The Wise Words of Rev Norb!

The first time I heard Boris the Sprinkler, my brain melted. Sure I’ve heard wit, sarcasm and humor in Rock N’ Roll songs before but never put together so meticulously and sung with such ferocity. I remember thinking the same thing when I first read Norb’s monthly column in Maximum Rocknroll. Norb now fronts another band called The Onions with former members of Last Sons of Krypton and The Tantrums. Just when you think you’ve heard it all, the good reverend is now also producing his own podcast called Bubblegum Fuzz. A punk rock jack-of-all-trades, he injects his trademark mixture of charm, pop culture wisdom and manic energy into everything he does. So prepare to get tie dyed, deep-fried, pie eyed and Shanghai’d tonight with the voice of geek America himself!

This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on February 6th, 2014

Interview by Jay Castro

Shock Treatment: You are known throughout this land as being a bit of a Rock N’ Roll enthusiast. At what age do you remember first being moved by music and what band or musician motivated you to want get a band together and write your own songs?
RN: When I was a little kid, I always thought the Monkees were cool, because they lived in a cool house on the beach together and just hung out all day and played music. Same for the Archies, they just drove around Riverdale in their jalopy and then all of a sudden, hey, they’d be playing music together. My mom says she knew I was going to be a musician because of my enthusiastic reaction to the scene in The Aristocats where the zany Parisian cats are playing jazz in their run-down squat, but I don’t think the full real-world weight of it all hit me until I was in about fifth grade, and I went to go see Bob Hope at Lambeau Field with my family, which would have been about 1976. There were a bunch of opening acts on the bill that night, like, Duke Ellington’s son and I can’t remember who-all else, largely a bunch of old-timey orchestras and vocalists and such, playing in the middle of our football stadium. Midway through the night, they announce the next act: “Dr. Bop And The Headliners featuring The White Raven!” It’s this 50’s cover band – wholly un-unique by contemporary standards, but kind of novel back then, as this is right when all that 50’s nostalgia like Happy Days, American Graffiti, Sha Na Na is really kicking in – and the band is already set up at the 50 yard line and playing some intro music. All of a sudden, this dude in a white tux and tails comes sprinting out of the tunnel in the south end zone, the same end zone in which Bart Starr won the Ice Bowl in 1967! It’s pouring rain, but the guy is just running all over the field, playing air guitar, a completely novel concept at the time, like a nut. It is, apparently, the White Raven, I guess “Dr. Bop” was their drummer. This guy is just running around, playing air guitar in the rain all over Lambeau Field while his band plays on, and the crowd is going nuts. He eventually gets to the stage, and they blast through a bunch of 50’s standards like “Barbara Ann” et al. It was great! I was like, “Holy crap, you can just run around in the rain like a nut and play music and have an entire football stadium going crazy for you? Sign me up!”

ST: The first time I heard Boris The Sprinkler I felt three things simultaneously, primed up, hilarity and intimidation. Intimidation because of the fact that for every pop culture reference I caught 7 more soared past me at light speed. Do you ever worry about your writing referencing such obscure subjects that you might become like an Andy Kaufman type, where you would be the only one in on the jokes?
RN:: Not really, because the songs weren’t really set up that you had to understand the references to “get” the songs, I thought it was more like, I dunno, free association or something. Like, I don’t think one’s enjoyment of the song “((Do You Wanna)) Grilled Cheese?” is severely impacted by whether or not the listener knows what “Schrödinger’s Cat” is, or that “got a record collection that’s as big as a whale” is a reference to that line about a Chrysler as big as a whale in “Love Shack” by the B-52s, or that “got the law on my back” is a reference to the line “Law on my back! Pressure’s always on!” in the song “Pressure’s On” by Red C and/or the song “Police on my Back” by the Equals. I suppose it would be helpful to know who Christopher Pike is. I always hated bands like NOFX where you had to really follow the lyrics in order to get the joke; I thought they were kinda stupid.

ST: You just released a new 7” with your new band The Onions. A band that already had some releases prior to you coming aboard. How did you end up joining the band?
RN: At one point in time, they were doing a few covers by a few of my old bands: “I Object” by Suburban Mutilation, “I’m Not A Date ((I’m an Alcoholic))” by Depo-Provera, and “West of the East” by Boris, so I would occasionally sing guest vocals with them when they’d do those songs live. They also recorded “I’m Not a Date” and “West of the East” for their album, so I went over and sang vocals on those as well. Around Halloween last year, they asked me if I wanted to sing lead vocals on a Dickies tribute set they were doing at a number of Halloween shows, so we played about four shows we me singing Dickies covers with them. That was fun enough that we started doing it full-time.

