Interview w/ The Mcrackins
When & how did the whole idea of The Mcrackin's hatch out?
BIL: Well it all started back in 1994 actually. There was a freak nuclear accident on a farm on the outskirts of Vancouver, Canada in which men were turned to eggs, a dog and a chicken. Shortly after this happened we discovered that we were given super pop-punk powers so we formed a band and went on a songwriting-album releasing spree that has not stopped till this day.
I know you always get asked this, but what's the significance of the Egg & Dog costumes?
BIL: Costumes? We do not know of such costumes! The significance in which you speak of is that we are what we are and that is 2 hard boiled eggs named Bil and Fil and a rabid drumming pooch named Spot. When we started out, we had a drumming chicken named Tommy (R.I.P), but KFC recruited him and that was the end of that. It still brings a tear to my eye when I think about my little poultry pal. As for how it got started see the answer to the last question.
Late 2006 you released your 12th Album "Bat Out Of Hell" and launched a major European tour. Give us the highlights and lowlights of the tour.
BIL: Some of the highlights:
-Having the 20Belows from Denmark as our support band for the whole tour. They are one of the best punk bands out there right now and we are now proud to call them our pals.
-Drinking different kinds of beer every day and night.
-Playing, staying and partying with the Zatopeks for a couple of days in Berlin. Great guys and one of the best live bands I’ve seen in a long time. Very entertaining!
-Seeing some old friends/fans that we met on our last Euro tour in 1996 again.
-Some of the food.
-Going to the leaning tower of Pisa.
-Sightseeing in London on a day off.
-Our night off in Amsterdam.
-Great van and backline courtesy of Manny and Teenage Head Music.
-Meeting lots of great people, bands and promoters.
-Playing in some countries where we had not gone before like Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium.
Some of the lowlights would be:
- A deranged skinhead in Switzerland freaking out and punching Ulli Below in the face.
-Bjarke Below getting his bass stolen in Switzerland.
-Getting stranded at Stansted airport in the UK for 18 hours because it snowed a little bit and they closed down the entire airport.
-Our show in Kingston,UK where I got so loaded I didn’t even know what song I was playing for most of the set. That’s what I was told anyway hahahah.
-Having to cancel our show in Glasgow, Scotland due to bad routing.
-Some of the food.
-The end of the tour.
Overall it was all a highlight and good great to get back over there after all these years.
What's up with The Zatopeks Eyebrow's and how the hell do they get them to grow that much?
BIL: I don’t know what’s up with em but they sure are cute . I think it has got to be the massive amounts of alcohol that they consume that helps them to grow.
What other bands have you played in?
Bil: Besides the MCRACKINS, some of the other projects I’ve been involved in are The Deltoros (guitar), Hub City Losers Club (Guitar), Doormats (Guitar\Bass), Los Testicles (Multi-Instruments), Sluggo (Guitar), Sickboy (Guitar), and Nerd Gets The Girl (Bass) to name a few. Spot and Fil have been in some other bands such as The Retreads, Violent Monks, Billy And The Lost Boys, and The Ramores. And our old drummer Tommy has been in a band called GOB for years, they are like punk superstars up here in Canada eh!
Who are your musical influences?
BIL: Anything with buzzsaw guitar, a good melody and a great hook!! I’m a huge music fan and love a variety of stuff. Some of my early influences are the Ramones, Clash, Replacements, Kiss, Generation X, Cheap Trick, Sex Pistols, Early Goo Goo Dolls, Beach Boys and a lot of 80’s glam stuff like Motley Crue, Hanoi Rocks etc
What happened with your solo stuff and what caused you to all start playing together again?
BIL:My solo stuff packed its bags and hopped a train to Cretinville never to be heard from again……. After a drunken night of many rum and cokes, me and Spot decided that we should try recording one last album which was “Bat Out Of Shell” in which one thing led to another and we got it released by Wynona Records in Italy who then hooked us up with Manny at Teenage Head Booking who then set us up a European tour and they told two friends and so on and so on. We have also just finished mixing and mastering our brand new last and final album called “EGGZIT” which we hope to find a home for soon and get it released sometime in 2008.
Who writes the lyrics to the songs and how the hell do you come up with so much material? BIL: I write the lyrics to the music I write and Spot writes lyrics to his songs. Although we do collaborate on occasion. Sometimes we get other animals to help out with lyrics as well. Our pal Jib the toad comes up with some wicked shit!! As far as writing so much material goes, It all comes back to the accident on the farm and all of the nuclear fallout. As well as copious amounts of the amber nectar!!!
I've heard that the recent European tour (Early 2007) got pretty wild at times. What is the funniest thing you can remember happening during that tour?
