Read it here: http://www.leedsguide.co.uk/reviewsfull.php?id=10910
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Peter Bagge (Part II)
Hello! So this is the second part of my interview with Peter Bagge (part one is here: http://welcometocakeclub.blogspot.com/2009/01/peter-bagge.html), and we’re going to start with a bit of a history lesson.
Marvel was born when a comics company named ‘Timely’ was hitting the skids. A team of writers and artists including Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko decided to just go for it, and put out mad stuff that was unlike anything people had seen before. What they came up with were titles like Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk - characters that had real things going on in their lives that readers could relate to (and, obviously, the added bonus of superpowers).
At the end of the nineties Marvel were in a lot of trouble. They had no money and readers were abandoning their titles in droves so they decided to pull the trick they had got away with when the company was first started.
They had nothing to lose so they recruited a bunch of artists and writers who would never normally write about superheroes, and gave them free reign to do as they pleased with their characters.
One of these artists was Peter Bagge and his Marvel comic ‘The Megalomaniacal Spiderman’ was released in 2002. In his story Peter Parker gets sick of the whole ‘saving the world’ biz and packs it all in to become the CEO of Spiderman Inc. If you look really hard you must be able to get an actual copy of the comic somewhere, but for now you can download it from http://rapidshare.com/files/17376457/2002-06_-_startling_stories_-_the_megalomanical_spiderman__peter_bagge_.cbr.
So the Spidey comic did well and a plan was hatched that Bagge would write stories about each of Marvel’s key players.
He had completed ‘The Incorrigible Hulk’, when the first Spiderman film came out and suddenly Marvel was big business again. Overnight the characters became valuable commodities and the company was bought out. The new owners didn’t want to take any chances and were quick to sever any links with anyone who could screw with the brand, and this included Bagge. His Hulk comic was completed and Bagge was paid in full, but to this day it remains locked away in some secret vault somewhere. Marvel won’t rule out publishing it, so hopefully one day it will be set free. Fingers crossed.
In 2003 DC Comics put out Bagge’s next project, ‘Sweatshop’.
It’s about the team who put out a daily syndicated strip. There’s the “genius” behind the strip, who lately has become more concerned with thinking up wacky catchphrases than actually doing anything useful, and his band of writers, artists and designers.
Sweatshop deals with subjects like comic conventions, cheesy gags and troublesome family members. In my opinion it’s some of Bagge’s best and funniest work and I strongly recommend you try and hunt it down.
Because of time constraints, many of the stories were only written by Bagge, with others including Bill Wray and Johnny Ryan on art duties.
I recently read Sweatshop and I think it's great. I got the impression that it was quite personal for you, that you were bringing out some personal annoyances. Is this true? was it a cathartic experience?
Ha! Well, it wasn't nearly as gut-spillingly cathartic as some of the work of my youth, but I certainly enjoyed working on it, and yes, I did use it to air some of my pet peeves.
In issue 2 one of the artists, Carrie, puts out with a successful comic of her own. The comic is optioned for TV and she finds herself stuck in the development hell it seems you've spent a lot of time in. That must have been fun to write.
That entire series was fun to write! But yes, that story not only closely reflected my own experiences but the experiences of people I know who were even less prepared for the ways of Hollywood than I was.
I've read numbers 1-6 of Sweatshop. Are there any more? Will there be?
No, DC pulled the rug out from under that project after only 2 issues were in print (and selling fairly decently as well, I'm told). Because of the lead time, we were already working on issue 6, so they released the first 6 issues before killing it. It made me wonder why they agreed to publish it in the first place!
It's not exactly what people think of when they think of DC, how did it come about?
It was a pet project of one of their staff editors, named Joey Cavilieri. He had recently edited a book collection called Bizarro that was a surprise hit, so they threw him a bone by letting him do something like Sweatshop. At least that's how I recall it coming about.
In your opinion how is the comics scene at the moment?
There seems to be more alternative comics and cartoonists than ever, which is good. It's also great that bookstores are so open to selling graphic novels these days, though I personally mourn the death of the traditional comic book format.
I must add, though, that the future of comics (as well as everything else) will be on the internet. For better or worse!
Do you think the internet will ever completely take over from physical comics? I think that would be a shame. I like having physical comics and books.
