Interview with Tommy Christ and Guy Brogna of Scatterbrain while on tour for their first album "Here Comes Trouble"
 

How long has the band been together?

TC  We've been together for about a year and a half so far, something like that.

GB  Yeah
 

How did you come up with the name Scatterbrain?

TC  Guy...

GB  Hey, let me think. We were in rehearsal one night and Paul started playing some songs, and it happened to be a Jeff Beck song, so "Oh, what's the name of that song? Oh Scatterbrain. Hey that's a good name for the band!"

TC  Yeah, it fits.
 

Who are you're influences?

TC  I don't know, everybody in the band is influenced by different things, you know. Between the five of us you could cover every type of music possibly available in the whole world. I grew up listening to a lot of seventies rock. Guy's really into Zappa and jazz. All kinds of stuff.
 

Have you had a chance to see Vancouver?

TC  No, not really. This is the second time we've been here and we always get here right before we have to play and we wind up leaving right after the show, so no. It seems like a good place though you know, the people in the clubs are really cool and stuff.
 

What do you think of New York?

TC  I like New York. There's always something to do, always places to go, always something going on.

GB  How about that crack?

TC  There's a lot of places to get crack too (laughter)
 

Where do you get your ideas for songs?

TC  I don't know. They just kind of pop into my head. No specific places; newspapers, TV, whatever. Just general life stuff. Just by living.

GB  Nightmares.
 

Have you written any songs for the next album yet?

TC  Uhm yeah, we have one done called "Grandmas House of Babes" which we'll be playing tonight and we have a few more in the works which aren't done yet.
 

What's you're favourite song to play live?

TC  On this tour we're playing "Sweet Transvestite" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show and I like playing that 'cause we get to dress up like girls.

GB  Me too.
 

What bands do you listen to while you're on the road?

TC  Go ahead Guy (laughter)

GB  Should we take out our tapes? What were you just listening to before Tom?

TC  I was in the back listening to Hot Tuna. Guy was in the front listening to Joe Jackson.

GB  Who thinks he's Elvis Costello.

TC  Who thinks he's Elvis Costello.

GB  We listen to everything.

TC  Thrash to, uh there's like ten of us on this bus, so between ten people, there's anything you want to hear is here.
 

Where did you get the ideas for the video?

TC  Well, we followed the storyline from the song, "Don't Call Me Dude", and then we threw in some little twists that weren't in there, and George, the guy who directed it, threw in his ideas. And speaking of videos, George Seminaro(sp?), who did "Don't Call Me Dude" also just directed "Down With the Ship" for us. Which will be out in about a week but I know in Canada it usually takes about a month longer to get up here so figure about a month after that (laugher)
 

What do you do in you're spare time?

TC  We like to drink, we like to play golf, we like to go to the movies, we like to go to tittie bars.

GB  You forgot about jerking off.

TC  I like to masturbate. (announcer's voice) Which leads to our next question (laugher)
 

Interesting or embarrassing road stories.

TC  Well most of them you wouldn't be able to say on the air. One we can say. You notice Guy's fingers are taped up. He damaged ligaments and dislocated two of his fingers by holding on to the back of a bumper and skitching along, which you usually do in the snow but he did it in a gravel parking lot, which didn't work too well and his hand got caught in a bumper.

GB  Well, it worked well until that point.

TC  It did! You were doing good. You looked good out there doing that until that one point.

GB  Until I forgot to let go.

TC  Good form.
 

Any plans of the future?

TC  Yeah, this tour will be over in about another month and then we're going to Europe for a few weeks and after Christmas we'll get down to serious writing and the album will be out in the spring.
 

What advice would you give to bands starting out?

TC  Oh fuck off! No (laughter)

GB  Give it up, don't quit your day job.

TC  I would say just try and be original you know, don't do what you see other bands doing just for the sake, saying "Oh, they're successful, let's do it that way." Just write what you feel like writing and most of all have fun doing it.
 

Anything else you'd like to say?

TC  Hello Vancouver! Look for our new video, "Down With the Ship", out in about a month.

GB  Thank you.

TC  And look both ways before crossing the street.

GB  Oh, I forgot (laughter)