared to newer songs. Vicuna has more of a part by part feel whereas Intestinal Fortitude and newer songs seem to have more of a soundtrack or story feel. This was what we were trying to do on Vicuna songs but we didn't do it the way we do now. Hope this makes sense.
Stella: Makes sense :-) I remember hearing those new songs when Jean let me listen to them at the rehearsal, and I was plain flabbergasted. You have NO idea how much I thought you guys had improved. The stuff on Vicuna is very cool and Gazelle and a few of the other will always be amongst my favorites, but it was so much more chaotic and playful... it's like, on Intestinal Fortitude it all came together and became a "sound" Like the band has now grown up instead of being teenagers. Hmm, am I making sense at all?
Stymie: You summed it up quite well.

Yeah you make sense. I had the same feeling when I listened to the clips of My Girl's Got Guts, Miss Dimples, and Dumb-Dumb when they were just online.
The artwork is like the music, either you'll love it or you almost start to puke from disgust. Are the drawings made after Mark Thompson listens to the songs? Cause they have a lot in common with the songs, esp. the drawings which can be seen in the booklet from Intestinal Fortitude.
Stymie: I think Jean tells Mark about the stories behind our songs and then lets him just go crazy. Some of the drawings in Intestinal Fortitude are from artists from the Computer company Blizzard (Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft, etc.). We are pushing to have Jason do more art because he can draw some cool ass shit too! You should see his drawing of The Midgetaur! Can't wait to make a shirt out of that one!

Can't wait to have a The Midgetaur shirt already. Jean told me that the song kicks the shit.
Jean: Next shirt is My Girl's Got Guts - The Midgetaur probably won't pop up on a shirt until the song pops up on an album... but hey who knows?

What type of Star Wars fans are you?
Pastrie: Nah-nah-now brown cows! I'm the sTaR wArS ****er with the figures! You know I'll be first in line at Episode 1!
Stymie: I think Greg still has the action figures and Jean is a Star Wars Freak!! He paints his face like Yoda and then stands on a crate and recites all of Yoda's most famous lines!!! I used to want to be Chewbacca for a long time. Jason thinks Star Wars is for girls.
Nooly: I used to like those big weird things. But carry on...

Greg what is yr favorite character, and Jean why did ya pick Yoda?
Pastrie: Well, I'd have to go with Luke, cuz simply put, THAT'S ME! (without the bitching like a little girl part)
Jean: Greg's favorite character is C-3P0. We once caught him masturbating during C-3P0's bath scene on Tatoonie. It was pretty cool.
Stymie: It's Tatooine you lummox!
Lisbeth: So when will the movie premier (now that looks wrong..ugh) in the US? Or did it already? We'll have to wait until august over here :(
Stymie: Sometime in May.
Jean: Okay, I have my crate and my make up: No! Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try. Mine! I sense much fear in you. Fear is the path to the darkside. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Mudhole? Slimy?! My home this is. Strong am I with the force, but not that strong. Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere. Yes, even between the land and the ship. When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not. hmm? looking? found someone, you have, I would say, hmm?
Nooly: Dude. Strange, you are. Very nice crate however, that is. The good work, keep up!
Patty: Hey that is so awesome! Have you ever spent a whole day talking in Yoda syntax? My friends and I do when we play Ring of Fire, because it always ends up being a rule! It's so fun.

What happened to the song When Animals Attack? I don't see it on Intestinal Fortitude, because that was supposed to be the title of the 2nd album?
Greg: Well, it pretty much died, as a song and a title. I don't remember why exactly, but I think it had something to do with it uh... SUCK'N MY ASS!! Sorry.
Stymie: Jean thought up that name a long time ago and decided we would name the album that. When we were recording the album, some guy said that another band called their album that and then when we thought about the title it didn't fit the feeling of the album. Jason came up with Intestinal Fortitude and the rest is history.
Jean: The song When Animals Attack was a revision of an old song called Courtesy of Curtis which was this happy instrumental song written in 1990, but we never got around to playing it again, and we don't want to feed Jason with old music when we can write new (and better) music. We heard another band released an album with that title the day we were mixing, and that was also the name of a popular FOX TV show, so we decided the joke would get old.

