My, my. What have we got here? Another in a long line of (well-deserved) gushy-praisy articles about America's-best-Denton-based-musical-quartet-of-fun-times-galore, centro-matic.

I won't go into the musical/influential comparisons and family-tree references ("it's [rock god] meets [another rock god] with a touch of [country god]...!!"). The best places to find real honest-to-god smarty-pants, record reviews is either qualityparkrecords.com or centro-matic.com. And there's a lot of it. And it's ALL GOOD.

I'm just along for the fun parts. In this gigantic 4-part interview each member of the band has his say [almost--Scott Danbom couldn't be reached.].

kp: What was the first album you ever bought (with your own money!)?
Matt: QUEEN - The Game
Will: AC/DC's Back in Black Mark: It was either MEN AT WORK, Business as Usual(?) or ASIA, Asia. It's been downhill ever since.

kp: Who was the first band you ever saw live? How old were you?
Mark: U2. I think I was 14.
Matt: SUPERTRAMP, age 12
Will: JOHN DENVER. I was three. An August night in 1974, Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee. The memories are forever.

kp: If you had a chance to tour with Willie Nelson or be in the next Batman movie (as villians-the evil Centromatic kids) what would you do?
Will: Tour with Willie Nelson. No contest there.
Mark: Willie Nelson. Hands down.
Matt: no supervillain is as cool as Willie Nelson.

kp: Do you poop in gas stations/truck stops on the road or do you hold it till there's a nice bathroom?
Mark: I'm never too shy to give a "libation to Gaia," no matter how unholy the altar.
Matt: I have a very high threshold for bathroom yuckiness, provided there's enough toilet paper. I seldom hold it.
Will: "Depends" on the facilities. There are various levels/strata of truckstop bathroom comfort/discomfort. Sometimes it's a definite two-cheeker. Sometimes it's a risky two-cheeker. Sometimes it's a definite one-cheeker. Sometimes it's a risky one-cheeker. Sometimes it's a leaner. Sometimes it's a two-feeter dive bomber. If it's anything lower than a one-cheeker, I holdy hold. FLYING J'S and LOVE'S are usually fairly safe.

kp: If the band fought each other in a room who would be the last man standing? (Mark will have his hands tied to a pole)
Matt: Mark would be left standing because the rest of the band is too honorable to wail on a helpless man.
Mark: I don't know. Will is wiry and quick. Scott possesses a biting sarcasm. Matt can take all comers in arm wrestling. Come to think of it, we're a pretty deadly bunch. More cuddly than deadly, but deadly nonetheless.
Will: Hurricane Hedman

kp: Will you change your name to Centro-Majic?
Mark: It's not in the cards.
Matt: I was thinking of changing my name to [Matt] KittenPence...
Will: Maybe for a kitten-palooza* type of event. CENTRUM ADDICT was considered. Also, SYNTH-RO-MATIC. CENTRO-MATIKA? SCENT ROAMS ATTIC?

* the kitten-palooza event sounds good. We're changing the name to 'kittens of rock ['rawk'?] and hopefully will happen in 2001, at a venue near you. Be sure to check out headliners, Centro-Majick!