Understanding... Release Date Announced!

Hi!

We found a release date!!

The long awaited, hopefully anticipated, 3rd album from Animal Nation will hit digital shelves on May 24th, 2009... My birthday! Queen Victoria's birthday! Bob Dylan's birthday! "Understanding More About Nothing Than Anybody Ever Thought Impossible"'s birthday!!!
We're also going to have physical copies available for sale. Make sure to pre-order yours next week! The physical copies will feature art by Taka Sudo, a comic of our adventures through song titles (huh?) written by the amazing Kent Osbourne, a few bad stories written by me, and all sorts of stickers, pictures, and other fun trinkets. The physical copies will go on pre-sale one week from today. Friday the 13.
Two Friday the 13's two months in a row! Ohmy!

We'll be releasing more information on the album as the release date grows closer, so stay tuned!

I would also like to give a huge thanks to everyone who helped us put this project together in any way at all. We spent so much time making this album (not by Guns 'n Roses standards...), and logged so many hours, that it's nice to actually have it finished, but at the same time I'm sad to see it go - to have it change into something unchangeable. The album is done, it sounds amazing, I'm 300% satisfied with it, but in pressing it we'll be cementing everything we've created. Mike and I have been working on some of these songs for nearly 2 years now, shaping and re-shaping them, so to call them 'complete' feels kind of strange. I feel like I'm helping my kids off to college! ('Cause I totally know what that feels like...)
We hope that you will enjoy listening to what we put so much of ourselves into.
Never gonna do it without my fez on.

Until then, tide yourself over by downloading our last CD, TimeZone, for FREE by clicking here.

Thank you.



-Steige.


Want more "Understanding..." news?! Check out our Interview With The Artist - Taka Sudo!

Mar. 5 - Weekly Artist Interview - Nic & Jaq (Are From Germania)

As we were pulling into into the Hamburg train station we still weren't sure how many people were going to be there to meet us, if any. We thought we told Nic that we were to arrive at quarter after 4 in the afternoon, but then we also told Matthias, Nic's friend, that our train was going to be late. Jaq and his buddy Maze both said they could meet us, but we never confirmed a time or place with them. And then there was another guy, Basti, who was the driver of the bunch, that had stopped returning our calls when we told him that we'd confirmed our plane tickets.
As we lugged our luggage (which word came first?) off the train we were greeted by two smiling faces, and we quickly learned that Nic=Maze=Matthias Reiling=tall, skinny, coffee-loving red-head.
While Jaq=Basti=Sebastian Hochstein=spitting image off the fat chocolate eating Bavarian kid from the Simpsons.
Besides making beats for big timers such as Buck 65, Pigeon John, and Souls of Mischief, Nic and Jaq also spend a fair amount of time in the studio making music for less-known cats like ourselves and our contemporaries (Weez1, The Red Fox, Tweezy). Since coming into contact with these guys we've plastered our annoying voices over multiple beats of theirs, including 3 tracks off our new album, (Wooden Roller Coaster ft. Ali Milner, The Me in Me, and The Fez) as well as many old and unreleased tracks, including the infamous Lasagna Song (Golden Brown) from our last album, TimeZone.

Make sure to hit up the Nic & Jaq myspace page to hear music from, and get the latest info on our favorite Hamburgers. (That's what you call people from Hamburg, right?)

Steige: Off the top of my head, the history of Germany goes something like this: The Second World War, The Berlin Wall, then Ramstein's "Du Hast". First off, how ignorant am I?? And second if you had to have one of these things singularly and permanently represent you as a people, which would it be?

Maze: Well, on a scale from one to ten your ignorance level reaches the healthy value of 8. So let's all be represented by Ramstein until eternity, at least they know how to do an impressive pyro show.

Basti: It might also be Rammstein´s "Mein Teil", which is about a German cannibal, who ate his friend some years ago in Middle Germany (I LIVE IN THE NORTH!!!). Freaks! Did I answer the second question? Guess not, huh?

S: I dunno... I'd say Hitler put on a pretty impressive pyro show too! Zing!
When we first arrived in Germany we didn't really know what to expect. To be honest, we were pretty prepared to spend two days being bossed around, forced to choke down mile after mile of Frankfurter, but it turns out all of the Germans we met there and since then have all been very nice people. What are you all hiding?

B: See above

M: I don't know about other Germans, but I have this werewolf thing going on.

S: Do you guys have German celebrities? Do they acquire fame in the same way as our celebrities, by being trust fund babies and whores?

B: Sure we have celebrities! Gina Lisa just dropped her first self made home porn (Germany's next supermodel finalist). Didn't see it yet, but if it's as exciting as Paris' breakthrough, I guess I stay with desperate housewives...