Not only Jason will be spared, but also the people who will show up at your shows. But as you could've figured out there's always a certain bunch of people, WHO will remain nameless here (cause you know who they are) who want to hear a certain amount of oldies from Nuclear Rabbit when they have the chance to see you guys live. Are you willing to rehearse those songs or not?
Stella: Hmm, when two of those people were at the rehearsal (I won't name them because we like to remain nameless ;-) old songs were played... even that nameless person's favorite... GAZELLE :-) Which I thought was very cool :-)
Stymie: Nope not gonna do it. Sorry to all who hold those songs deep in their hearts or farts or whatever but that time has passed and the new shit is where it is at in my mind. Soooo if you are waiting for the old you are waiting for something that probably won't happen. This pisses some people off but you gotta realize that most of those songs were written in a whole different time and place. Different members means the songs will not be played with the passion and energy that they need and deserve to sound good. New songs have that because everyone contributed and put their work in to make them their own. Jean wants to play old stuff but hey, "That's what Casio keyboards are for". As for people who continually rag at concerts I can only say get over it. Sound like a dick I know, but really I like what I do now and have never played music to please anyone but the 4 people in the band. If I did it any different I might as well start learning some Green Day drum beats.
Pastrie: We do every once in a great while. And sometimes we throw a few in here and there. However, for the most part, I want to play with G.I. Joe figures about as much as I want to play those old songs. I love them and they will always be close to my heart. Buuuuut they just aren't us or at our musical level or expression anymore. I was 16 to 20 something for Vicuna. I'm 25 years old with the scars to show it.
Jean: Greg said it best, "Playing old songs is like playing with my Star Wars Toys" - we aint those people anymore... sometimes it's fun to play one or two, but the band usually has short sets and we are way more excited about playing new music (newer than Intenstinal Fortitude) than replacing a new song with some old stinky thing from our childhood. We're glad that people like that stuff, but it was all recorded in 1990-1993, and it's 1999 now. It's almost a whole different band...

There's a big diversity within the lyrics. My Girl's Got Guts is pretty straightforward and easy to figure out and I, Iguana is pretty hard to figure out. What's the reason behind all this?
Stymie: I better let Jean and Greg explain this one.
Pastrie: As we have mentioned, the stories behind the songs are completely different. In this is the cause for different music, different writing styles, etc. We try to capture the feeling. My Girl's Got Guts is an actual story. I, Iguana came from a time when I would run around saying: "I'm an iguana... why is that?" Jean decided to write some lyrics about it.
Jean: Hmmm... sometimes we are direct and sometimes we are vauge... makes things more interesting...

Like you are now and about the clocky song Sweet Nothings?
Already told me about the difference between the music writing on Vicuna and Intestinal Fortitude, the musical part is more like a story and written differently. In the end would the ultimate be a huge story written within the music on one complete album?
Pastrie: I don't think we really have an "End" we are going for. We tend to express what we express at the time we express and how. If we had a master plan we would become a style. Hence, being stuck in that style and choked to death expressively.
Stymie: If you mean a concept album like King Diamond's THEM, no, it is not our ultimate goal. The ultimate is to have every song completely different to keep variety and interest. Each song can be a different story but all of them do not tie together. I hope this makes sense.

It makes sense to me. So yr next album will be more perfectionized than Intestinal Fortitude. Can't wait till that one comes out then.
Stymie: Neither can we!
Jean: You mean like a concept album, a la King Diamond's Abigail, or Rush's 2112? Maybe some day... some of the characters in our stories are connected to other's (Agent Embryo and Francois) but usually we have different stories for different songs that aren't related... but yeah, some day we'll probably have a "themed" album, but that will be the time when none of us have dayjobs and we are just doing music for a living. Actually, The Agent of Embryo story spans over several different songs... one of which called My Hideous Claw that just didn't make it, would make the story of Agent Embryo a little clearer because it's the prequel to it.... but since it was never recorded/released/finished the origins of Agent Embryo will forever remain a mystery. Until we dig up the lyrics again. ;-)

