Rapider Than Horsepower

Nick D. Meiers: Let me know when ya'll are round.

Mike Dixon: I'm here. I'm still waiting for the others. You can go ahead and get started with some of the questions if you want though. Get us primed. Do you have AIM? It seems like it might be easier with that. Holler back

NDM: Yo, I don't even know what AIM is. This will work just fine, though; kinda live, but with a moment to come up with something clever. We'll exchange, like, five emails with three or four questions. So, have you seen any good movies lately?

MD: Last night I saw a movie called Santa Claus conquers the Martians. It's from 1964. It was really good. It was included on some 50-movie DVD vintage sci-fi bad movie set that my friend bought for, like, $15. I think it would be fun to just watch it even without the sound. I was kind of working on some other stuff as the movie was playing, but every time I looked up from my laptop screen I could not believe what I was seeing. The '60s concept of what aliens might look like is so refreshing.

Oh, also, how could I forget! I was recently invited over by a certain Turkish friend of mine to pick up some leftover Chinese food that he was having trouble getting rid of. When I walked in, his roommate said "I know that you are a bassist, so when I am done with this movie, I want you to have it." I looked over at the TV screen, and it seemed as though it was a documentary about electric bassists. He said that the movie was pretty good but lamented the fact that "the greatest bassist of them all", Victor Wooten, was not included in the movie. After hanging out a bit with my Turkish friend, I returned to the living room. He was still watching the movie, and I tried to leave without having him actually give it to me, because I didn't want him to have to not finish it. He saw me leaving and he said "I am going to give this to you. You take it, and you watch it. If you feel in your heart that you should keep it, then that's what you need to do. If your conscience tells you that you should pass it on to someone else, then that is what you have to do." This aging hippie was blowing my mind with his words, so I had to take the DVD, even though he hadn't finished it.

Well, I took the movie home, and loved it! It's called Rising Low. At first I noticed that it had Mike Watt in it, so I was pretty interested. It also had people like Les Claypool and Bootsy Collins. Lots of famous bassists. Its majesty is hard to describe. I will just say this: 1. This documentary is made by the bassist from Phish. 2. It is about the band Gov't Mule. 3. One of the bassists featured in this documentary is not even a real person!

I cannot recommend this enough.

Oh, and of course, the Metallica documentary that just came out, Some Kind of Monster, is one of the best movies ever made. Everyone who has ever been in a band should watch it. It is pure gold, 100 percent. Even the special features are gold. We have all been loving it.

NDM: I tried this on Chris from the Impossible Shapes, but how's the no smoking in bars ban in Bloomington going for you and yours?

MD: Sal is the only one in the band who smokes cigarettes, so I will have to wait and have him answer that. I think I can speak for the rest of the band when I say that as a non-smoker it is totally awesome! Now you can smell all the other things in a bar that you couldn't before, like the loneliness and doom. It has made going out to a bar less of a social situation because people are constantly leaving the table to go outside and smoke, leaving the non-smokers feeling lonely and doomed. It really hurts our feelings.

Sal (Chris Saligoe): I think it's silly in bars, because alcohol is a poison too. In a bar it seems kind of ridiculous.

NDM: You guys are playing in Chicago next week or something. Are you about to head out on tour?

MD: We are not playing in Chicago any time soon. Are we? We are departing from the Chicago airport to go on our first European tour in May. We have just finished a split LP with The Mae Shi.

NDM: Huh, someone (later revealed to be one Christy Ludwig) was saying you were playing at the Empty Bottle soon. Maybe he/she forgot to change the year on the online calendar? Anyway, so, off to Europe eh? Sounds like you guys will play anywhere, even in stinky 'ol Europe. (Need a merch guy?)

MD: No. Zespy already asked. But there's no room in the van. Unless you like laps.

NDM: Zesperado (Jim Zespy, owner or Essay Records) is a pal of mine. Is he a slave driver as a label owner?

MD: No. He is a joke-master, a connoisseur of fine dining across America. If you want a vegetarian Italian sandwich anywhere across America, Jim will know where to get you one. He will emancipate the taste buds in your mouth with his delicious ideas.

NDM: You guys are quite good at lengthy (but not too lengthy) replies. That means we're to the last question. Is there a question that you would have liked me to ask you? If so, what is it and answer it.

MD: Q: What is like being asked to ask yourself the last question? A: It sucks! Q: What is like being in the best band in the whole world? A: It is awesome, but it takes a lot of hair care products.

PS: we have all been listening to the new Joey Arkenstat disc a lot!

-- Nick D. Meiers