M: For sure - they are like discount versions of Britney & Co, even more pitiful. Can you say pitiful in English?

S: Do you ever do it without your fez on?

M: I don't understand that allegory. It's an allegory, right?

B: Maze I'd tell you, but now I am afraid my parents might read this and ask uncomfortable questions....

S: You don't know what a fez is, I don't know what an allegory is... Your English-as-a-second-language is on par with my English-I've-spoken-since-birth. Shizer.
Maze=Nic, if you were a Simpsons character, who would you be? Which one would Basti=Jaq be?

M: Of course I want to be like Disco Stu, but I think I'd go with Otto. We're both the same career type of guy. Jaq is slick like Quimby.

S: Jaq=Basti - same question, named reversed.

B: I would be that kid with his chocolate and Bavarian leather pants, and Maze would be Rainier Wolfcastle acting Macbain!!

S: Hahaha, before we met you, out of sheer ignorance, we definitely pictured you both to be the little fat chocolate eating kid. Or Ramstein.
You guys produced the beat for the 'Lasagna Song - Golden Brown'. What did you think when you first heard the completed song and discovered that we had turned an amazing piece of music into a rap battle between a sous-chef and a lasagna? I think most producers would have thrown a shoe at us.

M: Honestly, this is exactly what I expect from a skilled rapper. Being able to view and describe things from a different angle. I think there never had been anybody besides you so far who tried to explore the feelings of a... lasagna.

B: I liked the idea a lot. It makes me hungry every time I listen to the song, and I am vegetarian!!

S: Food. Alright, listen: The four of us (Animal Nation and Nic & Jaq) are all on an aeroplane headed for a headlining gig in a girls only topless resort in Bali, when out of the blue our left engine stops working. Then the right one goes. Next thing you know we've crash landed on a tropical island surrounded by exactly enough plane wreckage to build one fast-food restaurant. As we all know, fast food joints are re-stocked by magic, and run by foreigners. Since we crashed closer to Canada than Germany it will be up to you to play the 'foreigners', and to build and work the restaurant.
What are the four of us all eating for the rest of our lives, factoring in that you have to make the food every day as well? What about if island natives volunteered to make the food?

B: You cannot tell me such plane crash things BEFORE I come visiting you on an 9 hours plane flight over the ocean and whatever!!!
You need to ask Nic about the the other stuff. He is the cook in our duo. He already made me some nice meals!

M: You stayed at my place... you know my pasta sauce. Girls eat it and immediately start thinking about trading their boyfriends.

S: So you're going to build a Subway. Right on. Tell us a joke.

B: I can tell you a true story my drums teacher Ian from London told me once. You need to imagine everything. One of Ian´s friends was background singer for John Denver back in the days. They were playing at a nursing home and all those old people wanted him to play "Country Roads" (of course!). So John Denver was starting to count in: 1, 2, 3,... but then he realized one of his band mates wasn't ready, so he had to stop the song in the last moment. Only person who didn't get this was Ian´s friend (the background singer), who was singing as beautiful and lonely as he could : COUNTry... (sounding like CUUUUNT) and turning red as ALL the old people staring at him in disbelieve afterwards. haaaaahahaha!

M: Kommt ein Zyklop zum Augearzt.

S: Hah! ...A cyclops.. Anything else you'd like to say?

M: Yeah, I'm in need of a Memorymoog and a Buchla. And an Elektron Machinedrum. Problem is I'm really broke, so can anyone please sell those things to me real cheap? I mean real cheap?

B: Get Ableton Live on your computer, so we can work properly and take advantage of the world power. You are Pinky, I am Brain. Rad.

S: Troz!

Here is a quick video we put together for "Golden Brown - The Lasagna Song" featuring production by Maze. Make sure to check out our latest work together by stealing a copy of our new album, Understanding More About Nothing Than Anybody Ever Thought Impossible, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Music, due out May 24th!! (My birthday!!)

Right the eff on,
-Steige.


If you liked this then be sure to check out the interview we did with Ali Milner, or Josh Martinez, or check out 5 Really Bad Album Covers.

Feb. 26 - Weekly Artist Interview - Josh Martinez

The People's Champ. The creator of the "World Famous Sex Buffet". The reason I stopped listening to 50 Cent.
Josh Martinez was the dood that taught me that it's cool to be myself, or rather, it's 'cool' to be uncool, or more so, cool or uncool, tall or short, good looking or red-head-ugly, step up on a 5' high stage and you will get laid.
If it weren't for Josh Martinez, Animal Nation would most likely be fitting in with the popular crowd, writing songs about cool cars, hoes, and guns, selling out to anyone and everyone, and actually making some cash.
Thanks Josh.