Yeah, it also would explain Franchise because that's the sequel to The Return of Agent Embryo
I know that Jean does the main vocals on Crane to the Head, was this also more the sound before Greg started to sing?
Pastrie: No-no-no, much worse!!! (he-he-he!)
Stymie: No way! Jean started singing more Death Metal style after the band was around for about 2 years. We started experimenting with Death Metal styles around that time too!
Jean: Actually we are trading off... no my vocals before Greg joined were pretty much what you hear on Molly Ringworm or Hair Club for Men - just fast rhythm like stuff with no tone whatsoever. Around Utensil Extravaganza I started doing a more death metal style. I can't sing worth shit!
Stella: Hell, you don't need to (actually it ain't that bad at ALL)... you play bass well enough to not ever have to sing!!

Greg, about of the cacophony you are able to get outta yourself, does it help that you are a martial arts instructor for your part in Nuclear Rabbit?
Greg: Yes, I believe it does help a bit. Enables me to put my body in strange position while performing, and when I am practicing the martial arts in an active fashion (which right now I am not for lack of time, it's making me fat!) it helps with my breathing and such.

I'm making tapes to give away and, well, this question popped up: What is your opinion about eating meat?
Stymie: Meat is great! I like steak and chicken, not much pork, but I like Turkey!

What about a gazelle?
Stymie: Gazelles are food for Lions and Tigers not humans!!!!
Stella: Wait a minute... so you think... Maybe it'd be way different if we had them living near us and we could run faster... waaaay faster, then we'd maybe have grown up eating gazelle, then maybe the tigers and lions would be eating pigs and you'd have to change your song ;-)
Stymie: Nope, if I could run faster I would hunt the Jackelope!
Patricia: Hell yeah. Kill that sucker.

Not hyena's?
Stymie: Hyenas are the flies of the mammal world. They are evil and they laugh at everything.
Nooly: I have neighbours like that.
Stella: And I thought you were the weird one... hell, I guess I'm wrong ;-)
Nooly: Heheh... no they're not weird... just very, very, stupid.
Jean: No meat for me! I prefer not to devour my friends such as Mr. Cow, Mr. Sheep, and Ms. Piggy.
Stymie: Don't forget Wilbur! He's, "Zuckerman's favorite pig!"

What's a Yak?
Stymie: Kind of like a cross between a gnu and a water buffalo. Cow-like in shape with big horns.
Nooly: Yaks are also very hairy... kind of like a woolly mammoth... crossed with a shetland pony... and a cow... maybe some buffalo too...
Stella: Holy cow!! You're now really getting my imagination going... buffalo... hmm, these yaks are weird looking puppies!!
Jean: Let me also add, that Yak's are great conversationalists. While at parties, they are often seen talking to the likes of Caribou, Hyraxes, and the occasional warthog... that is when the yak in question is not dancing around on a table with a lampshade on it's head or relieving itself in the paté . - Frenchy The Moose.

I know the story behind Gazelle, which I based these questions on. But when I forget the story and pay attention to the song it seems very cruel and anti-social to me, so how far would you go to make society give a damn about what is going on with the animal wildlife in the world? Like humans eating zebras, ostriches, killing rhinos, elephants for the horns or even about the chernobyl hamsters to name a few things.
Stella: Mmm, geez, now you really hit a touchy subject... this could end up a war you know... First of all, I think there's a difference between people killing zebra's to eat and people killing elephants for their tusks... The truth is, by now I'm totally confused about what can be done to save anything in this world at all. People want to save the rainforests by buying parts of it... then making it into a park. The people living there are then no longer allowed to chop down trees or kill animals... but if that means they are going to go hungry I'd say screw it and go chop down those trees... It's partly thanks to us that this is happening in the first place... and as with all things, lots of people SAY they're doing the right thing (not eating meat, not buying certain types of wood, not using harmful stuff) but that doesn't mean they're doing the right thing at ALL. During my study, I've seen so many things that just contradict... people in Indonesia are catching birds to ship to Europe or the USA for people to have... it means people want them there. So people try to educate the people in those far-away countries that it's not a good thing to catch the birds etc... however, they just reach the "normal" people... there'll still be organized groups to take the birds... for every shipment they do intercept, there's five shipments they don't even notice... Truth is, I don't know how to educate people so the wildlife will survive. People are ignorant (so am I) You can try and get people's attention here and they'll say...oh no, I'd neeeever buy a bird like that. Next thing you know they have a bird... "oh come on, it's just one bird, there's so many out there" or "but it's not that rare a bird" Somehow people just don't (wanna) know that by killing one kind of animal, you're really hurting another species... Well, I'm going overboard, I better quit. Fact is, the more you learn about animal trade, the less you know what to do about it... it just makes you sad and confused... Well, I'm out....
Stymie: I couldn't agree more, it is an ongoing HUGE problem!

