Lost is a TV show that’s divided the hecklerspray staff into two groups – those who think it’s awesome and those who are idiots.
But even those of us who like Lost probably don’t like it as much as Sonic Weapon Fence. Sonic Weapon Fence are a Lost-themed band. They write and record songs about Lost, and nothing else. They even have an album out, full of glorious songs about why Kate is awful (Kate + No One 4 Eva!), why Charlotte was amazing (The Red-Headed Stranger) and the socio-psychological background to the man from the freighter who tried to kill everyone in season four (Quite Unseemly, Keamy). They are awesome.
And that’s why we asked Sonic Weapon Fence – AKA Patrick Ehlers, Pete Snyder, Pete Pfarr and Jason Hetelle – for an interview. They agreed, and the results are beyond the jump…
Describe Sonic Weapon Fence in ten words or less.
Chicago?s premiere Lost novelty rock band.
Why are all your songs about Lost? Have you ever thought about throwing in a FlashForward song, or something about Ugly Betty?
There seem to be limitless topics to write songs about when it comes to Lost.? The show doesn't really commit itself to a single genre and tells this massive story about tons of characters, so there's always a new subject to address. Lost also revels in leaving its characters and mythology mysterious, so it's been fun to fill in those gaps with songs like SUBJECT: Rabbit and Quite Unseemly, Keamy.
Lost also has one of the best fan communities around, and it's exciting to be an active part of that. If we were big Ugly Betty nerds, that?d basically be it ? we?d never be in like company. Sure, there are other fans of the show, but no one that would really care about our carefully-crafted observations and imaginations about the show?s universe.
Really, the Intro song says it all: there are all sorts of shows we like, but there's really just one that makes us think we should start a band to celebrate it.
Drive Shaft or Geronimo Jackson?
The band is divided on this issue. It's really a lesser-of-two-evils kind of question isn't it? It probably would have been Drive Shaft by a landslide if Oil Change hadn?t been such a weak effort.
Have you heard anything from Carlton and Damon? Do they know you exist?
Last March, our bassist sent them a pretty funny question about our drummer being ashamed to be in a nerdy band and they read it on the official podcast. That's probably the single biggest piece of positive affirmation we've received. Incidentally, they asked us to send a song in. We did, but then never heard back. Story of our lives.
What's your problem with Kate?
We just want Kate to grow up a little. We've all spent time dealing with that kind of girl. You know the type we mean ? always playing those immature emotional games. The thing is that most of those people grow out of it as they became adults. Apparently, she didn't.
Also (and I think most of the fan community will back this up), Kate episodes tend to be weak, and she's never portrayed particularly well in them, no offense intended to Evangeline Lilly. Take the season four episode Eggtown, where she slaps Sawyer in the face just for calling her out on her crummy behaviour. In fact, the only thing she's done in years that's been cheer-worthy was going back to the island to rescue Claire.
How do you think the series will end? What are the questions you want answered?
While we like talking about the show and theorising what might happen next (or what just happened), I think we all prefer to just let the story play out however the Powers That Be see fit. It's tempting to say that the more real, or pseudo-science-y, the ending is, the better, but honestly, whatever they want to throw at us is bound to be compelling and original.
Either that or aliens.
What's the name of the Dharma interrogator from He's Our You?
Oldham. Too easy.
What is it about Lost that attracts such frothing obsession?
This is another area that divides the band. Some say the mythology, others say the characters, and still others say the show?s sense of humour about itself. But maybe it's just the combination of ambition and attention to detail. The way every aspect of every story needs to be constructed with a careful eye on the tiniest minutiae might lead someone to believe that show must restrict itself to a narrow scope. But it's not ? it's one of the broadest stories being told in any medium right now.
Also, the show is fun to talk about. Nothing is off limits. You have a theory about Hurley?s ghost from the future going back in time to program Cyborg-Walt to self destruct in an alternate version of 2004 where the plane crashes but the only people to survive are Walt, Jin, Cindy and the fourth clone of Jacob? Might turn out to be true.
If we reset your timeline by clonking a nuclear bomb with a pebble, what would you do differently?
Ah, see but that makes the same faulty assumptions that Jack and Faraday and everyone else was making. They seem to think that you can alter history surgically, but the reality is that when you detonate a nuke manually, you necessarily have to sacrifice some precision. You change one thing, you're changing everything.
But to answer the question directly: we?d invest in Beanie Babies right when they came out, then turn them around at the peak of their popularity. That's got to be good for some quick cash, right?
What will you do when it's all over?
Honestly, when we got together two years ago, this wasn?t a question we ever thought we?d really have to answer. Certainly, we wouldn't still be together by the time the show ran its course. But here we are. Maybe we keep writing about Lost for a while – Warp 11 continues to wrong songs about the original Star Trek TV series and they're awesome. Maybe we expand our scope to address other facets of nerd culture. Maybe we all split off and go our separate ways. It's hard to say.
We've been fortunate enough to find an audience with our fun songs about Lost and it?d be great if, after this prime fervour dies down, people still wanted to hear our music. A common comment when someone is introduced to our stuff is ‘this isn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.’ While that seems like a backhanded compliment, really, how can you blame them? This is clearly a gimmick that we exploit. But we only exploit it because we love it. If we can keep finding the love in the music we make together (and the things we sing about) then I'm guessing our fans might too.
But, I'm fully prepared to eat those words.
Now that you’ve read this, head over to Sonic Weapon Fence’s website, where you can experience their mindblowing awesomeness first-hand
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