Hit up the Josh Martinez myspace to listen while you learn!

Steige: Do you have any cats? How many cats does someone have to have before they're considered "a crazy cat person"?

Josh Martinez: No cats. No animals that could die when I'm gone for three weeks at a time. I have a series of close friends that I call on to keep my 15 plants alive while I'm gone. That's enough of a struggle.

S: Listen: It's the apocalypse. There's a huge meteor the size of Texas headed straight for Texas. The Four Horsemen have arrived and they're hungover as heck and totally not looking to party. Satan shows up in your backyard, ready to destroy our planet and everything we've ever known, but he's willing to turn it all around if you can impress him with one of your songs. He's only interested in your music, and he's only got 3 minutes and 34 seconds of free time. Which Josh Martinez track are you going to use to blow Satan's mind?
If that's too much pressure you can also tell him a joke, I guess. But it has to be a joke of your own invention, and it has to involve bunny rabbits.

JM: I guess, for both myself and fans of the Josh Martinez, I'd probably play "Just a Dood", because that has been the song that people most seem to relate to. It also is the song that kind of became a bigger hit for me as time went on, with more action happening as a result. But if it's the devil, maybe it makes more sense to play him "Bobby Loveable", a song about boobs and my love for them. It's an apocalyptic toss up I suppose.

S: We invited you up to Whistler to rock a show with us a couple years ago. After the show we were hanging out back at our place and I remember you commenting on the fact that almost all the guitars we had were out of tune. If we were able to travel back in time and properly tune those same guitars would you have been able to shred a sweet lullaby on one of them? I guess a much more simple version of the same question would be: do you play any instruments other than your voice?

JM: I can fuck around with synths here and there, and I do a fair amount of recording layering tricks, but I'm not instrumentally inclined per say. I used to mess around with guitars in my college days, mostly to get girls, but I played so poorly, I got no love from ladies. Stray cats were down for a tumble though.

S: What is your favorite non-pizza pizza topping? I mean, what might we find on your favorite fantasy pizza that we might not normally discover on a Dominoes Deep Dish? (ie-perogies, Kraft Dinner, a skyfish...)

JM: Donair meat. It's a Nova Scotian thing. Though in Nova Scotia, the donair comes in bite sized breakfast bites, and shows up on a fair amount of pizza slices, mostly cuz people ask for a slice with meat and sauce, which pretty much paralyzes your system into a grease induced coma, only to wake up throughout the night, gasping for breath, dry to your very core.

S: Yeah! Those things are rad! I ate them all the time when I was living in Hali! When I was 17-18 your song "Hobo's Lullaby" really made me want to hop the box car of a train and ride the rails to Anywhere But Here. Let's pretend I'd been less lazy and I'd taken that first step... After pieces of my body had been found in what would appear to have been a "Henry Lee Lucas" type of serial murder, and your cassette had been discovered in my Walkman, what would you have told a grieving father, and a mildly upset girlfriend?

JM: Without risk, there is no reward. Without trains, there is no hobo's chili. Without you, your girlfriend has a chance to find someone who can actually be somebody. I mean, what chance do you have with a good girl as a career rapper. Might as well become a D&D expert, competing at regional tournaments for who gets whose Staff of Poking +2.

S: Ohno! The main reason I wanted to become a rapper was to find a good girl! Because, you know, good girls and rap are so synonymous.... So besides the whole "destroying my dream of finding a wife through hip hop" thing, what keeps you awake at night?

JM: Insomnia. And gas. I get pretty gassy. But I'm also lactose intolerant so eating ice cream before bed is baaaad. And the economic crisis in America. Actually that doesn't affect me at all 'cause I don't have any assets. Its hard to lose when you got nothing.

S: What was the weirdest recording experience/tour experience you've ever had?

JM: There are so many. I almost made out with Jamie-Lynn Sigler. I could have been turtle. She was at my show (Atmosphere's show I was opening up for) in Los Angeles, with some really slutty and angry girlfriends, and since I was on the bill, I thought I'd let her know that she could check the show from the sidestage. She spilled her drink on some dude, he punched the sluttiest of the girlfriends, and shit tore the fuck off. She was whisked away as the fight grew to 40 people swinging at randoms, then shots licked off, and then the show was done. I hadn't even performed yet, but I think Meadow Soprano caught feelings for me.

S: I heard through the grapevine that God was looking to replace Rainbow Spokesman 'Roy G. Biv'. What colors would a rainbow hold in store for us if the acronym was changed to Josh Martinez?

JM: Take back the rainbow. That's my motto. I love the gays, but why do they get the rainbow? Now I can't have all the colors of the visible spectrum, and some of the invisible ones, without being into bum sex with men? This shit stinks, and i'll get to the bottoms of it.