Not completely, since like you most people will always want physical copies of their favourite works. But as is the case with music and film, the internet will eventually be HOW we discover and keep up with new comic work, and comic books (as well as ALL books) will be published "on demand", where if you conclude you want a hard copy of something you'll order it online, Cafe Press style. Both comic and book stores and their distribution system will cease to exist as we know it, as will the publishing industry in general.
This is actually a good thing, as far as the environment and costs to the consumer are concerned.
You've said before that no current alternative comics really grab you. Is this still the case or have you made any hot new discoveries?
I'm always coming across newer younger artists whose work I like. I just haven't experienced the "shock of the New" and been floored by anyone in quite a while. It may simply be that I'm hopelessly jaded at this point. Who knows!
Peter Bagge’s next project ‘Apocalypse Nerd’ tells the story of Perry and Gordo, two normal chaps who happen to be on a camping trip as Seattle is nuked. They have no choice but to get on with it and try their very hardest not to die.
For a few years Bagge contributed satirical strips to ‘Reason’ magazine on subjects from Christian rock to homelessness, via fascism and libertarians. There’s an archive of these at: http://www.reason.com/staff/show/137.html
He had a foray into animation with the excellent ‘Murry Wilson - Rock ‘n’ Roll Dad’, a series of short episodes chronicling the life and times of Murry, the constantly choleric father of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Episode one is here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GDNM7dy2Wj
And so to the future…
Are there any projects in the pipeline?
I'm doing a graphic novel for DC/Vertigo called ‘Second Lives’. It's very time consuming! I also just started doing a monthly strip for ‘Discover’ Magazine, and a book collection of all the strips I've done for ‘Reason’ Magazine will be out sometime this year. It's called ‘Everybody Is Stupid Except For Me’.
Tell me about this graphic novel, it sounds interesting.
It's called ‘Second Lives’, though it is partially inspired by the online community Second Life. It's about 4 people who's imaginary and/or virtual lives start to dominate their real lives, and also clash with each other's real and imaginary lives. It's a hoot! No release date is set - I'm guessing late '09.
And the Discover magazine strip - will it be the same sort of thing as your Reason strips? Discover seems to have a science slant while Reason had a political slant. Will the strips reflect this?
They're just one page strips, where we pick a scientist from the past and tell a joke or story that also reveals not only his or her achievements but also any personality quirks they make have had. A tall order, actually! And like my Reason strips, they involve a LOT of research. I hate homework!
Marvel was born when a comics company named ‘Timely’ was hitting the skids. A team of writers and artists including Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko decided to just go for it, and put out mad stuff that was unlike anything people had seen before. What they came up with were titles like Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk - characters that had real things going on in their lives that readers could relate to (and, obviously, the added bonus of superpowers).
At the end of the nineties Marvel were in a lot of trouble. They had no money and readers were abandoning their titles in droves so they decided to pull the trick they had got away with when the company was first started.
They had nothing to lose so they recruited a bunch of artists and writers who would never normally write about superheroes, and gave them free reign to do as they pleased with their characters.
One of these artists was Peter Bagge and his Marvel comic ‘The Megalomaniacal Spiderman’ was released in 2002. In his story Peter Parker gets sick of the whole ‘saving the world’ biz and packs it all in to become the CEO of Spiderman Inc. If you look really hard you must be able to get an actual copy of the comic somewhere, but for now you can download it from http://rapidshare.com/files/17376457/2002-06_-_startling_stories_-_the_megalomanical_spiderman__peter_bagge_.cbr.So the Spidey comic did well and a plan was hatched that Bagge would write stories about each of Marvel’s key players.
He had completed ‘The Incorrigible Hulk’, when the first Spiderman film came out and suddenly Marvel was big business again. Overnight the characters became valuable commodities and the company was bought out. The new owners didn’t want to take any chances and were quick to sever any links with anyone who could screw with the brand, and this included Bagge. His Hulk comic was completed and Bagge was paid in full, but to this day it remains locked away in some secret vault somewhere. Marvel won’t rule out publishing it, so hopefully one day it will be set free. Fingers crossed.
In 2003 DC Comics put out Bagge’s next project, ‘Sweatshop’.
It’s about the team who put out a daily syndicated strip. There’s the “genius” behind the strip, who lately has become more concerned with thinking up wacky catchphrases than actually doing anything useful, and his band of writers, artists and designers.
