Mighty Mighty Bosstones Chat

nickyapper: Well, Blabbers!! Two of the BossTones will be joining us any second in the Blab-a-torium!

MODERATOR: The musical masters of ska craziness are coming to the Blab-a-torium for a mighty mighty chat!

nickyapper: So send us your questions for Tim "Vegas" Burton and Joe Gittleman NOW!!

nickyapper: Hey everyone!! They're here!!

nickyapper: Say hi to Tim and Joe!!

MODERATOR: Vegas! Joe! Welcome and say hello to our guests here in nick.com's Blab-a-torium!!

Tim_Burton: Hi! Welcome.

MODERATOR: amylynn is going to start the questions tonight with one about *your* start!

MODMSG amylynn: How did you get started in the music business?

Joe_Gittleman: We wanted to get into shows for free...

Tim_Burton: By playing in a band for 15 years! You tend to get into the business that way.

MODERATOR: Hey Vegas! I watched the news on a Boston channel and saw that your concert at City Hall had a record attendance! Being from New England myself, I was wondering if you and the band still plan on coming out with the documentary "New England Memories"?

Tim_Burton: Yeah, I suppose we are...the editing is almost finished, it's just a matter of mass producing it and getting it out there.

Joe_Gittleman: For those who don't know, New England Memories is a documentary about the making of our latest album, "Pay Attention."

Tim_Burton: It was a fun editing project. Mark Higgins, a friend of ours, videotaped several hundreds of hours of footage of us in the studio...

Tim_Burton: We edited it into New England Memories and we're hoping to release it for real.

MODERATOR: mmb737 obviously is a fan with that name! :)

MODMSG mmb737: What is it that turned you on to Flogging Molly...They are a great band to bring on tour. I saw them on Warped and they really put on a great show.

Joe_Gittleman: My friend Joe Siv runs the label Side One Dummy...

Joe_Gittleman: And he sent me a copy of the CD.

Joe_Gittleman: It was an advance copy, and everyone really liked it a lot. And then all the guys got to know them on the Warped Tour and thought it would be a great idea to bring them on tour.

Tim_Burton: To add to that, we're in Canada right now touring with one of our favorite bands, The Gadjets. They're a band from Kansas City.

MODERATOR: lilbuda is a slave to fashion and wants to know...

MODMSG lilbuda: So, would wearing plaid Doc Martens to the show follow Bosstones etiquette?

Joe_Gittleman: Sure!

Tim_Burton: Yes! but you won't see us wearing too much plaid these days. We wear dark suits now.

nickyapper: Why not?

Tim_Burton: As we're in mourning for the state of popular music.

Tim_Burton: Ha ha ha.

MODERATOR: Ducking from this question by superpunk!

MODMSG superpunk: You guys rock! I'm going to see you guys in Chicago on Oct. 20th. What can I expect? Any human cannonballs?

Joe_Gittleman: We tried the human cannonball indoors and it turned out to be a bad idea...

Joe_Gittleman: Superpunk can expect to have a blast!!!

MODERATOR: I'm sure you will *know how* to answer this question from janebort!

MODMSG janebort: Did you guys meet anyone from the Know How while on the Warped Tour?

Joe_Gittleman: I didn't. Did you, Vegas?

Tim_Burton: No...with over 400 bands playing we didn't get to meet everyone.

Joe_Gittleman: But that's not to say that someone else in the band didn't meet them.

MODERATOR: shelly1344 admires people who can get on stage but is brave enough to ask questions :)

MODMSG shelly1344: How do you perform in front of thousands of people? Aren't you shy? And out of all you guys who's the funniest?

Tim_Burton: I'm the funniest!

Joe_Gittleman: I'm CLEARLY the funniest!!! I would put him down at the bottom of the list, next to Roman!

nickyapper: If you do say so yourselves!!!

Tim_Burton: That's harsh, dude!

Joe_Gittleman: Our shyness went away years ago...

Tim_Burton: We practice a lot..and when you're confident, you don't get nervous.

MODERATOR: We received a lot of questions in the nick.com mailbag for you guys and the band!

MODMSG nickza: I saw you on the Warped Tour. Is it hard to play music on a hot summer day?

Joe_Gittleman: Honestly, this year's Warped Tour wasn't as bad as the past.