S: Is it common knowledge that 'Roy G. Biv' stands for 'red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet', which make up the colors of a rainbow?

JM: Not as common as the knowledge that 'DR. and Mrs. Vandertramp,' is the acronym for all the irregular french verbs that use Etre as their conjugation instead of Avoir. Descender, revenir, monter, sortir, etc...I am killing this interview.

S: Ah wow, you just brought me right back to grade 10 French class. I think I gotta go repress these memories... any last words?

JM: Check out the "World Famous Sex Buffet", my new album that has been the most successful Canadian rap record in history. I also have a new album with my side group: The Chicharones, called "Swine Country". It's out now on Camobear Records, the record label I own and run.
http://camobear.ca

Right on, right on.... Well, besides destroying all my dreams and giving me flashbacks of high school I'd say this interview went pretty good! Make sure to check out Josh Martinez's latest video featuring Classified & Skratch Bastid - "Goin' Back to Hali" at the bottom of this page!

And in a rare moment of seriousness, this interview actually was a huge honor. Josh Martinez was, and is, one of my bigger influences when it comes to making music, and was also my gateway drug into underground hip hop.

Thanks,

-Steige.

If you liked this make sure to check out our interview with Mat the Alien, or Jiminy, or watch everyday normal things come to life with The Magic of Googly Eyes, right after you watch this...

Josh Martinez ft. Classified & Skratch Bastid - Goin' Back to Hali

Feb. 19 - Weekly Artist Interview - Empty Container--4.25 Gallon Pail with Wire Handle & Lid

I got stood up. Left out to dry. Shot through the heart, and you're to blame. And on Valentines Day no less!
I was meant to meet up with the group we went on tour with last summer, Jiminy, to talk about our upcoming shows together in May, the new tracks they've been working on, and a bunch of other fun Jiminy related questions, but was instead met with unanswered calls and sideshow emails.
So, panicked for time, I threw a couple questions at a 4.25 Gallon Pail with Wire Handle & Lid, and it just sat there staring at me as if I were an idiot.

Steige: How do you handle being carried around everywhere you go? You pale in comparison to a shovel. Does this ever make you feel empty? If it got bad enough, would you ever consider kicking the bucket?

Pail: -------

S: Picture this: You're human. You've taken half a tab of LSD, and you've gotten it stuck in your head that trying to interview an inanimate plastic bucket is a great idea. First off, from a pail's point of view, as a human, what would you want to know about yourself, the pail? And secondly, how would you go about getting an answer out of something that's got no way of communicating?

P: --------

S: I hate to be rude, but you're a freakin' bucket. I mean, how is a bucket even supposed to come up with any sort of decent answer to any question at all that isn't "can you carry moderatly weighted objects?" You're the 2nd worst interviewee I've ever had!
So here's what we're going to do, bucket. I'm going to ask you something, and then I'm going to kick you really really hard within the confines of my house. Then I'll translate the sound you make into something that makes more sense than "clomp, bang, smash", okay?

P: (Kick!) That sounds decent.

S: Cute. Now, without involving Alanis Morrisette, don't you think it's ironic that a square can't be a rectangle, but a rectangle can be a square? I mean, I don't. Find it ironic that is. But, what I guess I'm trying to ask is, what's your maximum load bearing capability?

P: (Kick!) Tim Allen, you're one crazy guy.

S: I... I agree.... Bucket, try this on for one-size-fits-all: Why do I seem to fall for every girl that pays me any sort of attention at all? Have I spent too much time secluded in my basement playing the piano, talking to buckets? Am I simply a sucker for a love story? Is it beyond my biological urge to spill and run in order to strengthen my own personal gene-pool? Do all guys fall this easily? Do all people fall this easily? Is everyone always nearly ready to fall in love with anyone at any time, provided they don't have to make the first move and put their heart on the line?

P: (Kick!) Broken glass.

S: Okay, wow! This game sucks! Bucket, introduce next week's interviewee if you wouldn't mind.

P: --------

S: Right. Next week we'll be talking with Josh Martinez about pizza, rainbows, and his personal plan to blow Satan's mind and stop the apocalypse. We'll also make sure to catch up with those crazy Jiminy cats sooner rather than later and find out what sort of crazy Jiminy shenanigans they've been hurling themselves into these days.

Next week = real person, I promise.

-Steige.


For more nonsensical questions and random answers check out my Interview With Myself, or our Interview with 2 Germans about Hitler and Ramstein. Not down with interviews? Check out The Googly Eye Project!

Golden Brown (The Lasagna Song) / Sky Fish (Sky Fish, He's Such a Fly Fish!)