Sweatshop deals with subjects like comic conventions, cheesy gags and troublesome family members. In my opinion it’s some of Bagge’s best and funniest work and I strongly recommend you try and hunt it down.
Because of time constraints, many of the stories were only written by Bagge, with others including Bill Wray and Johnny Ryan on art duties.
I recently read Sweatshop and I think it's great. I got the impression that it was quite personal for you, that you were bringing out some personal annoyances. Is this true? was it a cathartic experience?
Ha! Well, it wasn't nearly as gut-spillingly cathartic as some of the work of my youth, but I certainly enjoyed working on it, and yes, I did use it to air some of my pet peeves.
In issue 2 one of the artists, Carrie, puts out with a successful comic of her own. The comic is optioned for TV and she finds herself stuck in the development hell it seems you've spent a lot of time in. That must have been fun to write.
That entire series was fun to write! But yes, that story not only closely reflected my own experiences but the experiences of people I know who were even less prepared for the ways of Hollywood than I was.
I've read numbers 1-6 of Sweatshop. Are there any more? Will there be?
No, DC pulled the rug out from under that project after only 2 issues were in print (and selling fairly decently as well, I'm told). Because of the lead time, we were already working on issue 6, so they released the first 6 issues before killing it. It made me wonder why they agreed to publish it in the first place!
It's not exactly what people think of when they think of DC, how did it come about?
It was a pet project of one of their staff editors, named Joey Cavilieri. He had recently edited a book collection called Bizarro that was a surprise hit, so they threw him a bone by letting him do something like Sweatshop. At least that's how I recall it coming about.
In your opinion how is the comics scene at the moment?
There seems to be more alternative comics and cartoonists than ever, which is good. It's also great that bookstores are so open to selling graphic novels these days, though I personally mourn the death of the traditional comic book format.
I must add, though, that the future of comics (as well as everything else) will be on the internet. For better or worse!
Do you think the internet will ever completely take over from physical comics? I think that would be a shame. I like having physical comics and books.
Not completely, since like you most people will always want physical copies of their favourite works. But as is the case with music and film, the internet will eventually be HOW we discover and keep up with new comic work, and comic books (as well as ALL books) will be published "on demand", where if you conclude you want a hard copy of something you'll order it online, Cafe Press style. Both comic and book stores and their distribution system will cease to exist as we know it, as will the publishing industry in general.
This is actually a good thing, as far as the environment and costs to the consumer are concerned.
You've said before that no current alternative comics really grab you. Is this still the case or have you made any hot new discoveries?
I'm always coming across newer younger artists whose work I like. I just haven't experienced the "shock of the New" and been floored by anyone in quite a while. It may simply be that I'm hopelessly jaded at this point. Who knows!
Peter Bagge’s next project ‘Apocalypse Nerd’ tells the story of Perry and Gordo, two normal chaps who happen to be on a camping trip as Seattle is nuked. They have no choice but to get on with it and try their very hardest not to die.
For a few years Bagge contributed satirical strips to ‘Reason’ magazine on subjects from Christian rock to homelessness, via fascism and libertarians. There’s an archive of these at: http://www.reason.com/staff/show/137.html
He had a foray into animation with the excellent ‘Murry Wilson - Rock ‘n’ Roll Dad’, a series of short episodes chronicling the life and times of Murry, the constantly choleric father of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Episode one is here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GDNM7dy2Wj
And so to the future…
Are there any projects in the pipeline?
I'm doing a graphic novel for DC/Vertigo called ‘Second Lives’. It's very time consuming! I also just started doing a monthly strip for ‘Discover’ Magazine, and a book collection of all the strips I've done for ‘Reason’ Magazine will be out sometime this year. It's called ‘Everybody Is Stupid Except For Me’.
Tell me about this graphic novel, it sounds interesting.
It's called ‘Second Lives’, though it is partially inspired by the online community Second Life. It's about 4 people who's imaginary and/or virtual lives start to dominate their real lives, and also clash with each other's real and imaginary lives. It's a hoot! No release date is set - I'm guessing late '09.
And the Discover magazine strip - will it be the same sort of thing as your Reason strips? Discover seems to have a science slant while Reason had a political slant. Will the strips reflect this?