BIL: There are probably a lot of things that I can’t remember but one of the funniest moments was when we were in Munich, Germany. Fil was sleepin on the top bunk of a bunk bed and Peter from the 20Belows climbed up the ladder and slapped Fil in the face with his gigantic man hammer. Me and Spot were laughin so hard we were cryin. Funny shit or maybe you had to be there? The unveiling of the manginas in Spain was also hilarious. Also, in Switzerland I got so loaded after the show I passed out and Spot drew a cock and balls on my face for all to admire . The next morning I walked into a truck stop and the woman behind the counter says “My what a nice cock and balls you have” to which I replied “Why thank you kindly”. Priceless!!!!!
Of all the songs you guys have played and recorded, which is your personal favorite song & Album?
BIL: After recording and releasing nearly 250 songs, it kind of makes it hard to pick just 1 song or album. It changes from week to week, but if you had a knife to my shell and told me to choose, I’d probably say Song: “Colorado Van Crash” because it is a real story about us almost dying and cutting the tour short when we crashed our van in Colorado on route to Kansas during our first and only US tour. Album: “Bat Out Of Shell” because we spent over 1 year recording it and consciously made it the most epic and polished album we have done to date. It also enabled us to tour Europe again after 10 years. We are very proud of the way that album turned out. I also like the new one we just finished just because it’s fresh and because it sounds great.
Where is your favorite place/ venue to do shows?
BIL: Some of our favorite places to play are Grutta77 in Madrid, Spain, Sala Jam in Bergara,Spain, Wild At Heart in Berlin, Germany, Skaletta in La Spezia,Italy to name a few. Also we like to kick it old school once and a while and play a show for all our barn yard pals at the Hen Hut and bring it back to where it all began. We are planning to go to Japan next year too, so that will probably be added the favorite places to play list as well.
Besides making great pop punk music, what else have The Mcrackins been involved with?
BIL: We haven’t done anything else for a while but in years past we had a cameo in a movie called DownHill Willy which you can still rent\buy on DVD, We were in a TV commercial for Molsen Canadian beer. Were interviewed and featured on Much Music Canada and some local cable shows a few times, we’ve done a few low budget videos and had a few of our toons used in TV shows and radio adds. Spot also moonlights as guard dog of our massive toon vault where we store all of our master recordings and Fil is a successful egg fetish porn star. Only problem is it takes him 15 minutes to get hard and he has to come in a box with 11 others. Oh the shame!!!!
What is it about you guys that get you such a cult like following around the world?
BIL: We are the only egg\dog pop-punk band that has ever existed in the history of modern music. If you’ve heard of another, please let us know. In all seriousness, it is the freak factor and curiosity of the unknown that draws fellow eggheads to us. Plus we have some pretty good songs and put on a hilarious live show if I must say.
This past summer (2007) The Mcrackins were part of a benefit CD for Lance Hahn. Please tell the readers what it was about and why or how you chose the song you did (Undisputed King Of Nothing).
BIL: This was a benefit to raise money for Lance Hahn of J-Church\Cringer fame to get a kidney transplant. We were more than happy to help out a fellow pop-punker and glad that we were asked to be part of it. The song is from the J-Church album “Drama of Alienation” on Honest Don’s Records. We chose it cause it is short and sweet and has some cool lyrics. I think we did a pretty good job of it. We have kinda a connection with J-Church in that we always used to be compared to them cause they were very prolific and released a shit load of records like we did as well. Back in the mid 90’s, you would never see an issue of a music mag or fanzine without a J-Church or Mcrackins review in it. Never got to meet Lance personally but we were very sad and sorry to hear of his passing recently. R.I.P Lance!
I've seen in different articles The Mcrackins being compared to The Ramones, The Dickies, The Banana Split Gang, Green Day, The Knack, The Clash & even Toy Dolls meets Suicidal Tendencies. How would you explain your sound to someone who has never heard you before?
BIL: I’m sure we’ve got some of those bands’ qualities in our stuff cause those are bands that we’ve listened to and ripped stuff off of for sure. I would explain our sound as Buzzsaw Bubble-Punk-Power-Pop. Throw the Ramones,Queers,Screeching Weasel,Goo Goo Dolls, Beach Boys and a dash of Poison in a blender and you’d have something that sounds like the MCRACKINS. It’s funny cause early on people used to compare us to the Queers and Screeching Weasel when in fact we had never even heard those guys yet. We are now of course big fans of both of em.
What do you guys do when you aren't playing music?
BIL: Get hammered and slap the monkey! We also like a good game of Jibber Jabber or Roshambo once in a while.
Tell us something about The Mcrackins that not many people might be aware of.
BIL: We are not retarded!!!! And we are not the worst band in musical history like some like to claim we are, although we might be in the top 10 hahahahahahahah.
Closing statements
BIL: Thanks for the interview, we really appreciate the opportunity!! Check out our recent CD “Bat Out Of Shell” and keep your eyes and ears peeled for our final album “EGGZIT” which will be released sometime in 2008. Over and Out!!!!!
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