Joe_Gittleman: And we took a break from wearing the suits and wore more shorts...so we were more comfortable.

MODERATOR: yougo might just be inspired by your answer!

MODMSG yougo: What musician or musicians inspired you guys to make music?

Joe_Gittleman: Growing up my favorite bands were The Clash, The Specials, The English Beat and Minor Threat.

Joe_Gittleman: Just to name a few...

Joe_Gittleman: The real inspiration was just the desire not to have a real job!!!

nickyapper: How about you, Vegas?

Tim_Burton: We had a music program in my grade school and I was encouraged to play by my parents and by people in my school, since I was a young kid.

Joe_Gittleman: I once stole a snare drum from my high school...

MODERATOR: I've been to your website and it really rocks! pika15 would like to know...

MODMSG pika15: Do you have a fan club?

Tim_Burton: No...our fan club is our concerts where we meet people all over the world. That's the way we like to meet people, not over the mail.

Tim_Burton: Plus we're not really that organized!

Joe_Gittleman::::laughs:::

Tim_Burton: We do enjoy interacting through our website, our new website bosstones.com...

Tim_Burton: Where we personally answer a lot of the emails.

MODERATOR: oomygod2 has a great question!

MODMSG oomygod2: I just want to know if there's any stories about how you got your nicknames?

Tim_Burton: Ben Carr from the BossTones gave me the nickname "Johnny Vegas" because I showed up to a gig with a sparkling cumberbund.

nickyapper: That's a good reason!

MODERATOR: Now for our classic Blab question...about FOOD! Coming at ya from marble54! DUCK!

MODMSG marble54:What do you like on your pizzas?

Tim_Burton: No cheese and mushrooms. We're trying to cut back on the fat!

Joe_Gittleman: I don't really eat any meat these days, so vegetables, stuff like that.

MODERATOR: bosstone32 must be hoping to be the 32nd member of the band!

MODMSG bosstone32: What do you guys think of Napster?

Tim_Burton: One thing you can say...it's a very complicated subject.

Tim_Burton: And my feeling is it doesn't really matter too much what any of us think about it, because the lawyers are going to figure that stuff out.

Tim_Burton: Ultimately it will be decided by courts and lawyers.

Joe_Gittleman: As far as I'm concerned, the BossTones have gotten so much from all the fans over the years, that it doesn't really bother me all that much.

Joe_Gittleman: A lot of the major label bands have been recouped. And that is to say that even though they are on large labels they don't really see a lot of the money from their hard work.

Joe_Gittleman: So it affects the smaller label bands much more.

Tim_Burton: Eventually I think the music industry and record labels will use sites like Napster as distribution outlets, and they will just have to pay a royalty like any radio station does now.

Joe_Gittleman: What I meant to say above is that the major label bands have NOT been recouped.

nickyapper: Wow, I never thought of it that way!!

MODERATOR: redtv is dancing this question but changing from plaid to black just for you :)

MODMSG redtv: Hello there! You guys rock. What's the difference in your style since the early days? Would you attribute it to your becoming more mainstream?

Joe_Gittleman: I think the only thing that has attributed to us being more mainstream is just people's taste in music.

Joe_Gittleman: We've been playing the same style of music for 10 years, but what's changed is that now it's more popular with more people.

Tim_Burton: If we grow as a band it's because we work hard at becoming better musicians and becoming a better band.

Tim_Burton: That's been the change, hopefully.

MODERATOR: speese is munching on cheese and wants to know...

MODMSG speese: Who wrote the song about the dead mouse?

Joe_Gittleman: Dicky wrote the lyrics to that song, but it was in response to a story I told him, about a homeless man who was selling a dead mouse...

Joe_Gittleman: outside our show in Boston. It was a humorous way for him to collect spare change.

Joe_Gittleman: And no one ever did take the dead mouse.

MODERATOR: The impression that I got is there were lots of questions from people who couldn't make it to the chat! Another question coming from the mailbag at nick.com...

MODMSG nickmare: How did you feel the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio? And did your lives change after you had a big hit record ("Impression That I Get")?

Tim_Burton: To be honest with you, it didn't really shock me that much when I heard one of our songs on the radio, but it was fun to hear.