They're just one page strips, where we pick a scientist from the past and tell a joke or story that also reveals not only his or her achievements but also any personality quirks they make have had. A tall order, actually! And like my Reason strips, they involve a LOT of research. I hate homework!
Peter Bagge (Part I)
“I can count on one hand the number of comic artists whose work is as strong... maybe on two or three fingers... It's a laff riot, what can I tell ya?” - R Crumb
I asked Bagge a bunch of questions about his work, from the ‘Hate’ days through ‘Sweat Shop’ and into the future. This part focuses on ‘Hate’, while in part 2 we cover everything else from Spiderman to Second Lives, his latest project.
Hate is one of my favourite comics of all time. In ‘Neat Stuff’ Bagge introduced us to the Bradleys who represent that staple of American comedy, the dysfunctional family. Hate follows the continuing misadventures of Buddy, the son of the family.
Over the course of Hate, we watched Buddy as he settled away from his family in Seattle, somehow got a girlfriend, traded her in for her (completely insane) roommate, managed a grunge band, quit this job half way through the band’s first tour, moved back to New Jersey, opened his own store selling over-priced 'collectables', got his crazy girlfriend pregnant, married her, and eventually became a crazy guy with an eye patch and an odd hat who lives at the dump.
“I hope so, but I simply can't afford the time to put another issue together these days! The Annuals don't sell anywhere close to what HATE did in the '90s, and since Fantagraphics pays me a percentage of the sales it winds up being a lot of work for little money. I still intend to do another one, though.”
Hate has become synonymous with the Seattle grunge scene which you were never particularly into. Do you think it helps to write about something with the perspective of an outsider?
“I think it's important to maintain some sort of objectivity, whether it's as an outsider looking in or (more importantly) putting some distance, time and circumstances-wise, between yourself and powerful first hand experiences you've had.”
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Every interview I've read with you you seem to have a Buddy Bradley TV show in the early stages of development. Have you had any luck yet? If not, you should try Adult Swim - I think a Buddy show would fit nicely with what they do.
“It's actually been a year or two since Buddy and/or HATE has been optioned, for the first time in 15 years! I'll gladly talk to anyone who wants to do anything with one of my projects, but I'm not going to go chasing after them. For one thing, a place like The Cartoon Network pays so poorly that I'd be taking a huge financial hit to develop a show with them! And the fees keep getting worse and worse. I'm much better off where I am, doing what I'm doing now.”
I found this on Youtube: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zqK9e3EkWX8&feature=related
“That was made as a lead in to a grunge documentary called HYPE, and while I THINK it was included with the DVD it was dropped from the theatrical release. It was directed and animated by some Ren & Stimpy alumni, and I agree that it looks great. I'm disappointed by the voice direction, though (which is absolutely VITAL to making a cartoon work), and the casting of Buddy Bradley's voice was dreadful. It really killed the cartoon.”
“Ideally I like to be as involved as possible -- I want to be in total charge, in fact! Though my lack of experience in animation and television forces me to rely on others. Because of that you're at the other people's mercy to a large degree, and if they're smart and talented you've got it made! If not, you're fucked.”
You really should read Hate. Seriously, it’s brilliant. It might even change your life, you never know.
R Crumb is the undisputed god of alternative comics. Only a few artist can even come close and Peter Bagge is one of them. In fact, he’s right at the front of the pack, snapping at Crumb’s heels and trying to trip him up with a long crooked stick.
I asked Bagge a bunch of questions about his work, from the ‘Hate’ days through ‘Sweat Shop’ and into the future. This part focuses on ‘Hate’, while in part 2 we cover everything else from Spiderman to Second Lives, his latest project.
Hate is one of my favourite comics of all time. In ‘Neat Stuff’ Bagge introduced us to the Bradleys who represent that staple of American comedy, the dysfunctional family. Hate follows the continuing misadventures of Buddy, the son of the family.
Over the course of Hate, we watched Buddy as he settled away from his family in Seattle, somehow got a girlfriend, traded her in for her (completely insane) roommate, managed a grunge band, quit this job half way through the band’s first tour, moved back to New Jersey, opened his own store selling over-priced 'collectables', got his crazy girlfriend pregnant, married her, and eventually became a crazy guy with an eye patch and an odd hat who lives at the dump.
