Gaijin Smash by Science Ninja Big Ten

I made Monica’s character, the hot cat–girl in

the skimpy schoolgirl uniform a little more chibi–like, and Pete’s

character, the hot headed ninja–kid, is now much more bishounen

or pretty–boy. Dave’s character, the strong, calm, silent monk,

and my character, the ‘big guy,’ have pretty much remained the

same as in previous designs. Every anime team has to have one

big guy, since I’m the biggest guy in the band I made myself that

character.”

Cracknell’s internet art is developing him into popular cult

status. This past weekend saw him participate in a sci–fi horror

convention alongside the likes of George ‘Sulu’ Takai and

Cassandra ‘Elvira’ Peterson. Knott could easily focus on her

singing in the local opera chorus. Lloyd, an acclaimed prolific

author, is set to release the third in his Avatar series of books—a

fantastic voyage of vampires and werewolves, sex and violence,

reading like a fast paced movie script with the city of Hamilton as

a backdrop. The self–published (Tower Circle) works are easily

enveloping and could bring Lloyd’s creativity to a national

audience.

All of the members of SNBT could keep busy without the

band but when they come together, it’s magic, in a quirky Square

Pegs way. There’s pop song structures, an indie rock approach

and operatic textures added to form a mix of all of their artistic

loves and from the heady stew, out comes a Canadianized

rendition of J pop, or Japanese Pop. But you don’t have to be well

versed in their influences to appreciate the music of the band.

“My outside endeavours definitely have an effect on the

band’s Internet presence,” reasons Cracknell. “It’s been really

handy being able to use the popularity of Ghastly’s Ghastly comic

to promote SNBT online. We’ve even had convention organizers

express an interest in having us perform at their conventions

[but] there’s so many other elements fused into our style.

“There is a positive cross–pollination for me between the

books and the band,” adds Lloyd. “I listen to music as I write and

it’s expanded what I like. A couple of the songs on the disc have

direct quotes in the lyrics from my books. When it comes to

getting our music, it helps if you can see the beauty in the

absurd.”

“I wonder if people have to get it in order to enjoy it,”

ruminates Knott. “People who don’t know anime or J pop or even

classical music will hear what they hear and respond on a lot of

levels. [But] I hope part of what they are getting is that we really

like what we are doing, that we are having fun.”

With cross marketing opportunities on the Internet and at

conventions, SNBT has a much larger potential audience, perhaps

more so than many other locals. But while they might be able to

make the band busier, SNBT revels in the common bond that

brought them together in the first place. If they were nerds, they

are happy to maintain that authenticity.

“The people who are regulars on the website seem to

respond quite well to our music,” notes Cracknell. “We’re not

corporate marketed posers trying to cash in on geek–chic, we’re

actually pretty much a bunch of nerds who haven’t realized we’re

not 17 anymore. I think that’s what really appeals to our fans

online. They can smell a fake nerd a mile away and they don’t like

it.”

“Chris’ comic empire is vast and reaches many strange

people with strange appetites,” interjects Lloyd.

“But at the end of the day we’re still a punk band,”

summates Cracknell. “Our mutual common bond is we all like to

drink beer, play music, and have fun and that’s about as good a

reason to get together as you can get. If the posters I draw of the

band were mirrors they’d carry the disclaimer, Warning: Objects

may be dorkier than they appear. We haven’t got ninjas, swords,

or even breasts flipping out during our shows. We have a lot of

high–energy music and fun. I think the audience gets a real sense

that we’re having fun when we’re on stage and it’s contagious. I

think anyone who ever wished they were a Buckaroo Banzai, Blue

Blaze Irregular would enjoy our show a lot.”

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