ST: I know you are also a bit of a comic book/sci-fi enthusiast as well. What do you think of the mainstreaming of “geek” culture with huge budget movies based on Comic Book characters and TV shows like The Big Bang Theory? Which of these movies did you think actually did a good (or decent) job at adapting these characters and stories to the big screen?
RN: I think the Big Bang Theory does a really nice job of working in comic book geekery, it’s all pretty authentic when they talk about comic books or go to the comic book store; as opposed to earlier, less careful portrayals of comic books in mass media like, say, Robocop, where the liquor stores somehow only stock the shelves with multiple back issues of Iron Man from the 1970’s? As far as mainstreaming goes, it is pretty odd to see some hip-hop looking chick walking around in an Avengers t-shirt, especially when knowledge of superheroes above and beyond Superman/Batman/Aquaman/Wonder Woman/Spider-Man/Hulk was wholly outsider knowledge when I was a kid, you had to belong to a sort of secret brotherhood to know who the Avengers were, or Iron Man, or Captain America, or Thor. I thought Spider-Man 3 did a really good job of that bang-bang Silver Age story progression that’s been lost in comics since the 60’s, which seemed to me to be the most like a comic book come to life. And, like most other people, I think that Robert Downey, Jr., is pretty much the best Iron Man for which anyone could hope. I’m also pissed that Christian Bale didn’t say “Somedays you just can’t get rid of a bomb!!!” when the Batplane was toting that nuke out to sea at the end of the last Batman movie.

ST: The book The Annotated Boris: Deconstructing The Lyrical Majesty of Boris The Sprinkler (and other tales as the need arises) came out a year or so ago. I also read that you are putting together a collection of some of your old columns. Have you ever thought about writing any fictional books or even screenplays?
RN: If you heard that I am putting together a collection of my old columns, you didn’t hear it from me. I’ve considered it, but I dunno. I don’t know that that stuff was really written with posterity in mind, plus I don’t even think I saved all my files…and the ones I did are on floppy discs, in Quark 3.11 or something, for Mac. I’d probably have to re-type the stuff…I dunno. Maybe. Every once in a while I think about writing fiction, but I never really have any particularly great ideas. I don’t really know how to do it, so I wonder why I should bother. I guess you just rip off The Hero’s Journey and go from there. I don’t know that I would be any good at things like plot and character development; if I was to write a work of fiction, I’d worry that it would just wind up being a bunch of characters just standing around saying funny things. As far as screenplays go, I have never held one in my hands, so I don’t have an abstract idea of what they entail, what they feel like, how long are they, etc. It seems like other people would be more qualified for this that I am.

ST: I read about the time you gave TSOL a bad record review and there was a rumor that Jack Grisham wanted to cause you bodily harm. Do you ever remember writing about a band in a negative light and 6 months or so later saying to yourself “I was kind of wrong about this”?
RN: I dunno, but I do remember writing a bad review of the New Bomb Turks Drunk on Cock EP, right before I met and became friends with them. I think I’ve had changes of heart about bands in general, but probably not about records in specific, because why would I even bother to go back and listen to a record I already know I don’t like?

ST: You started the Bubblegum Fuzz podcast where you play your favorite tracks, both new and old. Is there anything you listen to that you think would not fit in at all in your Podcasts and may cause some Rev Norb fans to gasp in disbelief?
RN: I don’t think I’ve ever been particularly secretive with my likes and dislikes, so it’s hard to imagine what I could play that would take anyone by surprise. I did play an Elvis song on one episode, and a Beatles song on another; I don’t know if that’d surprise anyone or not. I don’t completely hate classic rock from the 70’s, some of which I liked, before they invented punk rock, so I could see playing some lost nugget by Aerosmith or Nazareth on the show, maybe, if the songs were off the radar and rockin’ enough to not make a mockery of the show’s principles, whatever they are. I’ve also developed a fondness for real early reggae, ca. 1968, so maybe I could toss an old reggae song in there to piss people off. I live to serve.

ST: If you could assemble an ultimate band for yourself comprising of musicians throughout Rock N’ Roll history, a sort of Justice League of bands so to speak, who would be in it?
RN: On the drums, Ringo Starr! On the bass, Sammy from Teengenerate! On guitars, Rick Neilsen of Cheap Trick and Stan Lee of the Dickies! Then I would hire Allan Clarke, Graham Nash and Tony Hicks of the Hollies to sing backup vocals, and Jerry Lee Lewis to play piano. Then I’d hire Peter Noone to sing lead vocals and demote myself to t-shirt seller dude.

ST: I don’t remember Boris The Sprinkler ever touring much, are there any plans on taking The Onions on the road?
RN: Boris actually did tour a little bit; we toured the East Coast thrice, the South, West, and Europe once each. The Onions, I dunno, the economics of touring is a lot more daunting these days. We’ll do what we can without having to break too much of a sweat.

