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February 08, 2006

BLING KONG | The Steakbomb Interview

This Friday, Bling Kong will bring their fabulously manic rock n' roll extravaganza to Southpaw, where they'll open up for the Mooney Suzuki. On the 18th, the posse heads to Boston to sex up the Middle East with Lez Zeppelin.

For this interview, I was instructed to get a white egg from a supermarket cashier, who then told me of a secret facility I could find Bling Kong member, STEAKBOMB. At the door to a purple building, a seven foot tall man instructed me to show the white egg before he let me in.

Once inside the Bling Kong fortress, I was taken to a lavender colored room, with plush pillows, a velvet couch, seventeen lava lamps, and a nice selection of pornographic magazines. After waiting for a few minutes, STEAKBOMB entered the room wearing a velour robe. He set himself onto a large floor pillow and that's when out interview began.....

Okay Steakbomb, it's Product Shop NYC's round, what you drinking?
Bourbon, with a bourbon back.

So your like the bourbon?
I do indeed enjoy my bourbon, yes.

How can you get enough bourbon for all seventeen thousand members of Bling Kong? Do venues supply that many free drinks?
It’s hard. Sometimes alcohol is prohibited for us, especially when we play dry campuses. We sometimes have to sneak our own handle of bourbon with us. We prefer not to play completely sploshed. We do that after our set.

How many Bling Kongers are there actually?
We have eleven performing onstage at any given time, plus a small coterie of stylists, designers, sluts, hanger-ons.

So it’s kind of like watching live hip hop, complete with a posse hanging out on stage?
Well, yes. We’ve actually tried to start rivalries with other bands, but thus far have been unsuccessful. If you know any other bands with cheerleaders that want to throw down, let us know and tell them to bring it.

Has anyone in Bling Kong been arrested?
For being in Bling Kong?

If you were to issue a throw down with the Polyphonic Spree, what would you say?
You may have the numbers, but we got the bling! We want a good natured rivalry, something like hip hop bands have but without guns. We issued an open challenge to all comers.

So no shit talking about bands then?
Bling Kong doesn’t talk smack.

Has Bling Kong ever gotten injured onstage, either by violence, accidents, collisions?
Absolutely, a number of them happen all the time. It’s hard to perform with an army like Bling Kong. We always get banged up and keep on finish the show. I occasionally wack cheerleaders with the headstock of my gutiar.

Ouch. Do they sue?
No. And Brad…Sizzler, the other guitarist, once toppled over a monitor and into the audience at the Knitting Factory.

So it’s a lot of audience participation then?
We one held a lick whip-cream off a banana contest at a show in Boston.

Are Bling Kong a nice Jewish folks?
I like to think he has some Jewish in him?

Any Blingers been bar mitzvah’d?
You talking to one.

Would you say the festive spirit of a bar mitzvah party inspired you?
No. But we would love to play one.

Whats next for Bling Kong?
Bling Kong Two. If you think Bling Kong is high concept, Bling Kong Two will melt your brain. It’s under wraps for now, but lets just say that audience participation will be bigger and bolder than ever. And the songs rock…..

February 08, 2006 in interview, Music, Nightlife | Permalink