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Normally, our love for opening acts gets limited to me waxing lyrical in “Come Early For” column but this time around Quintron and Ms Pussycat (who are opening for Black Lips at the Cat this Saturday) were way too good to pass on, so, we didn’t.

A true renaissance man, Quintron (a full time nightclub owner in New Orleans) plays dance music for the wild at heart on a custom made Hammond / Rhodes combo synthesizer / organ (which he’s got all built up to look like a car with real working headlights) backed by raw simple drum machine beats (think 808 boom chika boom through one BIG speaker with all the treble turned down) and his own patented invention THE DRUM BUDDY – a rotating, light-activated analog synthesizer which is played much in the same way that a DJ spins and scratches records, while accompanied by his delightful wife Ms. Pussycat, and a gaggle of dolls (some of which star on their very own VBS series).

It is a discotheque for puppets and people who love them, and it looks something like this:

Quintron is, as expected, a deeply private person, so the fact that we got a chance to squeeze a few questions with him in, fills our hearts with joy. Here go tales of dolls, Will Farell and what is home:
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BYT: Hi! And thank you for doing this on such short notice
Quintron: (almost) Anytime.

BYT: So, tell us about the day you decided to become Quintron. What were you before? And do you ever plan to come back to that?
Quintron: Its a nickname my father gave me many years ago….it means 5 particles in latin and it is my real name now…I am not a real stickler for reality.

BYT:How did Quintron meet Miss Pussycat? And after you got married why did she no become Mrs. Quintron or at least Mrs. Pussycat?
Quintron: What? I don’t understand. She is Miss Pussycat and I am Quintron. We live by our own rules not “Mr. and Mrs” rules.

(The two met in the early ’90s at Pussycat Caverns, Miss Pussycat’s “secret nightclub” in her house. Quintron, who was living in Chicago at the time, came and played a special Mardi Gras showcase. The rest, as they say is (ruleless) history)

BYT: I noticed that you keep separate myspace profiles, why is that?
Quintron: We are two separate entities….like a double Napoleon. We are not a band, we are not a democracy, we are not a collective. I am an organist and an inventor and Miss Pussycat is a puppeteer. In the wild world of myspace you can rack up as many reasons as you want to have a page. We are not into sharing….it makes for very watered down visionless art.

BYT: Well, we certainly wouldn’t want that to happen. Speaking of art, most acts (must not say band! must not say democracy!) are just acts but you are also an inventor, a vbs puppet series maker a club owner and a star of your own club. How busy are you? Was it hard to find time to tour?
Quintron: The tour is neccessary to get away from everything depressing in New Orleans.

BYT: I fully understand…To change the topic from the depressing, tell us about some of your favorite inventions? (we keep reading about The Drum Buddy, The Spit Machine and The Disco Light Machine) Are they all patented? And if so….How widely are the patents being used?
Quintron: Only the Drum Buddy is patented and it is really the only important thing I have ever invented. the other machines were just building up to that.

(for the full DRUM BUDDY-ALL-ANALOG-ALL-AMAZING story go here: http://www.skingraftrecords.com/drumbuddy.html He sold two of his last models to performance artist Laurie Anderson and guitarist and Wilco collaborator Nels Cline. Expect a swamp-tech revolution-ed)

BYT: Lets talk a little about the music….I like to think of what you make being essentially dance music. The organ is a little bit of an unorthodox choice in terms of that. What initially drew you to it?
Quintron: I am an organ player and I always have been so thats what I play…..I love the sound of electric organ. Its addictive. Why is anything unorthodox for dance music?

BYT: You got a point there. So, aside from the unexpected itself, what can the audiences expect from a Quintron show?
Quintron: exciting clothes, explosoins, curse words, a puppet show, extreme loudness, and two leslies.

BYT: And how different do you feel performing not in your club, your home territory? How do you deal with imposed authority?
Quintron: Asshole soundguy look out…..I hate you and so do the two mean girls I roll with…..we will fuck your life UP.

BYT: Haha! We’ll let him know. How did you end up pairing up with the Black Lips? And how has the tour been going on thus far?
Quintron: We have been friends with those guys for a long time and been playing with them or involved in the same southern scene for a LONG time….it was natural to hook this up. We also have the same booker…Dave Kaplan.

BYT: That always comes in handy. Same bookers aside…. If there is a dream band/act you wish you could have performed with, who would it be? Dead or alive.
Quintron: GG Alin’s drug dealer.

BYT: What was the most surreal show experience you’ve ever had? Even by your standards?
Quintron: Lets see. How about this:
1. In Memphis some guy was tripping on acid trying to “help” us do the puppet show but he was really just pouring whiskey all over us.
2. In Paris, Miss P got shocked by 220 volts immediately before performing
3. Performing for elderly puppeteers at the 2007 National Puppetry Convention in Atlanta…..that was pretty surreal.

BYT: After the Vice tv and the infamous infomercial success, do you have any further cinematic plans?
Quintron: Keep making episodes of Trixie and the Tree Trunks.

BYT: You are very tightly tied with the New Orleans 9th ward…have you ever considered leaving? (aside from touring)
Quintron: NOpe……we can never leave…this is our home. See a tour of it:

BYT: So, when you are home, what do you and Miss Pussycat do in your spare time….describe an ideal leisurely afternoon to us? Some movies to see, books to read….
Quintron: See the new Will Farrell movie and read the biography of Benjamin Franklin and / or Darby Crash.

BYT: What next?
Quintron: New record due out in the summer of 08

BYT: And a message for the budding fans?
Quintron: We will love you for a long time.

want more:
befriend quintron on myspace
befriend miss p on myspace
befirend trixie and the tree trunks on myspace
and DO NOT MISS THEM this Saturday at the Cat with the Black Lips

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