Joe_Gittleman: Honestly, our lives did not change all that much from that album or that song.

Joe_Gittleman: We still do the same things we always have...playing pretty much the same places...

Joe_Gittleman: in the same cities, etc.

MODERATOR: Besides being a MMB fan, tytedawga1 also loves TV!

MODMSG tytedawga1: What's your favorite TV show?

Tim_Burton: I guess my favorite TV show is baseball, which I'm watching right now.

Joe_Gittleman: I was just watching "Trauma, Life in the E.R." I like reality-based TV shows. I love "Cops," and stuff like that.

Joe_Gittleman: I guess you could say "Cops" is my favorite show!

MODERATOR: nodoubtguy is the optimist in the Blab :)

MODMSG nodoubtguy: What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you guys on stage?

Tim_Burton: A naked guy ran up there and tried to hug me!

Joe_Gittleman: To clarify...I was NOT completely naked!! I had socks on!!!

MODERATOR: krisiggy is wondering about your personal music libraries :)

MODMSG krisiggy: What kind of music do you guys listen to now?

Tim_Burton: I just bought two CDs...the new Cypress Hill and the new Beenie Man. By the way, Steve Perry of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies is a guest on the Beenie Man record, and a good friend of ours.

Joe_Gittleman: I just bought a Replacements two disc retrospective...

Joe_Gittleman: So I've been listening to that a lot.

nickyapper: Send us your questions for these 2 masters of ska, NOW!!

MODERATOR: Out of all the members of the band, I'm sure that *someone* must like birds :) but skywolf is wondering...

MODMSG skywolf: Do you guys like animals??

Joe_Gittleman: I have an English bulldog named Francine who I love very much.

Tim_Burton: I have a saltwater fish aquariam...my best fish is a Blennie named Muddy Mudskipper, or Muddy for short.

nickyapper: Aww, that's sweet!

MODERATOR: abigaill has an extra L for ya in her name :) and would love to know...

MODMSG agibaill: Can the dancing guy play an instrument? Does he do anything with the band besides dance?

Joe_Gittleman: He cannot play an instrument, but he does quite a bit more with the band.

Joe_Gittleman: He is also our tour manager!!! And does quite a bit of extra business for the band.

Joe_Gittleman: His name is Ben Carr.

MODERATOR: deltarho has a technical question for you!

MODMSG deltarho: Being a horn player myself (Sax and Bone), I was wondering what kinda equipment you guys use on your horns.

Tim_Burton: I play Selmer SuperAction, tenor saxophone.

Tim_Burton: Roman plays a Yamaha Pro Model tenor saxophone.

Tim_Burton: Chris plays the trombone...we don't know what kind.

nickyapper: I think it is cool that you guys have horns!! There are not enough horns in music today!!

MODERATOR: bigtim737 has a big time question for you :)

MODMSG bigtim737: Has it been tough getting used to playing with the new members of the band?

Joe_Gittleman: No, we worked really hard at it, but it feels very comfortable with this lineup.

Tim_Burton: Chris and Roman, the new horn players, were big fans of the band and knew all the songs already.

nickyapper: Well, that helps!

MODERATOR: hpackard has a question just for the two of you :)

MODMSG hpackard: What do you guys do best besides sing?

Tim_Burton: I like golf and SCUBA diving. And I publish a magazine called Rude International.

nickyapper: And play the sax, of course...

Joe_Gittleman: I like to fish...

Joe_Gittleman: saltwater or freshwater.

Joe_Gittleman: And I have recently produced some albums for other bands, most recently for The Amazing Crowns. I think the record was called "Still Royal."

nickyapper :Hey guys, 15 minutes left with Tim "Vegas" Burton and Joe Gittleman of The Mighty Mighty BossTones!!

MODERATOR: toxictoast has a question about your tour :)

MODMSG toxictoast: What songs can we expect for this tour? "Kinder Words"? "Simmer Down"? "Dogs and Chaplains"? "Awfully Quiet"?

nickyapper: Send us your questions for Vegas and Joe NOW!!

nickyapper:Type them into the text box below and hit SEND!!

Joe_Gittleman: You can expect "Toxic Toast"! We've been playing it at a lot of the shows recently, and a lot of the other ones you mentioned!!