I agree with you here, The more I start thinking about it, the more massive the pile of contradiction, anger and confusion becomes. I think that a good demonstration and spreading the word against this horror will be a good start. The problem will be in the way you try to get the message over to people and the only thing I have to say about that is: try to inform, NOT conform.
Jean: Well, the whole problem would be solved if people ate people.
People Eat People
So why shouldn't be?
That little farm animals live happily.
I can't understand
what prevents a man,
from eating his friend
help me understand.
man is the bastard.

Pastrie: Well, for some odd reason, we seem to like animals more than humans. Which is an obvious presence on Vicuna. Now, I don't know what the excuses are for the other band members but I grew up in a very strong animal environment as a boy. We had 5 cats, 20 mice, 10 rats, and ofcourse, 12 rabbits. One of these cute little rabbits bit and split my upper lip clean in have, you can still see the scar! Love those little bastards! I get most of my animalism from my sister Jenny. Not only is she a great person but a damn animal activist psycho. She always has been ever since we were kids. Now she works for companies like In Defense Of Animals and such. You can actually go to college for this sort of thing. Anyway, beyond that I have had 2 hybrid wolves myself. I have developed a strong kinship with my fellow fuzzies.
Nooly: Which do you find worse: Breakers or Dawson's Creek?
Stymie: I know Dawson's Creek is a TV show but I've never seen it. Breakers? Never heard of it. I like Discovery channel stuff animals, murderers, FBI crimefiles! Yeah.

Do you also watch national geographic channel?
Stymie: Don't get that one where I live. We have a shitty cable company in my town.
Stella: Hehehe... are you serious? I thought I was the only person I knew (yeah I do know myself pretty well) who likes Discovery at all... well, this makes me feel better... murderers... nah... I do enjoy the occasional accident on tv and the real-tv stuff: ER-trauma team and stuff... love it... just as long as they don't go shove tubes into people's bodies where there ain't any holes... that I can't handle, just that tiny bit too familiar :-) Come to think of it... what does everyone on here like to watch on tv... I know Stymie just answered it... but what about everyone else... Are you all Beverly and Baywatch people??
Patricia: Nope, I used to watch this show (bev 90210) can you believe it, but everyone goes through that anglo-shopaholic melodramtic stage in their lives, don't they? Am I the only one brave enough to admit this???

Baywatch girls are ugly, who's Beverly? I love Duckman, Ren & Stimpy, Young Ones, Bottom, Monthy Python, Top Cat, Anamaniacs, and good movies to watch on the idiot box.
Patricia: I love cartoons, besides my own, especially Pokemon, the Tick, Gargoyles (the only good Disney cartoon of recent years) and of course the Simpsons, King of the Hill, and the New Family Guy, it is hilarious. Non-animated shows I watch are Ally McBeal (anglo-stress-a-holic love and war-melodrama) because it is addicting, Seinfeld, who's line is it anyway?
Stella: Beverly Hills 90-something of course... however, it was too late last night when I typed it and I couldn't think of what came after Beverly... sorry, my brain tends to desert me once in awhile :-) Anamaniacs?? Geez, you'd get along great with a friend of mine from the US... he used to love those little squirts...