ST: What’s the best way for people to keep up on all of the upcoming Rev. Norb releases, both printed and musical?

RN: KEEP YOUR EYES TO THE SKIES! I’m big on skywriting. Otherwise just track me down on Facebook, I’m a notorious self-promoter.

We Got Nikki Corvette!

Nikki Corvette’s music has been described, quite accurately I might add, as the perfect blend of The Ronettes and The Ramones. Garage bands around the world have been trying to imitate her sound ever since her debut album Nikki and the Corvettes came out in 1980 on Greg Shaw’s legendary recording label Bomp! Records. Although her name didn’t attain the household status that some of her peers achieved, it didn’t make Nikki’s music any bit less relevant. In my opinion, she hit all the marks a lot of her fellow lady rockers of that time missed. It’s more playful and light hearted than Joan Jett’s first records and less of a show boat than Blondie’s Parallel Lines and Eat to the Beat LP’s. Nikki Corvette continues to play her unique brand of sharp, sassy, and fun Rock N’ Roll with as much charisma and bounce as she did back in 1980 with a new crop of musicians she helped inspire. How’s that for the ultimate homage!

This Interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on February 6th, 2014

Interview by Jay Castro

Shock Treatment: You started writing and performing songs with one time guitarist for The Romantics Peter James. How did you meet him and was it him that inspired you to want to write and perform music?
Nikki Corvette: I met Pete when I was 16, his best friend was dating my best friend and we dated for a while. We both liked the same kind of music and went to every concert and show possible. I learned a lot about music from him, but I always wanted to sing in a band. We stayed friends after we broke up and then started Nikki Corvette and The Convertibles together and co-wrote all the songs so he really helped me realize my musical ambitions. Our very volatile relationship did inspire the lyrics for “You Make Me Crazy.”

ST: Nikki Corvette and The Convertibles were formed in a bit of a hurry due to the fact that you had shows booked but no band or songs. In retrospect, do you wish you would have had more time to rehearse and maybe gather your thoughts a bit, or do you feel you benefited by having your career starting off with a bang and not over thinking things?
NC: I was friends with this guy Skid Marx, he played bass and was booking a club called The Red Grape and I was always saying I wanted to be in a band so one day he told me he booked a show for me. So Pete, Skid and a drummer, Bob Mulrooney, aka Bootsey X, put some songs together including a couple I had written with Pete and we did the show but we never rehearsed, just learned the songs separately. Not only was the sound check was the first time we ever played together; it was also the first time I ever sang in a mic!! The show was packed, everyone I knew was there and I knew after the first song it couldn't ever be worse then that!! We got booked every weekend for the next 3 months from that show and we still never rehearsed! It's really hard to say what would have happened with more time to practice, etc, it might have been great but I think the way it happened was best. It was crazy and spontaneous and scary but with time to think, I might not have jumped in; I wasn't a great singer and that might have stopped me. I believe it was fated to happen this way and I'm glad it did!

ST: From what I gather things became a bit romantically complicated with you and some other Corvettes, former boyfriends, etc. Do you feel like this contributed to the breakup of the band in '81?
NC: Like I said before Pete and I dated when I was in high school and his next girlfriend, Lori Jeri joined the band about 6 months after we started playing and that was never a problem. Most of the girls in the band had musician boyfriends who weren't always happy when their girlfriends went on tour, but I don't really think that had anything to do with the band breaking up. I think it had just run its course although Pete, Lori Jeri and I continued to work on other projects together over the years.

ST: To me, the first Nikki and The Corvettes record on Bomp has a sort of sweet sunny disposition to it, a bit more of a West Coast feel and less of what one would think of as a Detroit or New York resonance. Did you have a particular sound you were shooting towards or was it more of a feeling or a 'vibe,' for lack of a better word?
NC: Nikki and The Corvettes had so many influences and inspirations and wanted to be like all of them. I always wanted to be more punk and Pete wanted us to be more pop. The album just ended up being our combination of all of that but my voice was just kind of cute and girly and plus I've always been just super happy and excited about life so that was probably more the sunny West Coast feel, plus I love California, lived there for 24 years, so I'm very much a Detroit California girl. I don't think we tried to sound a certain way, it's just what evolved, what we had to work with, doing the album ourselves and who we were.

ST: In 1997 you published a book called Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven. What is it about and what led you to want to write a book?
NC: It all started as a game Lee Childers, photographer, manager for Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers and Levi and The Rockats, part of the Bowie, Mainman, Warhol crowd and on and on, and I used to play when we were bored at work. We would try to list all the dead Rock Stars we could think of and I decided it would be a great book for all the crazy people like us. I had wanted it to be an encyclopedia of dead rock stars, how they died and where they were buried; a lot of my friends and I like to visit their graves but didn't know where many of them were buried. In the end, I had to cut in down drastically because of time issues, deadlines and the overwhelming scope of it but it's still my dream to publish the definitive book of rock star deaths and a map to their graves.