Golden Brown (The Lasagna Song)

Mike and I had always planned to make a music video for the 'Lasagna Song', the story of an epic battle between a gourmet sous-chef and a ready-made meat lasagna, but never managed to scrape together enough spare cash. With the upcoming release of our new album, "Understanding More About Nothing Than Anybody Ever Thought Impossible or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Music", we figured we'd better put something together before our last album, "TimeZone", became 'dated'... (What's it matter if it's new? It's all old eventually....)
So, to cut my rambling short, here is the Golden Brown video that we put together with 8 hours of spare time, a bunch of help from a bunch of friends, and $0.




Make sure to download our last album, "The TimeZone [EP]" here for free, before our manager loses it and tells us that the reason we can't afford to make good music videos is because we keep giving our music away for free. :D

Sky Fish

We've been slowly leaking our upcoming album "Understanding More About Nothing Than Anybody Ever Thought Impossible" through myspace a few tracks at a time in an effort to bring attention to 'National Banana Safety Awareness Half-Day', as well as the fact that our new album is dropping fairly soon. The latest play list addition is my personal favorite from our new album "Sky Fish".
The story behind this track flies somewhat as follows:
I knew that I wanted an old-school sounding track for our new album, so when Mike came back from a camping trip talking about a 'Sky Fish' I was so intrigued and inspired that I spent the next 2 weeks putting together the music and samples for what quickly became my favorite piece of music I've ever made. Mike wrote a wonderful little ditty about his 'Sky Fish Experience' after Ali Milner and I recorded the intro, and the whole thing came out ridiculous and awesome.
I've been listening to De La Soul's "3 Feet High and Rising" on repeat for the last 6 months, so that definitely made its way onto the track.
I like to think that this is our De La track.
That sounds fun.

Check it out on our myspace page now!

-Steige!

Want more "Understanding..." news? Check out the Track Listing and Album Cover! Or check out our Interview With The Artist - Taka Sudo!

Feb. 12 - Weekly Artist Interview - Uncle Traveling Matt

By his own account Uncle Traveling Mat is determined to make hip-hop fun again. 'Fun!' I thought after hearing this. Then I listened to his self produced De-La-Quest like debut album "Postcards From the Edge" and again thought 'fun!' We decided that we needed to get on a track together, and I decided that I needed to ask Matt a couple questions. Shortly after conducting the following interview I got back in touch with him to ask him if he was sure he wanted to insult both Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac in the same article. I suggested that he might offend some of their fans. He replied by saying that he was glad, and that he hoped fans of Biggie and/or Tupac would throw his CD away... that being said I promptly threw the CD he'd mailed me in the garbage.
Luckily I'd already ripped it into iTunes.

Steige: Do you eat turkey when it's not Thanksgiving? Do you put gravy on your vegitables? Describe to us an average thanksgiving dinner for yourself.

Uncle Traveling Matt: Of course. Always. I get drunk and try to cut the turkey with a plastic lightsaber and nobody laughs except for me.

S: What do you do with your anger?

UTM: I turn green and smash things.

S: You sound like a cartoon character.

UTM: That might be true, only if that cartoon character is Parappa the Rapper.

S: I heard rumours that Uncle Traveling Matt packs mad ladies at his shows... why do you think you attract such an angry crowd?

UTM: I’m learning Portuguese. Tenho um penise grande.

S: What is your favorite smell?

UTM: Elmer’s glue.

S: Fill in the blanks. Uncle Traveling Mat is to ______________, as a _____________ is to Cherynoble.

UTM: Hip-hop, flipper baby.

S: A B.I.G. Mac, or a 6 Pac?

UTM: Since you spelled Big Mac, B.I.G. Mac, I can only assume you’re talking about Notorious B.I.G. and he sucks so I’ll go with 6 Pac, unless you’re talking about 2 Pac who also sucks, but they’re both dead which proves the existence of God, even though I’m an atheist and don’t believe in God. Wow, deep question.

S: If you could be any character out of any movie ever, except a super hero or a talking dog, pig, or horse, whom would you be, and why?

UTM: Damn it, no talking dogs? Um, Odie from Garfield. He doesn’t actually talk so I’ve got you on a technicality.

S: I'm stoked about the fact that we're doing a track together. Do you think the word 'stoked' is uncool? How about 'uncool'? Do you ever find it a little trife? How about 'trife'? I find it often comes across rather cheeseburger.

UTM: Cheeseburger? Is this just another way to get me to talk about Notorious B.I.G.? You guys are really sick.

S: Anything else you'd care to mention?

UTM: Buy my album or I’ll kick you in your balls, hard.

