I was introduced to Big Jeezus Truck last May while I was searching through our pile of emails by a fan that suggested I check them out.  After spending 2 minutes on their website, I knew immediatly that I wanted to review them, and probably wanted to featured them in a future issue.  The reason was simple:  I had a good time listening to thier music and their offiical website was a truely entertaining experience (although a bit on the busy side).

Trying to track them down for an interview was an interesting experience in and of itself!  After two months of emails going back and forth, I was still unsuccessful in my attempt to get them on ICQ (typical technologically challenged musician's),  but got an 11th hour phone call from the vocalist and co-founder of the band, Slim Reaper.  Since we both talk faster than I can type, the interview is paraphrased, but the general gist of the ideas discussed are there!

<HotBands> - Hi Slim!  I was just on your site listening to/checking out  your website.  You look like quite a character!   How did Big Jeezus Truck form, and where did you get the name Slim Reaper?

<BJT> - Ted and I came out of another group called The Bleeding Hearts four years ago (1996).  It was kind of a blues based band, and not nearly as manic as the band we have now. One by one the members have solidifed. Spaghetti (the bassist) joined 2 years ago.   As far as my name goes, I used to be a grave-digger for my day-job (I'd hate to do that at night!).   I'm kind of a tall guy and one day at work one of my co-workers said "Here comes Slim Reaper" and the name stuck.

<HotBands> First your website was a visual experience, and your lyrics are hilarious and lots of fun.

<BJT> It is fun...we rock hard when we play and people take it for what it is.  Our first goal is to be entertainers...not to enlighten people...that's what Seattle bands are for!  We put on as much of a show as possible,   setting off pyro when can.   We even have smoke stacks we set off from an 18 wheeler...it's all about a show.  It's like Spinal Tap meets the Dukes of Hazard.

<HotBands> How would you classify your music?

<BJT> The broad term would be hard-rock, but in a more specific genre we would be country-punk.  Influenced by everything from The Stooges (Iggy Pop) to Hank Williams. Not a lot of bands doing what we do.

<HotBands> Do you currently tour?

<BJT> We're from Ontario Canada, so we mostly tour Eastern Canada.  We'd love to get into the US but it's pretty hard to get into the market.  It's hard to get known, but our website seems to be a good way to get our name out there, and people can get a feel for what we're about from the site.

<HotBands> How did you get selected for the cartoon (The Kevin Spencer Show)?   Is it still on the air, or was it just a pilot?

<BJT> It's in it's 3rd year....a very demented cartoon that is 1-step past South Park, and it airs on the Comedy Network. Producers of the show saw us doing the show at a club in Ottawa and they liked the song "Welfare Alcoholic".  We got some conversation going back and forth, and when they brought out animators out to meet us, they ended up not only using the song, but wrote our band into the script for the show. The show has opened a lot of doors for us. We have only done one show so far, but we get the feeling that we may be coming back again because some of the characters on the show have been seen in later episodes wearing our T-shirts.

<HotBands> Did you fly to the US to do the voice-overs for the show?

<BJT> It was all created post-production in Canada.

<HotBands> Who are the members of your band?

<BJT> Well, I'm (Slim) pretty much the   vocalist/lyricist, Tom E. Hawk on Guitar and some vocals, Ted "Fireball" Cain on drums and Spaghetti on bass. We're really all about the live show. I can' think of too many acts that do what we do.

<HotBands> So what is it exactly that you do?

<BJT> It's full energy from the second we get on to the second we get off. We don't come across hard-core...it's all about fun. We're here to take the audience away for 90 min to 2 hours.  So far,  I don't think we've let a single person down that came to one of our performances that was looking for a fun time.

<HotBands> How many CD's do you have out at this time?   Are you focusing on playing live, or studio at this time?

<BJT> We have 2 releases out now (Size Matters and The Big HooHaw) and a new CD that should be released in the Spring.  We're currently focused on getting that finished, and we're not doing a lot of playing live over the winter...winters can be pretty tough in Canada.

<HotBands> We'd love to have you in the US

<BJT> We'd love to have an audience anywhere.  All we've been looking for is a break in the right place.  We have a number of cassettes on video we can forward on to you.  If you can help us get our name in the US, we'd love to tour if we can support it.  It's always the bottom line we have to look at...if it's feasible, we're up for it.

<HotBands> Where do you see yourself going next year?

<BJT> We'd like to get our next record out. Our big thing now is to get down to Toronto for showcasing. There are some good bands in Ottawa, but there isn't a lot of live clubs because people up here just don't go out that much...maybe it's too cold up here!   We're wanting to have professional management and be touring Canada and the US if we can swing it.

<HotBands> If you had anything to say to the younger musicians, what would it be?

<BJT> Be true to yourself...it's the only way you're going to be happy. If your doing it to please someone else, you're only an employee, and that's not why most people get into it (music).  If you can remember why you got into it, you'll be able to hang on a little longer.  If you follow trends, you'll always be a follower.  We're not looking to be God, but just have a good time doing what we do. Our audience is anybody that wants to hear us that doesn't mind working up a sweat and having a great time!

<HotBands> Thanks for taking the time to do the interview for our readers!

<BJT> Thank YOU Pat for your interest in our band!   We look forward to touring and having you see one our shows next year!