ST: In 2003 you released the "Love Me" b/w "What's On My Mind" 7” on Rapid Pulse Records. The first record that was released that marked an end to your recording hiatus. How did that project come together?
NC: After a long hiatus from music I started playing again occasionally with a young all girl band called The Pinkz. I got a message from Russell Quan, Bobbyteens, Flakes, Mummies and too many other bands to name, that a friend of his wanted me to play his festival called Rock Action in Minneapolis. I called his friend, Travis Ramin, intending to tell him no but he somehow convinced me to do the show with him and some local musicians. The show was great and Travis and I became really good friends. Next thing I know he wanted to write and record some songs so we wrote 2 songs over the phone, I was in LA, and we recorded them in Minneapolis. Pretty soon we started doing mini tours, East Coast, Midwest, West Coast and then Japan and eventually decided to make a real band of it and we became Nikki Corvette and The Stingrays recording several more records together.

ST: In releasing the Wild Record Party album in 2005, you covered the gamut of pop music, everything from late 70's Punk to late 50's Rockabilly and Doo Wop. Is this a sort of homage to your influences or are these simply songs you've always just wanted to let loose on?
NC: It's kind of a combination of reasons. Some are songs I had always loved and covered in the past, some were songs I just wanted to record and most of them were either a direct influence or representative of my many varied musical influences. There were also a few that were requests of other band members and a few that were compromises between us. It was just a fun record for me because I'm just a true fan, always have been, always will be and it was the chance to do a lot of songs I wouldn't normally do but that I was a fan of.

ST: You have records on many different labels and collaborated with a lot of people through out your career in music. Have you ever thought of compiling your music into a sort of career spanning 'Box Set' collection? Because that frankly would be super fantastic.
NC: I hadn't really thought about it until I read this question but I kind of love the idea! There are a lot of records, especially the Japan only releases, which a lot of people haven't heard and there are some songs on those I'm quite proud of. I think it would be interesting to do, especially to re-release some songs I'm really proud of that were only released in Japan. Some of the recent work I've done is more grown-up and I'm trying some different styles of music and I'd like people to see another side of me. What do you guys think???? I would love to get some feedback!

ST: There have been a number of books and memoirs written about the NYC music scene in the mid to late 70's. You were right there in the middle of it. There's even a story of David Johansen writing an English paper for you when you were in high school! Have you ever seen a passage or read any book that just completely misrepresents those times or anyone you've known from back in the day? Anything that's made you think to yourself "that guy has it all wrong!"
NC: Although there is nothing I can think of offhand, I am absolutely sure there are many instances I have thought this but that doesn't mean it didn't truly represent what the writer felt, it's all relative and personal to everyone in a different way. I have found in talking to people about shared experiences that we viewed them very differently even if we were together and I'm sure I've said stuff about things that happened, that someone else said "No, that's wrong." As far as the Johansen story, I was a college freshman and had stayed up all night hanging with The Dolls, I had an English paper due in a couple of hours on Desire Under The Elms and Johansen actually did help me write it. I got it turned in on time and gave him credit for the help.

ST: You've been involved throughout the years with many young artists, everyone from Amy Gore to LA's The Pinkz, who I saw open up for The Real Kids and totally held their own, and The Donnas. Have these collaborations been a key factor in keeping you inspired to continue to play and write music?
NC: I really love working with different people because they open me up to different styles of music and yes, they very much inspire me to try new stuff and keep me fresh. I'm a little scattered/ADD/easily bored so all these people keep me excited.

ST: What does Nikki Corvette have in store for us in the near or not so near future?
NC: I have so many projects in the works it's insane!!! I am currently working on songs/singles with Hunx from Hunx and His Punks, Kepi Ghoulie from Groovy Ghoulies, Morten Henriksen from The Yum Yums, Kevin Preston from Prima Donna and King Khan as well as writing songs for an album with my band The Romeos. Some Rock N' Roll Art shows with this amazing San Francisco artist Dirty Donny, a book project in the very early stages I will be doing with Deniz Tek, Radio Birdman as well as a mini West Coast tour this winter and tours of Japan, Spain and possibly more of Europe and hopefully Australia next year. I just released a single “He's Gone b/w Rockin' Romeos” with my incredible Italian band The Romeos, right before our last European tour, it's sold out but hopefully we will repress it soon. I have 3 songs I co-wrote with producer Mike E. Clark as well as some vocals that will be on his Zombies Rule record later this month. I am constantly finding new projects and beyond what is already in the works, I'm not even sure what's in store but I will keep working, playing and rockin' as long as people are interested and I'm having fun!!!