S: You heard the man. Buy his album or he's going to kick you in the balls, hard. And even though he didn't say it himself I think it's safe to say that if you're a girl he's going to kick you straight in the uteri.
(That's funny 'cause I'm not Chris Brown, and I know the difference between a joke and reality!)

myspace.com/animalnation
myspace.com/dearnephewgobo (Uncle Travelin' Matt)



Enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Interview With an Empty Bucket, or our hilarious Interview with Jiminy! Not down with the interview? Check out 5 Really Bad Album Covers!

Slug is on some next level s--t.

"
Well, ok. Let me break it down. Art to me is just another form of communication. One that not everybody has learned. If you think about it.. I don't know how to speak French, right? But I know how to draw and so it's another language. Whether it be music or film.. It's another form of communication. Communication is all about being able to work and deal with like minded individuals. But then what's the point of that? So you can build things right? But what's the point of that? So you can have a family. It's healing. It's eat, sleep, fuck. It's the survival. It's what we're here for. So, art doesn't enable some of us to sleep well at night, yes this is true. And art doesn't enable some of us to eat, yes this is true. But it enables everybody to fuck cause if you put that painting out there and if one person likes it so much that you make friends with them.. who knows. By this time next week you might get their roommate pregnant. It's just another way of bringing people together and personally bringing people together is all about procreation as far as I'm concerned.
"
-Slug of Atmosphere.

Yo Dawg.

Feb. 5 - Weekly Artist Interview - Ali Milner

If you've heard the clip and you've seen the photo then you don't need to be told that Ali Milner travels with some serious sex appeal. That being said I did my best to keep this interview as PG-13 as I could, to try to show people that the talents of this uber-beauty don't end at her ability to make herself really really good looking.... I mean, questions about girls kissing girls are still considered PG-13 these days, right?

Click over to ALI MILNER's myspace page to listen while you read, or click over to the ANIMAL NATION myspace page to check out the song Ali recorded with us, 'Wooden Roller Coaster', which will be featured on our upcoming album "Understanding More About Nothing Than Anybody Ever Thought Impossible or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Music".

S: Ali, if the sky wasn't blue, what color would it be, and why?

AM: I thiiiink if the sky wasn't blue I'd like it to be pink and orange and yellow, so we could have an everlasting sunset. Wouldn't that be nice? Might get kind of old after a while, but the first week would be so lovely...

S: Do you spell "color" with a 'u'? I think we're supposed to as Canadians, but I always get lazy with it.

AM: I totally spell "colour" with a "u". Big time! I was always ra-ra with all the Canadian spelling because my first and second grade teacher, Ms. Christopher, taught it to us that way. Although, I totally don't when I'm texting because it won't let me and tells me I'm wrong.

S: Yeah! My cell phone is anti-Canada as well! I remember having Ms. Christopher for 2nd grade math! She taught me that it was impossible to subtract a larger number from a smaller number. I guess she was just a very positive person.... What was the weirdest recording experience you've ever had?

AM: Hmmm, weirdest recording experience? Well... I don't know if it's weird, but it was pretty miraculous. Recording my Christmas song was crazy, because we had one day in the studio and we had 7 live instruments to lay down, along with vocals.... Pretty much, we made the impossible possible, and got it all done in a day, and it's probably the best thing I've ever been a part of I'd say, the most proud I've ever been!

S: How do you find the industry treats you as a 'ginger kid'? I find that I get a lot of flack, but that could be easily blamed on my lack of talent.

AM: The industry doesn't seem to mind my (fake) "gingerness", it's sort of a defining feature about myself it seems, something that sticks out in people's minds. I do seem to get a lot of flack from my friends though! I often get youtube links about gingers, and newspaper articles relating to "kick a ginger day"... What's up with that? And your flack must be because of your wonderful hair colour (Canadian spelling) because you got miles of talent, no lies.

S: Aw you make me blush. I think we should start 'redhead redemption day', or maybe just a 'everyone smile at everyone' day. I think that would be nice! If I were to give you a small tub, say 1.5 L, of Neapolitan iced-cream how would you go about eating it? Would you mix the flavours? Go for a particular flavour first? ...And you have no spoon.

AM: So 1.5 L tub of Neapolitan... I definitely have a routine when it comes to Neapolitan ice cream, but your "no spoon" clause really gums up the works here. If I had a spoon, I would start with a couple bites of chocolate and then just go about mixing it all together to make a milkshake-like consistency. That's what I do. But with no spoon? I wouuuuld.... well, this isn't very dignified, but I guess I'd do the same with my hands. Definitely.

S: Hahaha, that's amazing. We definitely need to hang out more. How many times per day do you get told that your name sounds similar to 'Val Kilmer'? Why do you think your parents plotted such conniving trickery against you?

