The charismatic Mr. Static is the keyboardist extraordinaire for the Epoxies, a spastically entertaining neo-wave punk band from Portland. Their Reagan-era influences are blatantly revealed in both their wardrobe and their synth-soaked sound, and they are shameless about topping off their sets with Adam Ant covers. While this may sound as potentially annoying as That '80s Show, it's actually quite well done. The Epoxies play an early show at Graceland with the Briefs on Friday March 1.
Why keyboards? Did your parents make you take piano lessons when you were little? "On the contrary. Formerly I was a guitarist. We knew that we wanted to have keys in the Epoxies and punk rock synth players are scarce, to say the least. Utilizing modified Soviet mind-erasing technology, I was successfully reprogrammed approximately 18 months ago."
What or who is guaranteed to make you laugh? "Robots. Well, only funny robots really."
What's the best way to mend a broken heart? "I would think about getting one of those new plastic hearts they have now. They seem far less fragile, and easier to maintain. If that is not feasible, maybe some sort of quick-setting resin or expanding foam can be used to effect repairs."
Which city's audiences are more engaging: Seattle or Portland? "Let's say Centralia and call it a tie."
If it were 20 years ago and the Epoxies were simultaneously offered opening slots on a Devo tour of big stadiums or with X-Ray Spex in smaller clubs, which would you pick and why? "Damn you! Umm... err... I guess Devo, because I know (our guitarist) Vis wants to get his hands on some prosthetic hair. But we would cry about missing the X-Ray Spex."