Hate made a hero of the misogynistic, misanthropic, misguided Buddy, and he became an icon for slackers and know-it-alls everywhere. He’s the guy who’s got all the answers and knows exactly what everyone else should be doing, but never seems to do anything himself. It also gloriously satirised Seattle in the early nineties, when the city was Mecca for anyone with a flannel shirt, a guitar, a vein full of heroin and a mind full of directionless rage.
In a way, Hate is the ‘Frasier’ of the comics world. They’re both largely set in Seattle, they both began as spin offs, they both star men who think they know it all but in so many ways are clueless idiots, and they’re both properly hilarious. On the other hand, no one in ‘Hate’ puts on a dodgy English accent (I’m looking at you, Daphne’s cousin form Manchester). One-nil Bagge.
In a way, Hate is the ‘Frasier’ of the comics world. They’re both largely set in Seattle, they both began as spin offs, they both star men who think they know it all but in so many ways are clueless idiots, and they’re both properly hilarious. On the other hand, no one in ‘Hate’ puts on a dodgy English accent (I’m looking at you, Daphne’s cousin form Manchester). One-nil Bagge.
Hate ran from 1990 until 1998, and since then Bagge has put out the Hate annual, continuing the adventures of our pock-marked anti-hero as he is dragged into some semblance of adulthood. Anyways, question time!
The last Hate annual was out in December 2007, will there be any more?
“I hope so, but I simply can't afford the time to put another issue together these days! The Annuals don't sell anywhere close to what HATE did in the '90s, and since Fantagraphics pays me a percentage of the sales it winds up being a lot of work for little money. I still intend to do another one, though.”
Hate has become synonymous with the Seattle grunge scene which you were never particularly into. Do you think it helps to write about something with the perspective of an outsider?
“I think it's important to maintain some sort of objectivity, whether it's as an outsider looking in or (more importantly) putting some distance, time and circumstances-wise, between yourself and powerful first hand experiences you've had.”
When I read Hate I was struck by how much it was like a really good TV show. The situations, action and comedy all seem like they could be part of a sitcom, whether animated or otherwise. Other people noticed this too, and it seems a Buddy Bradley show has been on the cards for ever.
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Every interview I've read with you you seem to have a Buddy Bradley TV show in the early stages of development. Have you had any luck yet? If not, you should try Adult Swim - I think a Buddy show would fit nicely with what they do.“It's actually been a year or two since Buddy and/or HATE has been optioned, for the first time in 15 years! I'll gladly talk to anyone who wants to do anything with one of my projects, but I'm not going to go chasing after them. For one thing, a place like The Cartoon Network pays so poorly that I'd be taking a huge financial hit to develop a show with them! And the fees keep getting worse and worse. I'm much better off where I am, doing what I'm doing now.”
I found this on Youtube: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zqK9e3EkWX8&feature=related
What was this for? Was it a pilot or something? I think it's great. Buddy's voice is a bit weird but the animation seems perfectly matched to your drawing style.
“That was made as a lead in to a grunge documentary called HYPE, and while I THINK it was included with the DVD it was dropped from the theatrical release. It was directed and animated by some Ren & Stimpy alumni, and I agree that it looks great. I'm disappointed by the voice direction, though (which is absolutely VITAL to making a cartoon work), and the casting of Buddy Bradley's voice was dreadful. It really killed the cartoon.”
With TV stuff it must be weird because when you make comics everything is up to you, but with TV there's a whole bunch of other people tampering with your ideas. Do you feel comfortable handing over your characters? Do you want to be involved in everything?
“Ideally I like to be as involved as possible -- I want to be in total charge, in fact! Though my lack of experience in animation and television forces me to rely on others. Because of that you're at the other people's mercy to a large degree, and if they're smart and talented you've got it made! If not, you're fucked.”
You really should read Hate. Seriously, it’s brilliant. It might even change your life, you never know.
There’s a mad Greek advert with Buddy Bradley at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kXNYdhcaiZE&feature=related
And you can find out more about Peter Bagge at http://www.peterbagge.com/
And you can find out more about Peter Bagge at http://www.peterbagge.com/
Bang Bang Eche
Bang Bang Eche are from New Zealand, the home of seven legged lambs, homemade jetpacks and some of the craziest, cruellest, funniest parents to ever work out what exactly people mean when they say “when a man and a woman love each other very much they have a special cuddle and that’s how babies are made”.