AM: Well, I gotta tell ya, no one has ever mentioned my name sounds like "Val Kilmer". I mean, I guess I see it... but is that really conniving trickery from my folks? He's a well-respected, serious actor right? Right? Batman Forever killed it... right?

S: Haha, ya know, the 12 year old version of me thought that movie was awesome! Then throughout the years I heard how it was actually really horrible, and how it ruined the Batman movies all together! I'd hate to watch it again now and find out that the 12 year old movie buff in me wasn't very buff. Speaking of bats... if you could fly with the assistance of something, what would that something be? (ie - a hover board, that weird dragon dog thing from The Never Ending Story, etc..)

AM: Crap, if I could fly with the assistance of anything it would be my invisible wings that no could see... but that sort of seems like I'm flying without assistance. So, basically, between the hover board, flying dog-dragon from The Never Ending Story, fairy dust, or Kirby's star thingy, I would take any of the above. I reeeeeeeeeally wish I could fly. That's one of my life-long dreams, and lemme tell you, it'll happen one of these days, it'll happen. (And airplanes totally don't count...) Also now that I think of it, Harry Potter's Firebolt's always been really appealing to me....

S: In the likely event that you one day commit mass murder and get sentenced to the electric chair, what would you choose as your last meal?

AM: For my last meal before my electric chair after committing mass murder, I would like tuna and salmon sashimi and a dynamite roll... love that. I would love fries from Splitz Grill, and curry from Connie's Cookhouse in Van. For dessert (the most important part) I would really really really want Mint Chip Hard Yogurt from JP Licks. I would die for Mint Chip Hard Yogurt from JP Licks.

S: I'm told that your dad acts as your manager, which totally freakin' rules. Does it suck, however, that you can't tell your manager "You can't tell me what to do! You're not my dad!!" and storm out of a room?
AM: Yeah, my pa is a dadager... which works out pretty great. In the event that we do get in an argument, I pretty much say "You can't tell me what to do!!" I just leave out the "you're not my dad!!" part.

S: Katy Perry: Smash or Trash? Have you ever kissed a girl and liked it?

AM: Katy Perry = Smash!! At first I was like "blech, who is this girl? what a weirdo"... But I don't know, she's really won me over. Seems like a strong lady who's doing her thing and honestly doesn't really care much what folks think of her. And no, alas, I have not kissed a girl, and cannot say whether I'd like it or not. I'm open to a lot of things, so who knows? Just hasn't happened for me yet. One daaaay!

S: That being said, you're totally not my dad, and I'm friggin' outta here.


If you enjoyed this, make sure to check out our hilarious Interview With Jiminy, or our Interview with Mat the Alien! Don't feel like reading? Check out The Googly Eye Project!

Jan. 29 - Weekly Artist Interview - Mat the Alien

I can only think of one time in the seventeen years I spent living at home that I was ever disciplined for anything.
When I was caught for shoplifting and driven home by the cops my dad let me off with a warning... and let me keep everything I'd stolen. Both times I crashed his car I was told that I'd probably already learned my lesson, and wasn't even made to pay for the damages! Even after he found a pound of weed under my bed he didn't have much of a lecture for me. He did take the weed, and I was out $1800, but it was never really mentioned again.
The only thing I ever did that ever provoked any sort of reaction at all was when my dad walked in on me using his prized Oracle turntable to scratch his even more prized collection of records.
"But they do it on TV!"
WAP!
And then you meet someone like Mat the Alien, someone that scratches records for a living, and you think to yourself, "Man, this guy's parents must have given even less of a crap than my own!"

Steige: Do you still have a soft spot for carrying around a crate
of vinyl, or are you pretty set carrying around 2 Serato
records? What do you say to DJs that think it's whack to
use mp3 based scratch programs such as Serato or Final
Scratch?

Mat the Alien: The digital thing has changed things a lot in the past 4 years. Before this there wasn't the option for playing your own music except for CD's which weren't as good for a turntablist as being on the turntables .

I was carrying around 4 crates to shows and that made traveling difficult. I still buy records as I can't get everything on digital sites at high quality.
I love getting records, 12" and 45's, the dusty old smell, the cover artwork and info available about the people on the record and stuff.

Digital music is more disposable as you don't know as much info about the artist's music that you're playing, but there's lots of music available out there all over the world, so music is more accessible now.

I used to have to dig when i traveled in dusty thrift shops for old funk stuff now you can sit at home and find it online.

I really think if someones good at what they do you can't tell whether they're on turntables, CD's, Abelton, vinyl, banjo.

If someones hung up and bothered with what other people are doing it kind of looks like they're whack and not happy with what they're doing.