Well, maybe we could see some of those creatures soon.
Patricia: Have you heard of a band called Village Idiot?
Stymie: I have not heard of Village Idiot although I have been called one once or twice.
Stella: "grin"...
Patricia: well, my hubbie - yeah - says you sound so much like Village Idiot before they went death metal. If ya want, I'll dig up the tape and send it along. He was positive you guys were the ex-members, so must be a similarity in music style...
Stymie: I would like to hear it. Many people have said bands sound like us but when I hear the band the only similarity is usually that they switch their parts a lot like we do. But maybe I am jaded. Thanks on our new CD, glad you enjoyed it! I can't wait to put out our newer stuff. I know Jean is working on a way of recording a practice just to give people who can't see us an insight to the future. I think our music writing skills are on a steady climb, if you enjoy Intestinal Fortitude, the new songs are built on top of that with even more originality.

Thanks in advance jean :) and of ourse Nuclear Rabbit for the kickass music.
Patricia: Well, I think it does sound similar from what I've heard. But perhaps I am a bit jaded too cuz I listen to I.F. everyday and can't get those catchy tunes out of my head. But on another subject, which took some prodding out of me on Marcel's part, I really wanna know about your artwork and who makes it and who decides what goes where. I am an art major, but my doodles usually resemble some of the art on the CD, so... I totally liked it of course, as you can imagine.

Well, imagine being stucked up in my room all day long, listening to both albums at least three times a day for the last couple weeks.
Jean: Hey, Patty et al, usually, I come up with the ideas (sometimes Stymie too) and I tell Mark what to draw, then he draws it... at first, he would draw stuff completely opposite but after a while he got a definite look for the art. Jason has been drawing stuff too, but he usually thinks up his own thing and just draws it... he has a cool one of a coloring book man opening a coloring book with a bunch of Nuclear Rabbit characters popping out like Midgetaur, Miss Dimples and the folks from Look Who's Cross-eyed Now? - we are planning on making that a banner that goes behind the stage or maybe a future shirt or something. As for layout on the CD, I did all that. Some of the art for Intenstinal Fortitude was drawn by some of the artists at Blizzard Entertainment, like the one with boy sitting in the pile of teddy bear guts and rabbits doing double dutch with the girl's guts.

What story behind a song is the hardest to explain?
Stymie: I think they are all easy to explain for us. But hard for some people to understand.
Pastrie: Yeah, I'd have to agree with Stymie on that one. Though sometimes we all have our own take on some songs. So as a group we might make it hard to explain.

4 very stubborn people in one band, but who is the most stubborn?
Stymie: That is a tough one, probably Jean. Everyone has their moments though.
Pastrie: Yeah, Jean he takes the vote on that one. (Secretly it's me, but nobody knows yet....shhhhhhhhh...)

There are no vids from Nuclear Rabbit yet, but what would be the best song for a cartoon styled clip?
Stymie: It's my Birthday! would be sweet! The Pimp, The Bitch, and The Magic Beans would have to be R-rated. Cotton Anatomy would look killer, too! All the new songs would be pretty fat but the best ever would be the forthcoming Midgetaur.
Pastrie: Hmmm...Dimples wouldn't make any fuck'n sense. Spit-Lick, the prequel to Dimples, would be nasty! Midgetaur would be absolutely lovely!

You wrote Dimples, and true it doesn't make sense to me. Spit-lick probably would be RRR rated then.
Pastrie: Yes indeed, Dimples doesn't and won't make any sense until you hear and understand SPIT-LICK. I of course could explain them both but what fun would that be for ya?