In April this year a NZ couple, Pat and Sheena Wheaton, were told by a court that there was no way they would be allowed to call their son ‘4real’. After taking a moment to consider their options, they decided on a new moniker: ‘Superman’. Magnificent work.
It turns out this is hardly the first time something like this has happened in Australia’s afterbirth. Kiwi officials have banned moronic parents from calling children Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii, Yeah Detroit, Stallion, Twisty Poi, Keenan Got Lucy, Sex Fruit, Fat Boy, Cinderella Beauty Blossom, and Fish and Chips (twins).
Don’t worry though, Violence, Number 16 Bus Shelter, Midnight Chardonnay, and Benson and Hedges (twins) all got past the courts and are currently being bullied in New Zealand primary schools.
Bang Bang Eche come off very poorly by comparison. They are T'Nealle Worsley (Bass / Guitar / Synth), Charlie Ryder (Guitar / Synth), James Sullivan (Drums), Josh Burgess (Synth / Guitar / Bass) and Zach Doney (Vocals).
Apparently ‘Eche’ is a Maori word meaning something along the lines of ‘awesome partytimes’. Their self titled EP (nab it for free from myspace.com/bangbangeche) has been described by the band as “a five-track foray into the 'Land Before Time', but in this case the dinosaurs play sixteenths while the T-Rexes bust rhymes.”
Basically, they make nice, chuggy, dancey sounding guitar music. The sort of thing you get from guys like Does It Offend You Yeah, Shitdisco and maybe Hadouken (but without the crappy attempts at metal).
Currently the band are on tour in Germany, something I asked Zach about.
“The tour has been really great! The best place in Germany is Neumarkt in Bavaria. We played at this bar called Twister. Have you ever been in the ocean? Imagine if you were in the ocean with the swirling kelp and the little sea critters but then the water was screaming Germans and the sea critters were bottles of beer that kept upending themselves on the crowd. After the show they chased the van down the road.”
Now apparently T’Nealle Worsley was headhunted for the band as a direct result of her notoriety in underground fighting circles. Rumour has it that after most shows she will disappear into the night, only to return a few hours later wearing one of those huge gold belts wrestlers win. Also, I heard she has eight pairs of grills that all say “CRUNQ”.
Obviously, I was equally fascinated and terrified by this formidable example of womanhood, and needed to know more. Apparently she could easily beat up Madonna, Barack Obama (“She wouldn't, though, because she considers herself too underground to do celebrity matches”) but not a T-Rex (“T'Nealle couldn't beat up a dinosaur. Those things are really big”).
Jack Bauer caused a bit of confusion: “I don't know who Jack Bauer is. Ok. I just wikipedia'd him. Apparently he is the guy from 24. I have never seen 24 but I assume it is one of those modelling programmes like that one that Tyra Banks is the MC of. So... I guess if Tyra Banks could beat up Mr. Bauer then T'Nealle could beat him up too.”
I asked Zach some other stuff too, just trying to sort out some of the big issues of our time.
Will there ever be a boy born who can swim faster than a shark?
“When I was younger I did heaps and heaps of swimming. I trained eight times a week or something. Now it seems really stupid that I spent heaps and heaps of time in a tepid pool of sweat looking at a black line for 3 hours a day. Anyway, I quit that when my coach said to my parents: "Zach is one of the most dedicated people I have ever met. He puts in the time, he puts in the effort. Really the only thing that I could ever ask from him is that he was one or two feet taller." That was when I quit but I think this is the answer to your question. A shark is much bigger than a boy no matter how many hours a week a boy spends in the swimming pool.”
Why is there something rather than nothing? (I have to write an essay about this)
“What kind of course do you take? Man, if my lecturer was all, "Why is there something rather than nothing?" I would probably walk to this dude called Patrick Evans who is HOD of Arts where I (used) to go to Uni and start ranting about how stupid it is that the people outside are ripping up the grass and trees so they can plant trees and grass. Is it Philosophy 107? Psychology 209?” (It’s a philosophy course)
Why do people care about Paris Hilton?
“I don't.”
What is the best thing ever? (I think maybe cake)
“The best thing ever is when you are reading a book that makes you feel like life is a lamer place than the book makes it out to be. This is a good thing because you feel that art is greater than life. A modernist would be proud.”
What's the point?
“This is not even a question.”
