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By John Schuyler
(Blitz Magazine, February 1998)
| Rising from
the proverbial ashes of a shaky high school marriage, rehab, and several
different identity crises, comes the Phoenix of a truly great, truly alternative
band.
When I first saw their latest album title, Attack of the Psycho Killer Zombie Women, having never heard of them before, I almost passed on the group who go by the handle RUBBER CHICKEN KNUCKLES. However, upon being confronted by a salesperson who claimed to have been a "long-time fan", I had no choice but to pick up this latest album from an apparently experienced band. And experienced they are. They
have been playing publicly, since their first major label release (Invasion
of the Underwear Monkeys, DKI Musik, 1992) in 1992, in venues ranging
from (seriously) Bar Mitzvahs to Football Stadiums. Their music styles
also happen to have the same extremity of range. With songs echoing the
vocals of Hank Williams to the slightly melodramatic keyboard tones of
"Dripping from the Wrist", RUBBER CHICKEN KNUCKLES have truly captured
and redefined the feeling of alternative music.
Now, not to undermine anything about the group, but I had to wonder about them when I saw their name (I still chuckle each time I have to type it). However, my doubts were curbed quickly and painlessly when I got to meet bandmates Duncan, Jenna, Devon, Bruce, and Trinity (Playing: Lead guitar and vocals, drums, 2nd and bass guitar, didgeridoo and accordion, and backup vocals and keyboard, respectively.) Their sly and quirky sense (All come from a rather singular wit) of humor put me in a state which might be compared with having one's sensibilities and defenses run through a cheese grater. As I walked into their group apartment
in New York City, the first thing that caught my eye was something wreaking
of eccentricity and trailer park tackiness: about ten pink flamingo yard
decorations sitting in a running water fountain. Afterwards, I walked through
to their living room, finding much more similar things. But there were
too many to list here. So, after making the initial introductions, I sat
down with the group, getting their basic history. Then, when I was done
with this essentiality, I sat down (In an inflatable chair, mind you) and
interviewed each member of the band individually. The following are choice
bits that didn't require a censor or translator (joking, guys.):
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| JS: | Every music band has their history. It all has to start somewhere. | |
| Devon: | Yeah. | |
| JS: | Where did you start out? | |
| Devon: | We actually started out in Bellville, Illinois, playing at a school dance. | |
| JS: | So, did you meet through school? | |
| Devon: | Trinity, Duncan, and I were all friends in high school. | |
| JS: | What about the rest of the band? | |
| Devon: | They were the people we picked on. | |
| JS: | Why were they let in to your group, then? | |
| Devon: | They ran out of milk money, so we decided they owed us a favor. (At this point, several other members of the band begin to chime in. The individual interview process sort of came to a halt here.) | |
| JS: | So, who were probably your biggest inspirations? | |
| Duncan: | Robert Kennedy. | |
| JS: | (Not sure how to take this, I make a rather smooth segue) Where did you come up with the name? | |
| Jenna: | The name's just us. It reflects our sense of humor. There's nothing too subliminal or special about it. | |
| Bruce: | Now, our other names on the other hand... | |
| JS: | Such as? | |
| Bruce: | Well, for example, "Take Out Your Class With a Few Tiny Explosives". That was a little subliminal. | |
| JS: | (I hold my laughter, afraid this could go on all day.) Now, you have some extremely interesting song names, maybe you could explain them to me. For example, "When the Frog Hops Again"? | |
| Trinity: | (This is the first time she has spoken directly to me.) I created that one. The title directly correlates to the content of the song. The song just simply is about a frog hopping... again. | |
| JS: | Okay, how about Sycophantic Mousetrap Guru? | |
| Jenna: | Well that’s actually based on, uh, Duncan's uncle. He makes them (mousetraps) for a living. The man's a living dictionary on mousetraps. He also works part-time doing menial labor for people who he practically sees as gods. The man's a weirdo. His values are slightly out of whack. | |
| Duncan: | But those are the best people to write about. | |
| JS: | (Now I'm just running titles off the list I have in my hand.) "Henry the Mole"? | |
| Duncan: | That's actually a cover of an old BTWA song. | |
| JS: | BTWA? (Now I'm interested: another creepy group I haven't heard of?) | |
| Duncan: | BILLY THE WONDER ARACHNID. They were a folk rock band that played Creedence-style music. The songs kind of an ode to old folk classics, and it's about a mole and a frog. | |
| JS: | "Dripping From the Wrist"? | |
| Devon: | That's sort of a creepy-ass surrealistic song that I wrote at about 4 in the morning. | |
| Trinity: | The instrumentals were kind of ad-libbed... | |
| Bruce: | Which was really hard when we had to perform it in front of a large group. | |
| JS: | You write an awful lot of nonsense songs with the strangest titles. Maybe you could explain "Zingo-Zulu-Zappa-Zapp-Lulu"? | |
| Duncan: | Well, we like to hang loose at least once each album. We just let go and write down crap. Like that. | |
| Bruce: | The Zappa part's a dedication to- | |
| JS: | (I rudely cut him off.) Frank? | |
| Bruce: | (Surprisingly calm.) No, actually, Dweezil and Ommet. Those guys are hilarious. | |
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As I finish with the group, I leave feeling somewhat satisfied as to knowing what I had been listening to in my hotel room, my office, and on the car ride over. This was probably the most interesting band I had interviewed in the past five years. I mentioned earlier their troubles
with marriage, but they respectfully declined to answer any questions I
had about their stumblings through the music world. I did learn, though,
that they're planning a Greatest Hits
album, which may include some
new tracks from them. They explained later on in the interview that they'll
be on a fifty city tour this summer and they expressed their immense appreciation
for this new exposure. I would tell you to go out and buy all their albums
because they are one of the most creative bands I've ever heard, but that's
against my policy.
The RUBBER CHICKEN KNUCKLES' albums: Invasion of the Underwear Monkeys (DKI, 1992)
I'll keep anyone who writes updated on any new information about the
band.
(His home address has since changed, but Mr. Schuyler gave me permission to print his e-mail address.) |
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