MODERATOR: skanker737 certainly knows your number! :)

MODMSG skanker737: Hey bass fiddleman, I've heared that you used to be the guitarist and that you write some guitar parts now for the band. I was wondering, has the process has changed at all with Lawerence? By the way, you guys sound better then ever!

Joe_Gittleman: I do play guitar, and when I do write songs for the BossTones, I do write them on the guitar.

Joe_Gittleman: As for the writing process, and how that works now, we haven't done much of that lately because we've been busy on the road.

MODERATOR: btonesgurl is lining up to get your new single!

MODMSG btonesgurl:What's the next song to be released off your new album, "Pay Attention"?

Joe_Gittleman: We don't know. We make the albums, we don't care about the singles or what happens after!

MODERATOR: blkpanther tickled me with this question!

MODMSG blkpanther: How did you like working with Elmo on "Sesame Street's" Elmopalooza

nickyapper: Now we're talking!!

Joe_Gittleman: He was constantly late!! We did do some photos, and stuff...

Joe_Gittleman: but we worked mostly with the Count!

Tim_Burton: It was a lot of fun for us to make a video for the 35th anniversary of "Sesame Street."

MODERATOR: Another one from the mailbag this week at nick.com...

MODMSG nickfrog: What's your favorite ska band other than your band? What's your favorite non-ska band?

Tim_Burton: My favorite ska band is The Slackers from New York.

MODERATOR: banana8724 peeled this question off the hat...

MODMSG banana8724: Where do you like touring the most?

Joe_Gittleman: I think that our tours and our shows are remarkably similar all over the world, and we've had a fun time everywhere, so it would be unfair to say I had a favorite place to tour!

nickyapper: Aw, that's all right Joe. You can tell us....

MODERATOR: jamiinmpls be jammin' this question to ya, mon...

MODMSG jamiinmpls: Do you ever feel like playing a set of just b-sides and lesser-known songs?

nickyapper: Just about 5 more minutes left to the chat!!

Tim_Burton: We've added some new songs to our set.

Tim_Burton: But people tend to like to hear the old stuff mostly.

Joe_Gittleman: We do that! We do do that from time to time.

Joe_Gittleman: We enjoy playing the rare songs, like "The Wrong Thing Right Then."

Joe_Gittleman: We've been playing it in our sets lately...

MODERATOR: cheergal89 is counting (one fantabulous CD uh uh uh...two wonderful CDs uh uh uh)

MODMSG cheergal89: How many CDs have you made?

Joe_Gittleman: 6 full-length albums, and 2 EPs. Right Vegas?

Tim_Burton: Yes.

MODERATOR: This question is the last and also will let you tell us about your future plans! :)

MODMSG btonesgurl: What do you have in store for us on your U.S. tour? Can we expect any suprises?

Joe_Gittleman: You can expect to have a great time like always!

Joe_Gittleman: And a bunch of songs that we haven't played in a long, long time!

nickyapper: Well guys, thanks so much for blabbing with us!!

MODERATOR: It was great having you here with us in the Blab-a-torium!! We sure hope you come back again! Mind if I dance with you to the door?

Joe_Gittleman: Thanks everyone who's supported the Bosstones all these years!

Joe_Gittleman: And for those of you who don't know the BossTones, check us out!

Joe_Gittleman: Go to bosstones.com...

Tim_Burton: "Pay Attention," is the new album. We're sure you'll love it.

MODERATOR: I already do love it after listening to the sound clips!

nickyapper: Check out their new album, "Pay Attention"—it's awesome!!

nickyapper: These guys are so cool!

MODERATOR: See y'all tomorrow night, September 20 at 8:30 PM (ET) to chat LIVE with Madylin Sweeten, also known as Ally from the hit show "Everybody Loves Raymond"!!

MODERATOR: Yapper, I AM paying attention!

nickyapper: She is so CUTE!!

MODERATOR: We're going to be chatting every Monday through Thursday at 8:30 PM (ET) for the entire month of September!! It's the "September Chat-a-thon on nick.com!" So keep clicking back to BLAB!!

nickyapper: Thanks for blabbing, everyone!!

MODERATOR: Night Yapmeister!!

nickyapper: See you back here tomorrow night!!