In April this year a NZ couple, Pat and Sheena Wheaton, were told by a court that there was no way they would be allowed to call their son ‘4real’. After taking a moment to consider their options, they decided on a new moniker: ‘Superman’. Magnificent work.
It turns out this is hardly the first time something like this has happened in Australia’s afterbirth. Kiwi officials have banned moronic parents from calling children Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii, Yeah Detroit, Stallion, Twisty Poi, Keenan Got Lucy, Sex Fruit, Fat Boy, Cinderella Beauty Blossom, and Fish and Chips (twins).
Don’t worry though, Violence, Number 16 Bus Shelter, Midnight Chardonnay, and Benson and Hedges (twins) all got past the courts and are currently being bullied in New Zealand primary schools.
Bang Bang Eche come off very poorly by comparison. They are T'Nealle Worsley (Bass / Guitar / Synth), Charlie Ryder (Guitar / Synth), James Sullivan (Drums), Josh Burgess (Synth / Guitar / Bass) and Zach Doney (Vocals).
Apparently ‘Eche’ is a Maori word meaning something along the lines of ‘awesome partytimes’. Their self titled EP (nab it for free from myspace.com/bangbangeche) has been described by the band as “a five-track foray into the 'Land Before Time', but in this case the dinosaurs play sixteenths while the T-Rexes bust rhymes.”
Basically, they make nice, chuggy, dancey sounding guitar music. The sort of thing you get from guys like Does It Offend You Yeah, Shitdisco and maybe Hadouken (but without the crappy attempts at metal).
Currently the band are on tour in Germany, something I asked Zach about.
“The tour has been really great! The best place in Germany is Neumarkt in Bavaria. We played at this bar called Twister. Have you ever been in the ocean? Imagine if you were in the ocean with the swirling kelp and the little sea critters but then the water was screaming Germans and the sea critters were bottles of beer that kept upending themselves on the crowd. After the show they chased the van down the road.”
Now apparently T’Nealle Worsley was headhunted for the band as a direct result of her notoriety in underground fighting circles. Rumour has it that after most shows she will disappear into the night, only to return a few hours later wearing one of those huge gold belts wrestlers win. Also, I heard she has eight pairs of grills that all say “CRUNQ”.
Obviously, I was equally fascinated and terrified by this formidable example of womanhood, and needed to know more. Apparently she could easily beat up Madonna, Barack Obama (“She wouldn't, though, because she considers herself too underground to do celebrity matches”) but not a T-Rex (“T'Nealle couldn't beat up a dinosaur. Those things are really big”).
Jack Bauer caused a bit of confusion: “I don't know who Jack Bauer is. Ok. I just wikipedia'd him. Apparently he is the guy from 24. I have never seen 24 but I assume it is one of those modelling programmes like that one that Tyra Banks is the MC of. So... I guess if Tyra Banks could beat up Mr. Bauer then T'Nealle could beat him up too.”
I asked Zach some other stuff too, just trying to sort out some of the big issues of our time.
Will there ever be a boy born who can swim faster than a shark?
“When I was younger I did heaps and heaps of swimming. I trained eight times a week or something. Now it seems really stupid that I spent heaps and heaps of time in a tepid pool of sweat looking at a black line for 3 hours a day. Anyway, I quit that when my coach said to my parents: "Zach is one of the most dedicated people I have ever met. He puts in the time, he puts in the effort. Really the only thing that I could ever ask from him is that he was one or two feet taller." That was when I quit but I think this is the answer to your question. A shark is much bigger than a boy no matter how many hours a week a boy spends in the swimming pool.”
Why is there something rather than nothing? (I have to write an essay about this)
“What kind of course do you take? Man, if my lecturer was all, "Why is there something rather than nothing?" I would probably walk to this dude called Patrick Evans who is HOD of Arts where I (used) to go to Uni and start ranting about how stupid it is that the people outside are ripping up the grass and trees so they can plant trees and grass. Is it Philosophy 107? Psychology 209?” (It’s a philosophy course)
Why do people care about Paris Hilton?
“I don't.”
What is the best thing ever? (I think maybe cake)
“The best thing ever is when you are reading a book that makes you feel like life is a lamer place than the book makes it out to be. This is a good thing because you feel that art is greater than life. A modernist would be proud.”
What's the point?
“This is not even a question.”
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