Is it legal in California to marry an entire band?

Because if it is, consider this my premature proposal to any or all members of Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s. Have you ever been on a really awkward and uncomfortable first date? You know the kind where you accidentally insult your date’s dead grandma (Yes, I’ve done it)? Well, a night with Margot is completely the opposite of that.

Margot is that goose bump inducing “come over and watch a movie while I do my laundry” date. The one where movie watching and laundry washing are replaced with lots of making out and…other stuff.
I went to their show at the Casbah in San Diego on Memorial Day and was able to hunt down Margot’s drummer Chris Fry. He was kind enough to give me a few moments of his time and answer some life threatening questions I had about their 2nd album, “Animal!” set to release Sept. 21st, 2008.

(Not July 29th, like Wikipedia says…damn.)

First and foremost, why the hell isn’t ‘Payphone’ on the new album?!?! I heard a rumor about a month ago that it would be making its debut on Animal! but Chris shot down my hopes and dreams and informed me that that was not the case. He went as far to say that ‘Payphone’ is not that popular of a song and that none of the band members even suggested it as a track. I blame Epic records. I don’t know why but it only seems natural to blame the new ginormous label for the things that make me unhappy. And Margot might be the only saving grace of my relationship with Epic. Any friend of Margot’s is a friend of mine.
I asked Chris why they abandoned their prior label V2 records for Epic and he said V2 became strictly a catalog label and no longer produces new music. What label lets Moby and the White Stripes become free agents?? Bad move V2…bad move.

What was my absolute favorite thing about their show, you ask?? It had to have been the amazing/awkward, semi sing-along during ‘Quiet as Mouse’. I’m serious, that really happened. I’m not joking. About 2/3 of the way through the performance, Margot breaks out into ‘Quiet as a Mouse’ and when they hit “When I woke my back was broke from lying on the floor” the music died and the voices carried the song. The crowd knew the freakin’ words people! In San Diego? How cool is that? And yes, I was singing too.

So my suggestion to you, is to go to one of their shows…and then go to another. The set list always changes so you will not be disappointed, trust me. And as long as Casey Tennis is on stage you will not be bored either. By the way that guy moves I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a part of the Miami Sound Machine in a past life.

They’ll definitely play some favorites from “Dust of the Retreat” and they’ll also give you some “Animal!” teasers. Check out “I Will Be Your Lightning Rod” on YouTube. This song is a fair trade for ‘Payphone’ in my opinion.

Oh, and if you go to a show, stalk Richard Edwards and ask him why he’s obsessed with The Royal Tenenbaums and let me know what he says. I need an answer and I need it now. Click on pictures for some MNSS goodness.

It’s extremely hard to categorize the 28 year old Andrew Heine (pronounced ‘high-nuh’). As a San Diego resident who served in the first days of this Iraq war, you wouldn’t know it by looking at him. A Jack Daniels baseball cap, Dickie shorts, and worn out Chuck Taylors, he barely dresses the part of a soldier. And don’t ask him about it - rather, you can read an article the San Diego Union Tribune wrote a few weeks ago.

What Heine will tell you, is that he loves art. Whether it be making his own music, playing in one of 3 bands, drawing, painting, or writing, Andrew lives art. When he’s not doing these things, he actually teaches the youth of tomorrow. Maybe he just can’t stop himself from being creative - all the time.

Recently, Andrew teamed up with a few other guys to form Dogcatcher, a new jazz/acoustic/folk act, that is slowly but surely gaining some attention amongst the San Diego indies. I was given their first release ‘Feudalism’ about 6 months ago, and fell in love with it. Here are a two tracks from that album.

Dogcatcher - A Good Idea
Dogcatcher - Wish You Well

And if that isn’t enough, Heine also took some time out to record some electronica/break beat sort of tunes under the pen name ‘Fortune Cat.’ Here’s SRM - break out your dance moves.
Fortunecat - SRM

To reach Heine, you can find him on Myspace, where you can download all these tracks for free. Don’t say I never gave ya nothin.
(photo courtesy of Jim Hughes)