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Most of this magazine's short talks are short in length, and this one is no exception, clocking in at just about 1000 words total. Yet this particular version of short talk is also short in another way -- namely, that everyone participating was under five feet tall. No, we're not suddenly developing an interest in dwarf bands -- or at least no more than usual; this time, we're interviewing a band in which two of the key players are kids. The name of the band is Eyeball Skeleton, and their new self-titled record has everything you'd expect from a band of kids: spooky lyrics about mummies, monkey sounds, shouted lyrics, wickedly rocking guitar lines and a song dedicated to weekend pancakes ("I Don't Eat Cereal on the Weekend"). Plus it's fun in a way that everything is fun when you're eight, as guitar player J.J. Brown is, or ten, as his brother and bass player Charlie is. (Bill Brown, the dad, plays guitar and sets drum machine rhythms, but I have no idea how old he is.)
I liked Eyeball Skeleton immediately, but it seemed a little strange to try to interview a pair of pre-teens. Fortunately, I had someone in the house who could relate to them on every level, not just musically, but in ten-year-old pop culture terms as well. So, here's Sean Kelly (aged 9 but almost ten) and his first interview, conducted with very little help from his mom.
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J. J. Brown: Hi.
Splendid: I'm Sean Kelly, and I just want to ask you a few questions.
J. J. Brown: Okay.
Splendid: How did you get started playing music?
J. J. Brown: Well, my dad got us a guitar and taught us how to play guitar when we were three.
Splendid: So, what's your favorite song of the ones you've made?
J. J. Brown: I like "Bouncing Apes".
Charlie Brown: The "Bouncing Apes", I think.
Splendid: That's a good one. Did you have cereal for breakfast this morning? (It is Saturday, and one of Eyeball Skeleton's songs is called "I Don't Eat Cereal on the Weekend".)
Charlie Brown: (laughs) No.
Splendid: I can see why since you named your song that.
Splendid: What's your favorite band besides Eyeball Skeleton and why?
J. J. Brown: Weezer... because I think they sound really good.
Charlie Brown: I don't know...
Splendid: Do you like Black Sabbath?
Charlie Brown: Oh yeah.
Splendid: What's your favorite song by them? I like "Iron Man" and "Paranoid".
Charlie Brown: I like "Iron Man".
Splendid: Oh, that's my favorite, too. I bet you've heard of Jimi Hendrix.
Charlie Brown: Yep.
Splendid: What's your favorite song out of his?
Charlie Brown: I don't really know any of this songs. I can't think of any right now.
Splendid: I really like "Highway Child".
Charlie Brown: Yeah, that's cool.
Splendid: Is it cool having your dad in the band? What does your dad do?
J. J. Brown: Yeah. He plays the guitar, too. He's really good.
Splendid: What about you, Charlie? Do you like having your dad in the band and why?
Charlie Brown: Yeah, because he's really good at it. He makes up all the beats on the drum machine.
Splendid: Are you guys going to get a drummer some day?
Charlie Brown: Yeah, we have one for the concerts.
Splendid: A machine?
Charlie Brown: No, it's a guy named Jim Selwin.
Splendid: Do you like the drum machine better or do you like the real drums?
Charlie Brown: I like them both the same.
Splendid: How do you make all those monkey sounds on "Bouncing Apes"?
J. J. Brown: Uhh... we got all our cousins and one of our aunts and one of our uncles and they all made monkey sounds.
Splendid: What's your favorite monster movie?
J. J. Brown: I don't know....
Splendid: Do you like monsters?
J. J. Brown: Yes.
Splendid: Which ones do you like?
J. J. Brown: I can't really think.
Charlie Brown: Hmmm...what's my favorite monster movie? Men in Black.
Splendid: Have you ever seen any of the classic ones like Dracula, the Wolfman or Creature from the Black Lagoon?
J. J. Brown: I think so.
Splendid: How did you get your band name?
J. J. Brown: Me and Charlie were fighting over it. Because he wanted Eyeball and I wanted Skeleton, so my dad said to put them together.
Splendid: What is it like playing in front of a bunch of people? Do you ever get nervous or are you okay with it?
Charlie Brown: I'm okay with it. It's really fun because after the show people come up to you and say...
Splendid: That you were good on the stage?
Charlie Brown: Yeah.
Splendid: Well, I do play the guitar myself. Do you ever get stage fright?
Charlie Brown: No but my brother does.
J. J. Brown: Yeah... at our first concert, I started crying.
Splendid: How did you get over it?
J. J. Brown: My mom told me to picture everybody in their underwear.
(laughter)
Splendid: That made you laugh, I bet.
J. J. Brown: Yeah.
Splendid: What's your favorite Sponge Bob episode?
J. J. Brown: Do you know the one where Plankton finds Plan Z?
Splendid: Oh, yeah, Sponge Bob Squarepants: The Movie. What's your favorite episode besides the movie?
Charlie Brown: Uhm, Sponge Bob Prehistoric? Have you seen that one?
Jennifer Kelly: That's the one where he goes back in time.
Splendid: Do you know what my favorite one is?
Charlie Brown: No.
Splendid: "Muscle Bob Buff Pants" (Sean's note: This is the one where Sponge Bob buys "anchor arms" to make his muscles look big.)
Charlie Brown: Oh, yeah, I like that one.
Splendid: I'm starting think you know more about Sponge Bob than I do. Why isn't your mom in the band?
J. J. Brown: Well, I don't know. I guess she just doesn't want to be.
Splendid: Do you two get along?
J. J. Brown: Me and my mom?
Splendid: You and Charlie.
J. J. Brown: Most of the time we do.
Splendid: Do you guys like sports?
J. J. Brown: Yeah.
Splendid: Which ones?
J. J. Brown: Football, lacrosse and soccer.
Splendid: What's the strangest thing that ever happened to you because you were in the band?
J. J. Brown: One of our songs got played on the radio in Egypt.
Splendid: Whoa. What's the coolest thing about being in a band?
Charlie Brown: I like recording the best.
Splendid: What is it like? Is it easy, medium, difficult?
Charlie Brown: It's hard. If you do something wrong, you've got to keep doing it, like 50 times, until you get it right.
Splendid: Whoa. Do you know any good jokes?
Charlie Brown: Not really.
J. J. Brown: Um... I forget the one that I like to tell.
Splendid: Here's one. Knock knock.
J. J. Brown: Who's there?
Splendid: Ach.
J. J. Brown: Ach-who?
Splendid: Gesundheit. That means "Bless you" in German. What's your favorite action movie?
J. J. Brown: The one with Matt Damon... Bourne Supremacy.
Splendid: Hmmm. I haven't seen that one. So is there anything else you'd like to talk about? Are you doing any shows coming up?
J. J. Brown: I don't know. Let me ask my dad. (into phone) Do we have any shows coming up? (pause) We're playing in Princeton in June.
Splendid: So is there anything else you'd like to talk about?
J. J. Brown: Not really.
Splendid: Well that's about all I want to ask you. Thanks for doing the interview.
Charlie Brown: Sure, it was fun. Bye.
-- Sean Kelly
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