Interview with Fast Breeder Reactor

A live interview with one of the most talked about bands in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area...Fast Breeder Reactor.

1.What is the name of your band?
Fast Breeder Reactor

2.Where did you come up with the name for your band?
In 1990 there was a band called "Heart of Darkness" who had put out a 3-song demo on vinyl. One of the songs was titled "Fast Breeder Reactor" and it just stuck with me over the years as a great band name. It became official when we formed the live act on Thanksgiving 2002.

3.How many people are in your band?
Currently two: Dwight Frye and me, Kilroy. Pony resigned as live keyboardist last summer (2006)

4.How did you come to play with the band?
I actually recorded our debut CD "Anthems for Androids" predominately by myself before even knowing I'd have a live band to promote it. We decided to just release the CD as ours, and let the live band evolve organically as we promoted it.

5. What part does each member play in the band?
I handle most of the singing and guitar playing during the shows. Behind the scenes, I'm the primary songwriter, and keyboardist while recording the music. Dwight Frye plays bass and manages the drum machines on stage. He's also the co-producer who keeps things in check!

6.Do you have stage names? If so what are they and how did you come up with them? Dwight Fry is a reference to an Alice Cooper song. In the late 90s I was going by the pseudonym "J.F. Kilroy" while playing in various punk, ska, and surf-rockabilly bands. Went I went more electronic, it made sense to have a one-word name like "Moby" or "Flood" so I ditched the J.F. Our drum machines have been affectionately named "Alex Ann Drogeny", who has been with me for over a decade, and the new drummer "LV-426".

7. Tell us about the style of music the band plays.
For the last CD it was "Trance meets Heavy Metal", and that was the mission. People have called it "Newfangled SynthPop" and "New Age Industrial". Basically, they are rock songs pulling from Punk, Metal, Electronic, & Pop influences. Whatever the song calls for, we absolutely refuse to be pigeonholed into a genre of whatever sells.

8. What are your songs about?
The Times. Tales of lost love, found love. Sometimes they go Sci-Fi and Futuristic. Sometimes they speak awful truths and make you ask questions.

9. Do you write your own songs?
Absolutely.

10. What was the hardest song to write and why?
For the Anthems project, it was all hard to write. I was in a creative slump but wanted to capture the turn of the century into music and lyrics. Then there was the pressure of writing without a band.

11. Why do you want to record and release your own music?
I remember being a kid and how heavy metal music made me feel like I was a part of something larger than life when I first heard it. Nothing is more exciting than creating music and lyrics that people can enjoy, and maybe even identify with, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually. Hopefully it can become a soundtrack to some part of people's lives.

12.What influences you to play and write the music you do?
Everything I was introduced to as a kid. In the early 1980s, synthesizers ruled the radio. Then came the pompous metal bands. That showmanship was silly, but it was an escape for us all.

13.Who are your musical influences?
Eurhythmics, Depeche Mode, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, early Metallica.. Artists like David Bowie and Celtic Frost who aren't afraid to take risks and try new styles or experiment a bit with each CD they release.

14.Is this the first band you have ever been a part of?
No, but it is the best and most comfortable band I've ever been in.

15.Are you looking or do you have an independent label deal or a major label deal?
No deals yet. Some help in promoting this stuff is great, but we also want to be respected, and not made into a product.

16.Do you have any albums out?
Anthems for Androids

17.How can I go about purchasing your albums?
www.cdbaby.com/fastbreeder

18.How long has the band been performing?
Our live debut was Halloween 2003.

19.Where do you normally perform at?
Anywhere who will put us on. But I admit we are technically, high maintenance so it's rough playing in back bar rooms in the punk rock city of Pittsburgh.

20.What are your live shows like?
We balance delicately between being dramatic and being real. FBR will always be about escaping reality just to come back and get hit over the head by it.

21.How do people react to your music?
A lot seem intellectually interested, which makes me happy. I think we're still a young enough band that it's hard to say. The next CD will be more emotional, and I hope people can relate in that way.

22.Have you or would you like to perform outside of the United States?
Not yet, but yeah Dwight and I always thought people outside of America would "get it" a lot more than here. We don't have any interest in catering to modern radio in America anyway.

23.Do you or any of the band suffer or have suffered from stage fright? If so, any advice on overcoming it?
I personally don't. I get anxious and edgy until we go on, then I am fine.

24.How much time does the band practice?
Depends on the gig. Promoting a new CD, I'd say 3X a week for a month or two.

25.What kind of recording environment do you have?
Nowadays, just like any band, we can record absolutely anywhere. the Anthems for Androids CD was recorded in a very small bedroom. For the next CD, we'll record in various places, with computers, a couple microphones, and an effects unit. For an electronic band, we do keep things quite basic, and do not use Pro Tools or flashy software to create music. It's very much just guitars, keys, bass, drum machines, and layered vocals.

26.What has been on of the most memorable moments for the band?
Definitely our second show ever, at Howlers, after we just came from an awful debut a couple weeks beforehand, where the PA system did us no justice. But that gig brought us back to life, and set the real tone for the next two years of shows to come. The crowd loved us, and we were shocked. Then, I'd say our CD Release in Feb 2005. Or maybe the first time we played the Rex Theatre.

27.What is the funniest thing that has happened to you while performing?
I remember one night our second encore was "Queens of Noise" by the Runaways, and we were so drunk I could hear myself slurring as we sang it. Yikes, time to get off the stage!

28.What is your favorite song to perform and why?
I'd say Eighties Child. In a nutshell, that's what the whole CD was about, musically and lyrically.

29.If you weren't a musician, what would you be?
Considered a madman, I'm sure.

30.What is the most difficult thing about being in a band?
That moment when you start getting your name out there, and some members rest on their laurels, while other members just get hungrier and want to work even harder. It's always a conflict.

31.What do you think sets you apart from other bands in your genre?
I don't know. We're brave. We'll always take musical risks and avoid the trends. Going out there in 2004 among all these garage-y punk bands, with our glam/goth/punk look, and our drum machines and keyboards. No one cares about that shtick right now, but give it time. The 1980s are right around the corner.

32.What do you hope the future holds for the band?
Distribution for our next CD would be great. Just to get that out, and promote the hell out of it. Who knows what the future holds? And that is great.

33.Feel free to take this time to do any shameless self promotion here of your band, such as any upcoming shows, websites, or anything you would like to add about the band...
I shouldn't say this, but we're hoping to release the new CD around Halloween 2007. It seems quite dormant lately, but stay tuned to www.fastbreederreactor.com for details. Anyone can contact us through email: fastbreederreactor@hotmail.com

Thank you Kilroy for doing this interview and we hope to hear more from you and Fast Breeder Reactor in the near future!