If you're happy with what you're doing, and doing what you want to do, and always getting better then I think that's good.

You'll always have purists who want to keep things the same but things wouldn't evolve without people trying new things and taking risks.

Hip-hop started with pioneers like Afrikka Bambaata playing crazy records like rock, disco, funk, and making it into a new sound by looping parts.

Most of the early hip hop records are electronic music made with drum machines, like planet rock, etc.

S: Damn that was thorough! I feel like you've thought about that in the past! And on to the question that's on everyone's mind: imagine the Beastie Boys became presidents of the World, and their first act was to BURN ALL MUSIC except the new 50 Cent, that song "Steal my Sunshine" by LEN, and two albums of your choosing. What two albums are we all listening to for the rest of our lives?

MtA: Speaking of the beastie boys, "Paul's Boutique" would be a good album to have on repeat. Thats a tough one 'cause I'd want different music for different occasions, but I'd say something mellow if I have to listen to it all the time.
Maybe a Bonobo album or a Lee Scratch Perry album.

S: Who's your favorite DJ to spin alongside with?

MtA: I don't have one, but I'm just stoked when I get to DJ with people who have influenced me through their style, and I bug out when they're into my shit, and I can teach them things on Serato.

Some of my favorites would be
Qbert, Nu-Mark, DJ Craze, and A-Trak.

But I like all kinds of DJ's. Ones that skratch well, good at mixing, good selection of music, etc.

S: It sounds like you don't have much 'downtime' anymore. Have you been working on a new album at all lately, or has touring and being a husband taken up all your time these days?

MtA: I've not been working on a new album, but i try to do 1 or 2 mix CD's a year.
I've been making lots of music, but just trying new sounds out and not rushing into a album,

and I've been collaborating with lots of people, like you guys for your next CD!

I skratched on 7 tracks and 2 remixes for the latest Fort Knox Five album.
I also did the skratches for All Good Funk Alliance on a superjam remix for a video game,
and have music in progress with Sharps in Edmonton,
Ill Gates in Toronto,
Neighbour in Calgary,

and DJ Breaknech, a crazy drum and bass producer in the UK.

S: As the legend goes, you got your Alien scratch techniques after an airplane you were on went through an electrical storm that may or may not have been controlled by Alien life-forms. Has it ever crossed your mind that when you flew through that cloud the Aliens maybe planted a small chip in your brain that gave you your super-scratch-powers and helped elevate your music to mind-blowing heights, eventually allowing you to create a combination of music so amazing that the head of anyone who listens to it will literally explode?
Combine that with the fact that you're playing festivals the size of small cities on the regular, and you'd have yourself a fair amount of bodies...
How do you feel about this sort of mass homicide you'd be committing? I mean, there's nothing you could really do to prevent it...

MtA: Haha, you never know!

A friend and good DJ in Saskatoon called The Gaff told me people who do repetitive things get the attention of aliens, and they focus on these people to help with the alien mission.

We only see so many things but they have crazy powers and can talk to us without us noticing.

I also talked to someone in Kelowna who knows an old woman that claims a UFO landed in her garden and John Lennon got out and waved to her.

Not sure about either of those, but you never know.

S: I'm gonna start wearing my tinfoil hat around you. On a more serious note, you're from the UK. Do you ever get angry at the fact that we're driving on the wrong side of the road over here? Do you ever drive on the left hand side to make yourself feel more at ease?

MtA: Haha I did that in Squamish last time we got back from England. I was driving on the wrong side of the road for a minute.
It gets a bit confusing.

S: Haha! That's messed up buddy! What was the first thing you ever saw or heard or experienced that made you want to play records backwards.. and then forwards.. and then backwards again?

MtA: Err, the people who first influenced me were in the UK around '89.

DJ Hype in the UK.
DJ Supreme from Hijack - UK hip-hop.

And early DMC DJ's like Cash Money,

and of course Qbert and Mix Master Mike.

S: Anything else you want to say?

MtA: I'll have a line of really good t-shirts soon, and a new mix cd any day.

Check

www.myspace.com/matthealien

for more info

S: You heard the man! Check the site, buy the merch, wear the tee, and impress all the bitches. Ohhhh yeah!
Also, prepare yourself for the release of our upcoming album, "Understanding More About Nothing Than Anybody Ever Thought Impossible or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Music", which features cuts by Mat the Alien on the Hunchback Esquire produced track "The Caper", which can be heard on Mike's myspace page.

Radd,
-Steige.


If you enjoyed this, make sure to check out our Interview With Josh Martinez about pizza, rainbows, and Satan, as well as our Interview With Ali Milner about why she's such a babe.