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It’s the policy of CityBeat‘s CD of the Week to search the globe for CDs worthy of your attention. We’ve rung up huge phone bills interviewing artists in London, Amsterdam, Paris and, uh, Georgia. But this week, we’ve looked no farther than our very own backyard to bring you Wait 3 Days … Then Attack from Columbus, Ohio’s Go Robot, Go!
And we’re not — as you might cynically assume — giving it to ’em just because they’re local boys. One listen and you’ll agree that our Ohio rockers can keep up with the Lenny Kravitzes, the Pocos, the U2s and the Paul McCartney and Wings. The song “Kelly Affair,” for example, has enough fuzzy guitar kick to make you want to blow through traffic lights, even if you’re not driving. “Scary Futon,” on the other hand, does for furniture what Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho did for showers. Frightening stuff.
As slick and punchy as the early Cars, as goofy as Sparks (almost), and with a melodic sensibility somewhere between the Beach Boys and Stephen Hawking,Wait 3 Days … is topnotch Pop.
Last week, three members of Go Robot, Go!, Neal — guitar, keys and vocals; Dave — bass and vocals; and Jim — drums, met up with CityBeat at a local massage parlor/tanning salon to discuss their latest CD.
CityBeat: The track “Kelly Affair,” is that a reference to Russ Meyer’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, the greatest Rock & Roll film ever made?
Dave: Yes, it is. The movie is absolutely amazing. The soundtrack absolutely rocks. The song is a humble tribute to the most rockingest band that never was, The Kelly Affair, or if you rather, The Carrie Nations. Go see the movie.
CB: They say that “In space, no one can hear you scream,” but I’m not buying it. What do you guys think?
Dave: That is actually a modern myth dispelled by basic physics. It is known, however, that you can’t hear a tree fall in space. Don’t ask me where I went to college.
Neal: I believe the actual quote is “If a tree falls in space, and lands on your transponder, no one can hear you scream.” Which is, of course, incorrect. The audio-helio micro-circuitry should still pick up a signal, providing, of course, the nuclear retro-switch has been thrown prior to lift-off.
Jim: Well, it depends, because if sound travels by waves through air, and there is no air in space, because space is a vacuum, then the answer would be “no” — BUT, if you were in space, you would be in a space suit, which would have air in it, and so you would hear yourself.
CB: What is a Dojo and why are you waiting for one?
Jim: I believe it is the slang term for the subway in Bismark, N.D. As you all know, the Bismark subway only seats five, so the wait can be awhile, plus they only let humans sit on the back, and the bison sit in front … and they are always edgy after work …
Dave: (in furious disagreement) A Dojo is a samurai’s place of seclusion and contemplation. The song is actually a reference from another of our favorite movies, Boogie Nights. Yeah, we watch too much TV.
CB: Tell us about the group’s attraction to retro-futurism? Does it stem from too much Jetsons or not enough?
Neal: I’ve often pondered that same question. Such promising young men we were, until that fateful day we decided to throw our lives away into the debauchery and decadence that so tragically characterizes Go Robot, Go!
But seriously, I suspect the real blame lies with the pointy brassieres worn by all the women on the original Star Trek series. Vavavavoooom! Come to think of it, Judy Jetson does seem to wear similar outfits.
CB: If “Go Robot Go” was called “Go, You Big 18-Wheeler, Go!” instead, what might some of your songs be titled?
Dave: “A Boy Named Gin;” “Big Bear Honky Monkey;” “Baby, You Ain’t No Prize;” “Rubber Duck Roadblock;” “The More I Drink (The Better You Look);” “Alimony Hangover;” “Trailer Park Baby.”
Jim: “Put the Hammer Down,” “The Kenworth Aerodyne Affair,” “9900 Pounds of Marmalade That’s Gotta Get to Spokane.”
CB: Space Invaders or Galaga?
Neal: Galaga. Hands down.
Dave: Asteroids!
CB: The Lemon Pipers or the Ohio Express?
Dave: Definitely the Lemon Pipers. We used to cover “Green Tambourine” until certain losers in the band got sick of it.
Neal: Piss off.
CB: “Semi-annual Sale” is one of the most spacey and atmospheric tracks on the record, yet it has a decidedly earth-bound title. What gives?
Dave: Uhh, we have huge posters from Victoria’s Secret hanging in our studio that feature a beautiful lingerie model and proclaim “semi-annual sale.” Whilst naming the songs on the record we were stuck, and the inspiration jumped off the posters. How lame is that. I’ve always loved that saying though.
Neal: The posters actually hang on the wall that’s behind me when we practice. I thought Dave was being profound until it dawned on me. Then I knew he was being profound.
CB: Go, Robot, Go! is playing on the Monsters of Rock tour at Castle Donnington. You guys are third on a bill of five. Who else is on the bill?
Dave: Strawberry Alarm Clock, Weezer, The Zombies, The Jesus and Mary Chain. And Willie Nelson warms the crowd up with a few acoustic numbers.
Neal: Hmm, I think I’d like to see Elvis from around ’58, the Beatles from around ’63, Beethoven from, oh, 1800 or so, and, of course, Rockets to
Mars. In space, can they hear you sucking up?
Go Robot, Go! Wait 3 Days … Then Attack is available at www.gorobotgo.com
This article appears in Mar 14-20, 2001.
