Made Out of Babies
interview by Erin
New York City based band Made Out of Babies (MOoB), has toured with bands such as: Dillnger Escape Plan, Neurosis, and Los Angeles band Red Sparrows; currently signed with Neurosis' own label, Neurot, MOoB have so kindly allowed me to ask them a couple of questions. Here with us is Matt, who is obligated to be here considering he is carrying my baby…he's in first trimester, and Julie and Brendan who were nice enough to chip in too.
They've been previously described as "a ferocious hybrid of PJ Harvey, Jesus Lizard, Babes in Toyland, and Big Black." I don't know if I'd go as far as to throw the PJ Harvey in there, but I think that description is pretty accurate. Also, I kind of just wanted to add that quote in there because I'm a fan of "Ferocious Hybrid" as a description; I feel like that's a pet that I want to have. Anyways, having recently recorded with one of my personal producers, Steve Albini, Made Out of Babies' new album "Coward" is available in stores and on their website.
On with the questions:
Erin: Hello -
Matt: Hi Erin and Internet perverts.
Erin: So, you say that you are Made Out of Babies? What kind of babies are we talking about here? Are they Ethiopian babies? German babies?
Julie: German, Ethiopian, American, we don't label em' - they all look the same in the blender.
Erin: Amen sister.
Brendan: I hate babies. I think they're smug…and ugly.
Matt: Yeah, totally. I've been on a baby-hating rampage lately. They should remain indoors: until they're at least 10 and capable of sitting still... especially in the diner where I eat my eggs on the weekend.
Erin: Name yourselves.
Julie Christmas (vocals)
Matthew Egan (drums)
Brendan Tobin (guitar)
Cooper (bass, vocals)
Erin: If you had to choose between wearing a pink penguin tuxedo or a crushed velvet 80s prom dress with a satin sash, which would you choose?
Julie: Purple mothbutter-knuckle chaps with matching open toed shingle mumps.
Brendan: Definitely the crushed velvet. Tuxedos are so uptight, and polyester doesn't come anywhere near this body. I don't care if it is pink.
Matt: Pink penguin tux. I love penguins. Does that make me gay?
Erin: Plans of touring any time soon?
Brendan: I'm sure we will be back in a van together soon enough. I think we'll be touring the U.S. again this summer, but for now I am on tour playing guitar for the Red Sparrows.
Julie: The ringing in our eardrums has subsided to jack-hammer volume, a sign that it's that time. Otherwise you can actually hear what people say to you - which is a fucking drag 100% of the time.
Erin: Have you seen Pan's Labyrinth yet?
Matt: Wait, is that the one with David Bowie and the Muppets?
Brendan: No…don't tell me anything about it. I'm going this week. I said that guy (Guillermo del Toro) was a genius when I saw Devil's Backbone, but no one listened.
Julie: Saw it yesterday. I liked it. When I've heard people talking about it though, they seem to leave out the fact that all the fantasy parts of the movie were generated in the mind of a little girl who was probably mentally ill. That's a pretty important piece of the puzzle, no? The maggot-white child eater character was FUCKING AMAZING. Seriously, that's the stuff that nightmares are made of. I'd like to see a whole movie based around that character.
Erin: Do you write songs on the toilet?
Julie: Are you saying we sound like shit?
Erin: Bahahaha, no but I'm totally going to use that in the future. Thanks.
Brendan: No, I'm too busy talking on the phone and eating when I'm on the toilet.
Matt: Yeah, Brendan always calls me while he's on the toilet… I can hear the "plunks".
Erin: What if the Piper Laurie (the mother in the movie Carrie) was your mother? Do you think you would have killed everyone by burning down a gymnasium with your mind? Or would you have let the people inside live and just kill yourself?
Julie: No, I would have started a band that travels around sweating and screaming at people.
Brendan: Piper Laurie was good in Twin Peaks, but she was even better in "The Hustler". Paul Newman slaps like a girl.
Erin: If George Bush was on fire, would you put him out? (am I allowed to say things like this? I'm Canadian... does that make it okay?)
Matt: Yeah, but I'd put him out with a baseball bat or a cactus...or a bag of dicks if I had one within reach. I suppose I could practice by burning him in effigy first... sort of a trial run.
Julie: Don't even get me started with that murdering, yellow-bellied, capitalist stain… but seriously, why would I do that? He's just a Good ol' Boy? Right?
Brendan: I prefer not to mix politics with tits and rock music, so I don't think I'll talk about Dubya in this interview. But I did watch the State of the Union last week and haven't had that big a laugh in years.
Erin: If you had to choose a language to learn would it be: German, Japanese, or Sri Lankan?
Julie: Well, I would definitely learn how to say "FUCKING RUN" in Sri Lankan. Sorry, that was awful. If you didn't get that, you're part of the problem. That's useful in any of those languages though, isn't it? If you didn't get THAT - you're also part of the problem.
Matt: German! I think that, pound for pound, German is the funniest sounding language. Sometimes I like to speak in a silly German accent like that man from that one show.
Brendan: There is only one language...God's language. I think all you boobie starers should learn it. People from Sri Lanka actually speak Sinhalese, that's close.
Erin: Julie, how come you get to be Miss Christmas? What makes you so Christmas-ey?
Julie: I was born on Christmas day. It's my real name. Plus, I wear snow shoes when I run errands around the neighborhood.
Erin: I got some pretty awesome show shoes for my move to the cold. Maybe we should run around in snowshoes together? I think I'd like that.
Erin: What is your favorite venue to play in New York?
Brendan: Southpaw, that's the first place we ever played together, and it is owned and operated by the most twisted fuck ups that I love like brothers. Plus, the stage manager Gary made me laugh while I was paralyzed on the ground after being mowed down by a SUV.
Julie: Southpaw rules. I grew up with those guys and the venue itself is great.
Matt: Southpaw IS great. However, even though it smelled like a high school boys' locker room and was pretty much a mismanaged shit-hole, CBGB was one of the better sounding rooms in NY.
Erin: Matt, how is yoga going?
Matt: Pretty well thanks. I have stains on my yoga mat and I keep farting and offending all the yuppie broads in class. YOU try twisting yourself up like that without dropping a few.
Erin: Will you put my mother on the list for your next Toronto show?
Julie: We'll let Brendan answer this one.
Brendan: Unfortunately, Canada hates me and hates Cooper, our bass player even more. They won't let me in because I shoplifted some CD's when I was 20 (14 years ago) and used my mom's credit card without asking when I was 22. I have crossed almost 50 international borders in the last 2 years, yet Canada thinks I'm too big a risk. So, sorry, no Toronto.
Matt: In other words, we're all paying for Brendan's wild, hell-raising youth. Hope it was worth it… jerk.
Erin: Well, shit. My people are not MOoB friendly. I apologize on their behalf, they're really nice once you get across the border... I promise.
Check out these guys on their website or Myspace page. Word on the street is they have a show or two coming up in NYC that you should probably go see.
:: more : myspace.com/madeoutofbabies : madeoutofbabies.com ::