What are you thinking when you write lyrics?
Pastrie: Woa, now thats pretty damn complex. Most all the the lyrics and such that I write come from experiences, either real or fantasy, either from my own dark happy place, or the places around me. I don't really sit down to write a song like Dimples on purpose. For starters, I have binders and binders and entire computer hard drives full of poems, stories, and lyrics. I can in some cases go back to these archives to see if the music we are currently writing and some of my written works will fit well in mood together. That only works about 30% of the time if even that. Sometimes I simply sit down and listen to a tape of the song we are writing, like The Midgetaur, which we also all worked out an entire movie for before even writing the music. In a song like that I needed to fill the gap between the few minute song and the extra chewy story to get across the point of the movie without sacrificing the song as a whole. That was pretty rough.
I could actually go on for days about the different ways I write lyrics and singing, but, I won't. I'll end with saying that in some cases I write lyrics that attack an emotion or are designed to bring out a feeling while explaining a character or a scene. These songs don't make sense in the normal "lyric/story" sense. However, they do seem to evoke a sense that most people catch whether they can explain it or not. Dimples is a good example of this in that, in the words or even just the singing and music you FEEL what is being put across to you whether you logically understand it or not. Music should be an adventure, something to experience not just rectify, understand, and parrot back for giggles.
Jean: I'm thinking about the lyrics! (sorry Marcel, you gotta rephrase that one).
Stymie: I only write some little bits o' lyrics. So I am thinking, "Hey this would be neat!" or "Snazzy, baby!" Things like that. Although sometimes I think, "Whoah...that's pretty fucked up, eh?!"
Patricia: Reminds me of Strange Brew, has everyone seen this grreat movie?
Jean: Cool flick, eh.

How do you come up with the lyrics besides from movies, cartoons, fairytales, stories? Like The Pimp, The Bitch & The Magic Beans is a twisted version of Jack and the Bean Stalk, Coloring Book Man is like The Pied Piper.
Jean: We usually sit around at practice and come up with a crazy story... and then we start writing the music for the story... just like a movie... for example, in The Midgetaur the main character gets stuck on an open road, so we had to scratch our heads and think, "how would that sound in a movie?" and we write the part that way... then some poor bastard gets to go home and figure the words out exactly (usually Greg or me) ... and other times Greg sits on the toilet for awhile and writes lyrics..... I'm writing lyrics right now for a new song called Diaoperchondriac but I am a real bastard and you have to read them when they are done because I am not going to tell you what it's about because that would ruin all the fun! The chorus contains the word "fuck" about 5 times so you won't be hearing it on your MTV... Jean, the quicker nose picker.

Do you explain the songs when you play somewhere?
Pastrie: No, I can't say that we ever have explained ourselves save for when asked. I'll give you and inside story however. Our brand-spank'n new song (we just finished it last week) Shiny Button is a story I wrote about a cockroach, dressed up like a human, trying to convince the president of the United States to press the button and destroy the human race. There is more to what is said about the human race by the cockroaches of course. But you will have to wait for the next CD for the full story in all it's glory.

Whats the coolest package you've got by snailmail?
Stymie: When I was a kid I sent away for a t-shirt and hat for a band called Blood Feast and they included an 8x10, I thought that was pretty cool.
Jean: We once got a piece of hate mail that was really cool. It was from a guy named Frank in San Diego. Apparently he didn't like our behavior at a Melvins show we played on and he actually wrote us a little calling us "trendy fucks" and telling us to go fuck ourselves. He also included a cardboard indian with the word "Frank" written on it and a match. Pretty cool.

I was just watching a part of a cooking program and found out that pastrie is something you can eat, so what is your fav pastrie?
Pastrie: Well, actually, any pastrie will do.

What were you thinking when you saw the chocolate letters?
Pastrie: Hmmmm... I wonder if my system will process that?

I'd like to thank Nuclear Rabbit and all people who participated in this interview. Greg, Jean, Stymie, do you have anything to say about this interview or to the people who are reading this?
Stymie: You asked good questions that were fun to answer! Stay tuned cause our music is just starting to take form and the newer the song the more creative we have become.
Pastrie: I'd like to give Marcel props on a solid interview. Not all the interviews we have been through have been as thorough or interesting. To all you folks reading this interview: Hi, I'm Greg!
Jean: Uh... Marcel thanks for organizing this and asking all those questions... and thanks to those of you who took the time to read this and check out the band... we are totally different than what's going on in the music industry - so with an open mind, you're in for a unique ride with Nuclear Rabbit.
Stymie: I would like to say a big phat, "Ditto!"

Copyright © 1999 Marcel Etten