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Mexican Cheerleader
interview by: Mike Alfini October 2002

Mike: First off what's the combined age of everyone in the band?

SNAKE: Old.

ACTION: I think 118 years?

ROYAL: I guess 75, in hexadecimal.

PANTS: Can we use Roman numerals? MCMLXXII

Mike: All of you have been going to shows for awhile do you see a change in local shows now from when you first started going?

ROYAL: There used to be more of a concern about the cover charge, that's
pretty much out the window. Beyond that, it's still mostly comprised of
sub-par bands who stick it out for a summer or two, but think the world owes
them everything.

ACTION/SNAKE: The only change I see is everyone gets younger and I get
older.

PANTS: I stopped going. Who should I see? The Plain White Ts?

Mike: Do you think that the scene suffered when Dave Eaves turned his back on it?

PANTS: Did he? I miss the cackle.

ROYAL: Turned his back on it? He's been trying to SAVE it all these years!
He's working hard on bringing the Cornerstone festival to Fireside since 1998.

ACTION/SNAKE: Why are we still talking about Dave Eaves?!?

Mike: Where do you like to play in Chicago?

PANTS: Fireside.

ACTION: I like the usual stuff. Fireside, Prodigal Son, Mutiny. They're all
good places that have always been good to us. Always been good!

SNAKE: Anywhere that will have us.

ROYAL: I agree. I still like playing the Fireside after all these years. I wish they didn't get rid of the Wrigleyside.

Mike: Where do you not like to play in Chicago?

SNAKE: Anywhere that won't let us play there.

PANTS: Fireside. And Prodigal Son. Why doesn't Brian Petersen turn some
back? (Rob Reiner lookin' mutherfucker)

ACTION: Magoo's Underground, nice place, nice people, but finding parking
gives me an ulcer!

ROYAL: I won't say "disliked", but the show at the Big Horse was not one of
my better Chicago memories. It wasn't completely the club's fault, though.

Mike: Do you prefer all ages shows or 21 and over ones?

SNAKE: I think it doesn't really matter. Playing some bar shows, one group
of people will show up, and playing an all-ages show, another group will
show up. But, I prefer to play stadium and arena shows.

ACTION: I don't have a preference one way or the other. We try to do a
combination of both. Sometimes its fun to see kids go off, but at times they
can be as jaded as 21+ crowds, sometimes its fun to see a bunch of geezers gassed on booze at the 21+ shows. I guess it depends on the how the crowd is acting and what kind of mood I'm in.

ROYAL: I still like the all-ages show, but we're playing about 50% bar
shows, and we're doing well at both. I like almost any show where people
attend.

PANTS: ALL.

Mike: What bands do you like to play with?

ROYAL: In no particular order: The Mashers, I Love Rich, The Arrivals,
Mushuganas, probably some others I can't think of right now. I like to play
with out-of-town bands when they actually have the balls to show up.

ACTION: The Mashers are always great, I like playing with the Arrivals, and
the Matics. I Love Rich, and the Mushuganas are also some faves to play
with.

PANTS: Mashers.

SNAKE: Why are we still talking about other bands?

Mike: What was the strangest show Mexican Cheerleader ever played?

PANTS: Three weeks at the Sunset Motel.

ACTION: I don't have any great war stories, but I thought a show we played
at the Big Horse where some gentleman showed up looking for the Mexican
cheerleaders was amusing. Apparently, they wanted to see some young,
skirt-wearing, pom-pom shaking girls, and instead, they got us. Lately, I
have noticed that there are older wierdos showing up expecting to see
cheerleaders of the Mexican variety. I'm not sure if they stay to watch...

ROYAL: I think our first show with the catfight ranks up there, or the show
in Carbondale with the pubic hair in the hotel room and the neighbors
barbecuing and the nasty prostitute. Of course, who can also forget the
cameo appearance on the Goodyear blimp?

Mike: Why did you decide to release your latest CD on 2 different labels?

PANTS: Did we?

SNAKE: Money. No one had any.

ROYAL: When you find two companies that are chomping at the bit to go
bankrupt as quickly as these guys, it's like that song "Room Service", I can't say no... No!

Mike: I saw that the band traveled to Colorado to record your CD. How was that and why did you decide to go there and not record it in Chicago?

ROYAL: Attica Studios didn't renew their lease, and since 99% of the other
places in Chicago were putting out acoustic records and "Hot August Night"
tributes, we skipped town for a while. I heard a few records done by Matt
Van Leuven in Denver, and I wanted our record to sound like that. Everyone
in Denver treated us like kings, of course. I think that's my new runner-up
favorite city (sorry, Knoxville).

PANTS: Vacation seemed like a good idea, and it was like touring, only by
plane. Our options locally had dried up until recently.

Mike: I noticed that Mexican Cheerleader has not put out a 7". Is there a reason for this?

PANTS: We are!

ACTION: Fear not, a 7" on yet another label is on the way.

ROYAL: There's actually some split 7-inches that have been in the works, but
you know how releases go. We gave a song to a label over a year ago, and
it's still "coming soon"! I wanted to put out an EP next year, but it looks
like it's blossoming into another full CD.

Mike: What's so different about being in Mexican Cheerleader than the previous band that all of you were in?

ACTION: The big difference between this band and my old band is that Mexican Cheerleader is not only good mechanically, but we are also good mentally.

PANTS: Less hassle, less fans, but we're working on both.

ROYAL: A lot less porn in the van.

Mike: What was the last great album that all of you have purchased?

SNAKE: Either Cave In "Jupiter", or Queens Of The Stone Age "S/T", or Isis
"Celestial". Don't make me choose.

PANTS: "Futuristic Dragon" by T. Rex. Masterpiece.

ROYAL: "Blastronaut" by the Lee Harvey Oswald Band in 1996. Yes, it's been
that long for great albums. Don't kid yourself.

ACTION: The last truly great album(s) that I purchased would be AC/DC's
"Back in Black", or Guns-n-Roses "Appetite For Destruction". I got them at
Sam Goody's in the summer of 2000. Socially, my stock has been on the rise
ever since.

ROYAL: Why, why, WHY are we still talking about those records?

Mike: Where do you like to purchase your music?

PANTS: Cletus.

ACTION: I live in a small town in Michigan. There are not any good stores to
go to there. I get some stuff from Amazon.com. If I see a band and they are
selling their stuff, I try to get it from them. If I'm in Illinois, I go to the Record Breakers in Hoffman Estates. Those guys are good!

ROYAL: I can get good collector items off of Ebay. Besides that, I'll go
wherever they have what I'm looking for.

SNAKE: Anywhere that likes to overcharge. I'm a huge fan of the $19.98 CD!

Mike: If a Mexican Cheerleader song could have either been featured in Good Burger or Dude where's my car which one would you choose?

PANTS: "Good Burger" fucking rocks. Those kids are genius. Shaq was in
that movie. Can you believe it? SHAQ.

ACTION: I'll go "Dude" on this one. They had a dog that smoked pot in that
movie. Funny.

SNAKE: Neither. We're quality and both those movies suck.

ROYAL: Is there any way we could get a deal for the original "Brian's Song"
instead?

Mike: Any last words to wrap

ACTION: No.

SNAKE: Yo yo yo.

PANTS: Fuck Shaq. Brian Urlacher is the Shit.

ROYAL: Chemical Blue discography coming soon on Johann's Face! And bring back the all-you-can-eat crabs.

for more info on Mexican Cheerleader please visit: www.mexicancheerleader.com

Apoc. Hoboken / Oblivion
"S/T"
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Oblivion / Gods Reflex
"S/T"
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